Floor covering manufacturers once again comprised the second-largest group of NeoCon exhibitors. Again, this year more than 60 companies in permanent and temporary spaces were unveiling their newest wares to the A&D community. And although the commercial market in the second half of 2008 began experiencing the same challenges that has besieged the residential side for more than two years, there was no shortage of new products.

Here is just a sampling:

Abet Laminati

Collection Digitalia is a line created exclusively for Abet by prolific industrial designer Karim Rashid. The collection showcases 27 digital print patterns that give the perception of 3-D. The graphic designs stimulate the imagination and create different modular schemes, provoking psychedelic, sensational effects, the company said.

According to Rashid, human experience, social behaviors, economic and political problems, and the interaction between mind and body can influence design. To reach his goal he provides contemporary designs with strong impressions using shapes, images, signs, lights and colors. The new movement of techno graphics is creating a landscape that is hypertextural, hypergraphic, hypertrophic and energetic.

Amtico

The luxury vinyl tile (LVT) manufacturer launched an oversized line called XL. The larger scale is said to add impact, minimize seams and expedite installation.

The line’s 49 selections include stone patterns such as limestone, granite, pumice and slate; wood patterns including cork, teak, oak, birch, rosewood and walnut; and abstracts that run from platinum, silver and copper metals to graphite, chalk and shale. The oversized format adds contemporary appeal and a sense of sophistication.

Stone patterns and abstract designs are available in 7.2 x 48, 18 x 24, 18 x 36 and 18 x 48 sizes. Wood designs are primarily available in 7.2 x 48. XL also includes a backing constructed of 100% post-industrial recycled content.

Amtico also showcased Composite, a collection inspired by clean, streamlined urban looks that mimics a poured resin or ceramic tile. The design features beveled edges and can be installed with Amtico’s feature strips or Easy Grout for a natural grout appearance. Three colors are available as well as eight sizes.

Finally, Tyrone Johnson, president, was excited about Fiber, a real woven fiber product that is scheduled for a fall launch. Priced at the higher end of the line, four colors are available, along with a 15-year commercial warranty.

Armstrong

Armstrong’s new Commercial Laminate collection provides architects and designers with a combination of design and performance. The line’s authentic wood look results in rich color, texture and the realistic appearance of natural filled-face hardwood.

Designs in 5-inch-wide single-plank visuals and 7-¼-inch multi-board planks create a true-to-life hardwood flooring installation without the “panelization” effect generated by other multi-board laminates, the company claims.

“Our new Commercial Laminate offers true design flexibility with the best visuals and overall performance in laminate flooring,” said Milton Goodwin, vice president, laminate. “From whitewash to espresso, domestic to exotic, Armstrong has the broadest selection of wood looks for any commercial space.”

Three distinct lines, Traditional, Premium and Premium Lustre, are available in 20 colors across 10 wood species in a variety of gloss levels. Single-plank widths and micro-beveled edge treatments in the Premium and Premium Lustre collections add a distinctive style and authentic look to any commercial environment. And the Quiet Comfort Premium underlayment completes the installation with a realistic solid wood sound quality.

Beaulieu Commercial

A pair of broadloom styles, Sashay and Strut, were rolled out under the Bolyu Contract brand. Strut offers an unpredictable striated texture and is complimented by Sashay, a sophisticated tip-shear loop pattern. Both products are constructed of Zeftron nylon and come standard with the Enviro6ix designation, guaranteeing a minimum of 25% recycled content.

Strut and Sashay are manufactured using 16 fashion-influenced colors. They are available in 12-foot broadloom and include post-consumer recycled content in the backing.

“With the season’s hottest trends in mind, including timeless neutrals and conservative colors with edgy texture, Sashay and Strut are trendy, commercial interior products that keep performance and sustainability in mind,” said Koren Sinnock, Bolyu’s product designer.

Bentley Prince Street

The idea with its NeoCon introductions was to deliver a new take on the urban scene. For example, the four designs that constitute The Living On The Edge collection capture the moods, emotions and resilience of American cities. New Gotham harks back to more elegant times and is offered in 18 colors. Satellite City brings a fresh perspective to broadloom in 18-inch tiles in 18 colorways.

Suburban Fringe has a midscale pattern in an elegant texture and coordinates with Satellite City. Edge City honors the basics with a modern transitional twist. Its frieze texture can be used in one color to create a subtle background or in multiple colors to design whimsy. Its 24 colors range from classic neutrals to saturated brights.

Manufactured at Bentley Prince Street’s LEED-EB Silver certified mill in California, all standard broadloom products are now NSF-140 certified at the Platinum level. In addition, all Bentley Prince Street standard carpet tile products are certified at the Gold Level.

CBC (America)

The makers of the Ceres and Toli monikers enhanced both brands. Ceres introduced a redesigned, technologically advanced Wels sheet under its PVC-free line. A non-porous, cross-linked reinforced polyurethane wear surface provides better resistance to scratching, scuffing, stains, dirt, chemicals, solvents and acids, the company claims. A seamless sheet flooring, Wels offers environmental and maintenance benefits along with aesthetics. Low-maintenance features make it simple to keep the floor looking like new. Nearly 30 colors are available.

On the Toli side, five colors have been added to its homogeneous Linotesta, the first hue enhancement in 12 years. “That speaks volumes to the strength of the original design and color selection. We’re confident that the new color options will only strengthen the product offering and make it more appealing to today’s designer,” said Chip Braulick, senior marketing manager at CBC (America). Linotesta is now available in 33 colorways.

Centiva

World Options, a collection designed for international appeal, was making its NeoCon debut for the LVT manufacturer. The mindset, according to Thomas Trissl, president, is the company’s belief that international influences in design are more than a trend; it will become the norm.

World Options incorporates both new and existing Centiva products into a flooring collection that can be used globally in concert with other internationally inspired décor.

The line is grouped into seven colorways, which will help Elemental Spectrum carpet was designed with both sustainability and cost in mind. Backed with the InfinityRE modular backing system containing 30% recycled content by total product weight, the modular tile will install in the low to mid-20s per square yard.

The new premium rubber tiles, Audio Spectra, were designed based upon wavelengths of sound-made visual. A high-performance, low-maintenance product, the 12 x 24 tiles come in 15 neutral and bright colors to create color fields, or mix and match. Audio Spectra is FloorScore certified for indoor air quality, contributing to LEED credits.

World Options will be marketed on a global scale. Assisting in that effort is a new integrated marketing campaign that includes new ads, Web content, flash videos, sample books and collateral materials, among which is a new 70-page book.

Gerflor

Gerflor showcased Saga, its latest vinyl tile collection. The new tiles come with an acoustic backing made of pure vinyl and cork in wood, mineral, textile and natural designs in gray, beige and blue. It has a pure, .7mm thick vinyl wearlayer to ensure excellent resistance to heavy foot traffic.

Gerflor’s diverse portfolio of high-performance vinyl flooring also includes its Taralay and Mipolam products for use in healthcare, education, retail, corporate and public spaces. These products come with the patented surface treatments Protecsol, a no-polish-for-life solution, as well as Sanosol, which deters the growth of harmful bacteria or fungi.

Gerflor products can also contribute toward LEED credits and are 100% recyclable at the end of their life cycle.

Halo Floors

Halo introduced a pair of products for the healthcare market, because that’s been among the most stable segments for the company, said Mary Docker, president. The larger intro, Twisted Plains, consists of plain, pastel colors with a twist, she said. “The twist is a patterned overlay because designers love plain colors, but few subfloors are perfect enough to take it. The overlay helps hide subfloor imperfections.” The line offers eight colors, designed to coordinate with cubicle curtains, and three overlays. “Simply choose the base color, the overlay design and then the surface texture. Of course you can still have a totally plain color if you wish.”

InterfaceFLOR

Interface continued its focus on post-consumer carpet content styles created under the company’s Convert design platform. Nine collections were introduced at NeoCon, bringing to 60 the number of Covert styles, each with a minimum of 32% postconsumer carpet content and 64% total recycled content.

Through its Re-Entry 2.0 program, InterfaceFLOR is able to reclaim all carpet types (commercial and residential) regardless of face fiber type or backing.

InterfaceFLOR uses patent-pending technology that gives the ability to cleanly separate the face fiber and backing of nearly any carpet type. Separated type 6 and 6,6 nylon fiber is recycled into new type 6 and 6,6 nylon for use in the manufacture of carpet fiber and other products. Materials not used in InterfaceFLOR’s processes are returned to the supply stream for use in other industries.

“The Convert design platform illustrates our deep commitment to working toward an entirely closed-loop manufacturing process as old carpet is converted to new, with nylon fiber being recycled into new nylon fiber, backing becoming new backing material and other materials becoming raw materials for other industry processes,” said Joyce LaValle, senior vice president, marketing.

Invista

The makers of Antron carpet fiber introduced two new sustainable fibers: Antron Bio_Legacy nylon, the first fiber containing materials derived from renewable resources designed specifically for commercial applications, and Antron Lumena solution-dyed nylon which contains post-consumer recycled content.

Antron Bio_Legacy nylon is part of the new Bio_Antron carpet fiber family and features all the performance and aesthetic benefits of Antron Legacy nylon, the company said. It is available in acid dye and cationic dye for maximum styling flexibility.

Antron Lumena solution-dyed nylon has a minimum of 25% pre- and post-consumer recycled content and can contribute to LEED credits MR 4.1. and 4.2.

Antron Bio_Legacy nylon contains 10% bio-based nylon derived from castor bean oil. Among the castor bean’s many advantages is the fact it is a high-yield crop that is harvested annually. Under new LEED guidelines, carpets made with Antron Bio_Legacy nylon can contribute to LEED MR credit 6 for rapidly renewable materials.

Antron Bio_Legacy nylon can be recycled at the end of its life in available type 6,6 nylon recycling chains.

Finally, Invista said its affiliated mills introduced 159 carpet styles manufactured with Antron carpet fiber at NeoCon. Many of the new styles launched this year showcase the color and styling possibilities made possible by the company’s Antron FiberEffects fibers, its special collection of accent fibers.

J+J/Invision

New carpet collections include Shetland and Herdwick, constructed of 100% natural, undyed wool in broadloom and tile. The collections include loop rib and tip shear designs in multiple colorways. The mindset, according to the company, is that there really is no commercial wool tile in the market today, “so we wanted to carve out a little niche. We are hearing it will be great product for higher-end corporate. They still have budget for that in small areas, like boardrooms.”

For healthcare, J+J came out with Origins, comprised of five broadloom and tile products. Origins is backed with the company’s seamless solutions system: lifetime warranties for backing, face fiber and adhesive. The idea is that the product can be installed throughout an entire facility given the depth of the line.

Finally, the company was previewing the paper-inspired Shrink Wrap, a budget-oriented collection. Among the styles are torn, shred, watermark and pulp.

Mannington Commercial

Mannington Commercial has teamed with global architectural firm HOK to introduce the Spectrum Collection, the industry’s first grouping of both modular carpet and premium rubber flooring tiles.

The modular carpet, Elemental Spectrum, was inspired by spectrograph readings of the wavelengths of elements from the Periodic Table—including carbon, hydrogen, iron and zinc—and using the linear construction with a 6-foot repeat to create a unique design for each tile. Thirty colorways enable designers to mix and match.

Some of the other significant Mannington introductions were:

• The Stream of Consciousness collection, a lush, organic broadloom and modular carpet in four patterns. Natural, graphic patterns are enhanced with intricate texturing while, on some patterns, tip shearing adds depth and detail. Each pattern is engineered with Antron Lumena type 6,6 nylon.

• rEvolve, a new closed loop recyclable thermoplastic polyolefin backing system for modular carpet. rEvolve is a vinyl alternative backing with 40% recycled content and with rapidly re-newable content.

• Pr e m i u m Rubber Flooring tiles, wall base, stair treads and finishing accessories, achieved by virtue of Mannington’s 2008 purchase of Burke Industries. The premium rubber tiles come in classic round, simple square or sculptured texture profiles in solid colors or with non-directional complementary flecks throughout. More than 70 colors are available.

The Mohawk Group

The Mohawk Group took the wraps off an array of broadloom and tile collections across its Bigelow, Lees and Karastan brands. On the Karastan side, Al Kabus, president, was most excited about Fluid Terrain, a tufted carpet collection created in collaboration with textile designer Irena Peer. Fluid Terrain was developed using Peer’s own software application, which interprets mathematical algorithms. The result is six abstract patterns that evoke some of Earth’s most natural elements, such as falling snow, in a way that it is both fluid and organic yet structured at the same time.

When layered, Peer’s system results in a carpet design with zero pattern repeats. Available in six natural “movements,” each Fluid Terrain pattern achieves a luxurious and inviting aesthetic that is as simple as it is refined. Specifically, Spray, Drizzle and Contrail each feature large-scale designs in 10 colorways, while the more intricate and smaller-scaled designs of Weathered, Drift and Moss feature a natural palette of 15 tone-on-tone neutrals.

Fluid Terrain features Karastan’s Ultra Performance System RE, a state-of-the-art backing technology. With high post-consumer recycled content, it enhances tufted carpet performance and offers installation flexibility.

The Lees brand showcased a number of new products with Kabus touting Sixth Sense as one for which he has high expectations. The new modular carpet collection is said to embrace the concept of Rorschach’s inkblot test where every image is open to interpretation. Offered in five transcendent patterns, the line is inspired by the organic elements of nature.

Sixth Sense uses complex coloration and metallic yarn accents to create a unique tonal aesthetic. The printing of darker patterns on neutral colors and vice versa brings the patterns to life through the reflection of light off color, achieving a distinct design with every glance. Lees’ innovative manufacturing process allows for large repeats.

The collection is enhanced with Duracolor, Lees’ own patented stain-resistant dye technology which is designed to provide permanent stain, soil and fade resistance while also affording total color and style flexibility. In addition, Dura-Tech soil protection provides superior resistance to soiling, matting and crushing.

Parterre

The company’s new HardCore collection features several stone- and metal-inspired products designed to coordinate with its wood and Fused Floor groupings. Specifically:

• Grid, inspired by hip, inner-urban trends, offers a concrete look with a subtle geometric pattern in an “upscale” color palette. It is available in an 18-inch tile and five colors.

• Metallon plays off the aesthetics of oxidized metals and the varying textures created by nature. It is available in a 12 x 24 size and three colors.

• Monet’s Garden, designed to mirror the qualities of light and movement found in Claude Monet paintings, seems to vary in shade and texture as it’s viewed from differing angles, the company said. It is available in a 12 x 24 size and five colors.

• Patina features a technical breakthrough that creates an iridescent yet stone-like design that seems to change as you move around it. The effect is similar to the way sunlight plays on surroundings in nature. Patina is available in an 18-inch tile and five colors.

Each HardCore style contains a minimum of 25% postconsumer and 20% post-industrial recycled content.

Patcraft Designweave

The big story here was the opening of its new showroom, 18 months following the merger of the Patcraft Commercial and Designweave brands. The showroom reflects the company’s vision of a connected and coordinated product line offering the choice of great design at an affordable price backed by a tradition of customer service.

In regard to new products, Patcraft Designweave rolled out a few, most notably:

• Entice is Nice, among the first certified cradle-to-cradle products in the world, is inspired by the stylized connectivity, color contrasts and textured design of heirloom textiles. It is a “go-anywhere” product designed to provide flexibility and choice at a sharp price point. The product is constructed using 100% Eco Solution Q premium branded nylon and backed using EcoWorx broadloom backing.

• Define & Conquer, inspired by the ageless, straight line design of classic business suits, features a classic stripe permeated with textural patterning and saturated by a lush color palette. It is constructed using Eco Solution Q nylon and backed with EcoWorx.

Shaw Contract Group

Shaw’s major introductions were a pair of coordinating products expressly designed for the corporate segment: Homage and Wool, the latter taking home Best of NeoCon gold awards in both the Broadloom and Modular categories.

Homage is said to take the age-old art of hand stitching and project it forward using modern technology to create new finishes, effects and aesthetics.

Wool, meantime, combines the look and feel of natural wool with metallic, high luster accents inspired by metal studs and beads. It emulates the luxury and versatility of a natural wool carpet while providing the performance and recyclability aspects of nylon.

The introduction of both Homage and Wool marks the expansion of Shaw’s Eco Solution Q nylon line. The new yarns are inspired by the design effect achieved by constructing carpet with non-traditional materials such as metallic studs and hand-spun natural wool. Metallic properties create shimmering accents in the Embellish pattern for a unique contrast. Other yarns mimic the look of fine wool and are used throughout the collection.

Homage features three tile and two broadloom patterns, while Wool features three tile and three broadloom patterns. They both employ EcoWorx backings, which contain 40% pre-consumer recycled content for tile and 20% post-consumer content for broadloom.

Both Homage and Wool products contribute to LEED points for flooring systems, recycled content, adhesives and sealants, among others.

They are also eligible for credit in Innovation in Design due to the collections’ Cradle to Cradle certification and NSF-140 Gold certification.

Tandus

Two stories emerged from NeoCon: a major branding initiative and the relaunch of the company’s PowerBond hybrid resilient product. “There is a tremendous opportunity to reinvent this product,” said Glen Hussmann, president. “Ten years ago it was an education and performance play. Now we get the design community excited about a product that has demonstrated performance with a new focus on style.”

But even more important than PowerBond is the focus on the Tandus brand rather than the individual C&A, Crossley and Monterrey names that comprise Tandus. “It’s simply a matter of focus vs. dilution,” Hussmann said. “We do not have the wherewithal to make five or six household names in this industry. We are several years into consolidation, and the time is right to focus on one brand. It’s a matter of focus and spending our marketing dollars as effectively as we can. We are hoping with an emphasis on the one name we can make it a household name across all our segments.”

Tate Access Floors

Tate, a major player in the raised access flooring arena, introduced its engineered hardwood tiles, a collection of 3mm natural wood laminate bonded to an 11mm Versacore wood veneer backer. Available in four standard patterns, the new product can be made from a variety of species of hardwoods in optional strip sizes.

The surface of the tile is sanded smooth and finished with a UV-cured ecological oil that penetrates deep into the wood, providing a long-lasting, durable finish. When installed, the 24-inch tiles reflect the variations of grain pattern and color found in natural wood, the company said.