Las Vegas—Sometimes bigger is better. That was especially the case for Surfaces 2006, which saw its biggest show since starting out 17 years ago. Don Finkell, president of Anderson Hardwood Floors, told FCNews the market exceeded his expectations. “The response to our booth, our products and our general direction has been positive. We’ve had great crowds all day long, from before the show opened to after closing. We’ve been having very meaningful conversations.”

Jan Lembregts, president of Tarkett’s resilient and wood divisions, noted “The booth filled up instantly. We have gotten lots of commitments from all of our distributors.”

Keith Campbell, chairman of Mannington Mills, after briefly contemplating the question, said, “It feels like the best show ever. The traffic has been fantastic since the start and people are buying everything.”

And, it was not just the executives whose companies occupied some of the largest booths at the show, as other officials on the top level of the Sands Expo Center as well as those exhibiting on the downstairs level echoed the same sentiments.

“This is one of the greatest Surfaces I’ve ever experienced,” said industry veteran Celia Blum, Western regional sales manager for carpet maker J-Mish. “There was such a steady flow of people I did not have a chance to sit down; it was extraordinary. People came from all over the country; I never saw so many come from the Northeast as they did this year.”

On the downstairs level, companies such as BioPro Research, maker of Urine-Off odor and stain remover, which doubled its booth from last year, were having a hard time keeping inventory available. Early on the final day, FCNews spotted Eric Stasen, health care division manager, selling the last of some of the items the company brought to Las Vegas. “We sold out,” he simply said.

Indeed, preliminary numbers and simple observation back these executives. While final figures were not available at press time, Michele Troop, senior show director for Hanley-Wood, Surfaces’ owner, said more than 1,070 companies exhibited their products and services to approximately 42,000 people. Both are records for North America’s largest all-encompassing floor covering market.

These represent a slight increase in exhibitors as last year’s show had 1,054, and nearly a 10% increase in total attendance based on the 38,209 people who participated in 2005.

She pointed to some factors as to why the event has become so strong. “We are always looking at how we can market differently, along with adding new initiatives to make Surfaces more attractive to both attendees and exhibitors.”

Troop noted Surfaces’ educational component gets “stronger each year. First is the Education Conference, which featured more than 40 new seminars broken into six tracks—business, design, installation, marketing, sales and window coverings. These include three days of 90-minute sessions and one day of three-hour, hands-on workshops. Four FCNews columnists—Warren Tyler, Lew Migliore, Kelly Kramer and Scott Perron—once again were featured presenters and re-ported big crowds. In addition, there is the Installation Showcase which features some of the industry’s best mechanics giving demonstrations and tips so attendees can improve their craft as well as help better connect the dealer and installer.

“But, the fact is,” she said, “these figures confirm the strength of the flooring industry. All levels are excited. The home owner is using more flooring in her decorating and dealers want to see what’s new. The industry has embraced Surfaces as their event for finding the latest products and services, and seeing and learning the trends within each category and on a broader scale as every type of flooring product is available to them.”

True, with more than a half a million net square feet of exhibit space, every conceivable type of flooring product could be found in some corner of the Expo Center, this year’s Surfaces mirrored last year’s in one aspect: to the untrained eye, a person roaming the upper and lower show floors would think hard surfaces, especially wood, was the industry market leader in terms of sales. Once again, booths displaying ceramic, laminate and wood products and services dominated the facility with wood—including cork and bamboo—taking the largest share.

A quick look at the Product Cross Reference section of this year’s Surfaces Show Program & Event Guide, shows these three categories along with the various accessories, sundries, cleaning equipment and services that technically go with them, account for approximately 75% of all listings. This does not count those who showcased resilient products—vinyl sheet and tile, linoleum, rubber, underlayments, etc. When this hard surface category is thrown in, it goes up to almost 80%.

Despite the discrepancy, those from the soft side of the industry—from the mills to the fiber suppliers—came to this year’s market prepared to showcase how technology has helped transform the category into a styling leader.

This begins FCNews’ recap of some of the products, trends and services seen in each of the different flooring categories. Unfortunately, space limitations prevent us from highlighting every single exhibiting company as well as going into too much detail on those selected. In future issues, Floor Covering News will go more indepth with the manufacturers highlighted here as well as the many others who showed their wares in Las Vegas. Due to its prominence at the show, we will begin with hardwood.

Hardwood flooring suppliers at Surfaces once again numbered in the triple digits, but the same trends were evident at every booth: rustic looks, exotic species, wider planks and richer colors. Some also pulled out all the stops when it came to presentation.

Take BR-111, for example. No longer the new kid on the block, the Brazilian company’s aesthetics extended beyond just product. Its booth, busting with retailers throughout the event, overflowed twice a day with 15-minute fashion shows featuring seven models showcasing the mill’s introductions.

“This has been great,” said Jason Strong, vice president of sales. “Our fashion show provides a fun alternative to normal trade show activity; people have a great time for 15 minutes.” While every supplier sports their exotic wares at Surfaces, BR-111 raises the ante on the trend, Strong said. “This company is always trying to push the envelope and look for new species, such as Machiatto pecan and Brazilian hickory.”

BR-111 introduced the Antiquity Hand-Scraped Collection, a seven-SKU line of exotics in a 5-in.-wide plank. “We’re showing much more wide plank,” he said. “If we show it, it will sell.” Antiquity also offers an aluminum oxide wearlayer and a non-repetitive handscraping technique. Species include cherries, walnut and angelims.

On the subject of Brazil, Scandian made its Surfaces debut, although the company is no stranger to the flooring industry, nor is its vice president of sales and marketing, John Patterson, who was ecstatic. “Of all the shows I’ve been to, this has been the best. We have been swamped all day, every day.”

Patterson cited exotics as the reason. “Retailers and distributors are looking to align with a company that can provide different species of wood and will be in the game for a long time. The Scandian family has 33 years in the business, the resources and infrastructure, not to mention a new plant.”

Scandia launched a line of 10 solid and 20 engineered products in seven exotic species: Brazilian cherry, Santos mahogany, tigerwood, timberana, amendoim, jequitiba and tauari. Engineered products come in 3-1/4- and 5-1/2-in. widths.

Making one of the biggest splashes at the market, as always, was Anderson Hardwood Floors. Aside from some of the most striking introductions on the show floor, the Anderson two-story booth featured “Club Next” on the upper level, where retailers could view products of tomorrow. In fact, their votes help determine those that make it off the drawing board and into their displays.

Don Finkell, president, told FCNews he was particularly excited about the fact that, for the first time, Anderson offered 10 “show specials.” Ten products were presented with eight sold out before the end of the second day.
Anderson also went outside the box when it came to displaying many of its new products: vignettes. “We want to show the floor in the context of people’s homes,” Finkell said. The concept was designed by Anderson Design Council member Joe Tice of Memphis, Tenn.-based Joe Tice Interiors.

Finkell noted that nostalgia was one of the biggest trends he saw. As an example, the Coastal Art collection is a worn, handscraped, rustic antique, wide plank in 5-, 6-1/4- and 7-in. widths. Lighthouse, a distressed oak with a whitewash look. It was designed by Bridget Conway, another Anderson Design Council member.

At Surfaces, Anderson focused on exotics—nearly 30 of them. The eight-product, engineered Magellan collection (in the Anderson line) in 3/8- and 1/2-in. thicknesses was enhanced with merbau, ipe and Brazilian cherry.

The Appalachian brand was also exotically enhanced with the Port Royal collection. Five species are available—teak, tigerwood, jatoba, merbau and ipe—in the 3-5/8-in. wide, 1/2-in. thick products.

Speaking of booths and splashes, the saying, “All roads lead to Mannington” was certainly true as the company was again the mecca. Again the league leader in booth square footage, its space was electric from start to finish. John Himes, vice president of marketing, wood, said Surfaces represented Mannington’s largest product introduction—27 SKUs—since it entered the hardwood category.

The recurring themes were low gloss and cherry. In fact, Himes said more than 25% of the introductions were cherry.

Among them was a next-generation American Rustics item, Hamilton, a 5-in. distressed product that is more subtle than a typical handscraped product. A dramatically lower gloss level is also a hallmark. Stockbridge is even more subtle. It offers pillowed edges versus the traditional microbevel. Bennelong is a 5-in. product with character-grade veneers in two colors. And Andino (Brazilian cherry) is a 5-in. exotic in the Tradewinds collection. Tradewinds, launched in 2002 as a 3-in. product, was also enhanced with Canelo teak (Santos mahogany) and Magellan oak (amendoim). “We took our four best sellers in 3-in. and launched them in 5-in.,” Himes said.

Over at the Mirage space, Chris Thompson, vice president of sales and marketing, was also pleased with not only the traffic, but the quality of the people he was seeing. “Last year the show had a regional feel to it; this year we’ve seen people from all over the U.S..”

Thompson, who held the same position in the late 1990s with the Triangle Pacific brands of Bruce, Hartco and Robbins, cited innovation as the key for Mirage in an industry he says, “has become inundated with companies from the Far East. It’s nothing new, only knock-off products.

“In terms of innovative quality, there’s more at this booth than any other,” he said. “For example, take our exclusive Nanolinx finish technology. It’s made with small silica particles. The payoff is clarity. It’s the cleanest finish in the industry. So you’re looking at the wood versus the finish. Plus, it makes the wood less susceptible to cracking.”

Like everyone else, Thompson acknowledged the trend of rustic looks in wider formats in both solid and engineered constructions. As well, colors are more rich, deep. As an example, the new Sweet Memories offers a soft antique look created by a staining process that combines two colors. Soft antique creates an Old World look without distressing the floor. Three new stains were introduced—toffee, truffle and creme brulee—in a 5-in. maple.

Another Triangle Pacific alum, Mike Kearins, who launched his own line, Pinnacle Interior Elements, a few years back, also had a strong show. “We’re here to sell, and we’ve had a phenomenal reaction to our new products, new price points and new styling. Normally you get commitments; this year we’ve gotten lots of orders.”

From a styling standpoint, Kearins focused on what’s selling. “Designs are wider widths, whether hand-scraped, exotics or traditional. We’re finding people are looking for highly styled, unique floors.”

In illustration, Stoneleigh is a 7-in.-wide product that can be floated, glued or stapled. It features a 4mm sawn timber face with unique, chiseled, French-bleed (blackened) edges. It retails for about $12 a foot.

At the other end of the spectrum, Cottage Classics was unveiled at an entry-level price point for handscraped products. The engineered 5-in.-wide collection offers 4-ft. boards in four colorations.

Jean-Sébastien Roy, marketing manager at Preverco, echoed Mirage’s Thompson when it came to the influx of lower-priced Chinese product. “I think we are seeing people trying to recover,” he said. “We’re seeing much more wide plank and handscraped.”

Preverco at Surfaces launched the engineered Engenius, which is built to withstand temperature variations, offering dimensional stability. Random board lengths create interest. The line concentrates on domestic species such as red oak, white oak, ash, maple, walnut and birch.

Roy said Preverco had a good show, attributing that to moving to a bigger booth and an upper-level location. “We decided to try and bring the best image possible for Preverco,” he said. “Along with seeking the best possible distributors to carry our line, particularly in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.

Over at Tarkett, Jan Lembregts was enjoying his first Surfaces since taking on the added responsibilities as president of the wood division. “The booth filled up instantly,” he said. “We’ve gotten lots of commitments from our distributors.”

Responding to the popularity of textural treatments, he cited Crossroads Sedona as a key introduction. The engineered product combines distressed and handscraped looks and builds on the success of last year’s Crossroads.

Also new from Tarkett is a pair of entry-level products: Amherst, a four-sided bevel in 3- and 5-in. widths in maple, oak, hickory and walnut; and Ovations, a longstrip that Tarkett is bringing in from Sweden “with the right stains,” Lembregts said.

One species you don’t hear much about is pecan, but don’t tell that to Capella. In 2004 pecan represented 12% of its sales; last year is was more than 50%. Capella’s new American Exotic Classic pecan has helped fuel the demand. And pecan is also featured in its 3/4- and 3/8-in. Standard Series; its new Age-Crafted line and its Unfinished line.

The Age-Crafted line was highlighted at Surfaces. Hand-hewn featuring a distressed finish, four pecan colors are available in the 5-in.-wide, 3/4-in. engineered floor. It comes in walnut and cherry as well. Company officials said what makes the floor unique is, the consumer gets the thickness of a solid coupled with the strength of an engineered product.

Mullican, the nation’s largest manufacturer of 3/4-in. unfinished solid hardwood, bolstered its prefinished offering with the introduction of the Frontier Collection. The 5-in.-wide line features 14 items in seven species and two categories: machine distressing and wire brushing.

At the same time, Mullican added five exotic species and colors in 3- and 5-in. widths to its Foothills line. Ridgecrest, the company’s 1/2-in. engineered line, was expanded to 15 products with the addition of four exotic species, each available in 5-in. widths. Finally, Chalmette, Mullican’s 1/2-in., handsculpted flooring, was expanded from four to six colors and species, also available in 5-in. widths.

Lauzon Distinctive Hardwood Flooring also got in on the wide-plank craze at Surfaces, introducing its NextStep flooring in a 5-3/16-in. width. The company said it offers the look of a solid-sawn hardwood surface combined with the precision of exclusive milling technology. What’s more, the wide planks can be combined with the company’s 3-1/4-in. planks to create a unique installation. The new wide plank is micro-beveled with regular gloss, although a 30% gloss level is also available.

Taking the branded route, Kentucky Wood Floors launched the Mount Vernon Collection, drawing its inspiration from the first president’s historic home. The company is marketing Mount Vernon as an upscale, proprietary line that will differentiate a retailer from its competitors. A complete array of product is available, from planks to parquet to accents and borders in a variety of species—ash, cherry, maple, white oak and walnut—edges (square and eased) and textures (smooth and distressed).

With hard surface flooring gaining so much ground in recent years—aided in large part to innovations created through the latest technology—those in the soft surface category have realized they must offer more to make their products desirable to the consumer. Whether it be more visually appealing merchandise using different looks, a new feel using new textures or the promise of high performance and longer durability, carpet mills have begun to develop products the end user is not only getting excited about, but is willing to purchase.

Such was the atmosphere at Surfaces 2006, where manufacturers strutted the latest in new and different yarns, textures and looks. “We are continually looking at ways to try and make our company better,” said Ralph Boe, president of Beaulieu of America’s residential business. “Certainly it’s difficult for us, at this stage of the game, to be the biggest. But being the biggest isn’t always the best thing in the world. If we can do all the right things better than someone else, we feel we can be the best supplier in the industry.”

Boe noted Surfaces was the first place Beaulieu offered new and differentiated products with the kinds of features and benefits consumers desire at the price points they want. It unveiled Fashion Essentials. This new collection of 20 SKUs features the company‘s exclusive PermaTwist and PermaSoft fibers, Magic Fresh and PermaShield stain protection, yet at a price that emphasizes value.

In addition, five SKUs were added to its popular Ultimate Performance Collection, bringing it to 27. The new styles, Boe said, are “unique looks from a new fiber twisting system. It has a very rich look and feel and still has the best features of the original styles—the ability to resist soil, and clean up very easily.”

“The opening day here at Surfaces has been the best we’ve had in a long time,” said Pete Ciganovich, the mill’s executive vice president of marketing, “not just from attendance, but from actual orders being placed. With Fashion Essentials, everybody is picking up the total collection. They are impressed with the way it is merchandised, and its value. They have also enjoyed the fill-ins to the PermaTwist and Ultimate Performance product lines. Our new Stainmaster products have also done well.

“We have also previewed our new builder program, which is for select design centers in the builder trade,” he explained. “In fact, one of the top three builder showcase design centers on the West Coast committed to the program. We’ve also had some very good inventory orders on our Carefree Living collection. We are very impressed, very happy.”

The mill has also introduced four styles in Coronet Berbers; four styles in Coronet classics, featuring PermaSoft fibers; four in the Hollytex Stainmaster Luxury collection, featuring Stainmaster Tactesse; two in Coronet Styled for Living, and 10 in Hollytex Commercial. A new Hollytex Commercial display was also unveiled, and Beaulieu announced BeauTech, a new installer certification program.

New from Stanton Carpet was its Shalimar Collection. The carpet comes with coordinating 26- and 31-in. runners. Each pattern is available in six color selections with all showing deep chocolate among the hues.

Many of the mill’s products featured rich chocolate colors, what Stanton called the new “it” color. “Our product introductions are incredible,” said Jonathan Cohen, Stanton’s executive vice president. “They span an array of constructions and color palettes but share a common theme, they are all mouth-wateringly beautiful. Whether it is a new handcarved wool or in-door/outdoor broadloom, the coloring is rich and the styling is outstanding.

“Reactions have been great,” he explained. “We came out with many innovative items that were a little different, and dealers have reacted in a positive way. People are always looking for unique products, that is why they come here.”

Stanton also displayed many new rug designs as well as several additions to existing carpet lines. New from its Royal Dutch division was the Inspirations Collection, featuring a soft palette of creams, golds and greens; the Kilimanjaro Collection, which includes new colors not seen before in animal patterns in a cut-pile woven construction made from Stanton’s Royaltron polypropylene fiber, and the Sloane Hill Collection featuring cut-pile woven patterns in four designs, each in four to five coordinating colors.

“We have a pretty diverse product line,” said Cohen, “whether it be Wilton woven, cut-pile woven, flat woven or tufted. We try to offer something for everyone. While 2005 was a good year for us growth-wise, we expect to see significant growth in 2006. With a new display, several new rugs and runners and 200 new SKUs, we expect to see significant growth.”

Dixie Home had several new introductions at Surfaces, including everything from traditional designs to eclectic patterns. Traditional and transitional looks included High Society, a cut-loop with a vine pattern, Le Grand, a trim cut-and-loop trellis, and Manchester, a multilevel loop diamond pattern.

Contemporary themes dominate in two cut-and-loop styles: Union Square, a short, dense pattern with urban undertones, and Bergen, a low-profile free-form geometric. Suggested retail prices per square foot are: $5.49 for Bergen, $5.99 for Manchester and Union Square, and $6.49 for High Society and Le Grand. All five styles feature Stain-master Tactesse.

For Dixie Home in 2006, a total of 18 new carpet styles is being introduced, nine of which feature the first major market offering of a new fiber—Stain-master ExtraBody II. It combines two fiber shapes to produce carpet with a heavier hand and enhanced density, especially at lower face weights. The tighter molecular structure of the yarn offers superior stain resistance and resiliency to prevent matting and crushing, noted Lisa Hedden, director of marketing for Dixie Home.

Dixie Home’s ExtraBody II offerings include five friezes: Bradberry Ridge, Bal Harbor, Rendezvous, Crescendo and Westbrooke; two cut-and-loop patterns: Stonegate and McKinley Park, and two smooth cut-piles: Ming Dynasty and Shang Dynasty. Suggested retail prices range from $4.99 per square foot for Stonegate to $6.99 per square foot for Rendezvous. Extrabody II products carry Stainmaster Xtra Life warranties.

Dixie is also adding four ExtraBody II styles to its Interior Lifestyles Builders program. “The people coming into our booth have been extremely excited about ExtraBody II,” said Hedden. “We’ve had very good placement of these products. This is more of a fashion business today than it has ever been before. So, we are very in tune with the today’s color palettes and patterned products which offer the broadloom a little bit more interest to the consumer.”

Gulistan also had several new collections debut at Surfaces, including The Ultimate Luxury Collection, which includes five styles: three cut-and-loop patterns, plus a texture and a saxony, both designed to coordinate with the cut-and-loop carpets for a rich, sophisticated and customized statement, noted Tony Prestipino, executive vice president of sales and marketing. The line is constructed exclusively from Stainmaster Tactesse.

“Our newest line is a strong statement of our commitment to produce ‘Distinctive Carpets Artistically Engineered,’” he noted. “Retailers can offer them with the confidence this collection is the ultimate in luxury.” All five styles in are available in 36 colorations. Prestipino said dealers will be able to retail the products “between $5 and $5.50 per square foot. Consistent pricing across the line simplifies the sales process and makes it easier for the consumer to compare colors and styles and make a choice.”

Ultimate Luxury’s three heavyweight, patterned cut-and-loop styles include Bolero, a pleasing swirl design; Diamond Boulevard, a delicate diamond-grid geometric pattern, and Garden terrace, a contemporary floral trellis design on a random cut-and-loop textured background.

The collection’s two cut-piles, designed as coordinates for the three just mentioned styles include Luxurious, a dense, tightly-twisted texture with a tailored finish, and Richleigh, a traditional saxony plush with a pencil-point velvet finish.

Also introduced at the market were two WearDated, Durasoft styles—Pleasant Brook and Currydale. Pleasant Brook is a textured, tailored, high-low loop-pile style dyed in 30 solid colorations, while Currydale is a heavy, dense, casual shag-frieze featuring natural, landscape-influenced colorations and rich mineral hues.

“Summing the show up in one word: electric,” said Prestipino. “My only regret is, I wish all our employees were here so they could see the reactions to the products.

Strong color and graphic texture transform the floor as Prestige Mills introduced Missoni’s new line of broadlooms. Most successful for simulating their famous fashion knitwear, Missoni designs feature geometric themes, striped effects and checked patterns, noted Peter Feldman, Prestige’s president.

“Until now, if you wanted a Missoni on the floor you were limited to area rugs,” said Feldman. “Here at Surfaces, we’ve introduced a line of Missoni broadloom that offers decorating options for a larger audience be it residential, corporate or hospitality. Missoni’s unique mix of color, texture and weave have been integrated into 16 graphic and illusionary wool patterns.”

Technology and innovation have certainly played a key role in every industry segment, but none as much as laminate. By its very nature it is a product driven by innovation, and thanks to advances in printing, wearlayer clarity, core boards, durability and sound deadening, today’s laminate floors look—and feel—like the real products they are emulating, whether it be wood, stone or tile.

One of the leaders in innovation is Quick-Step, which once again did not disappoint visitors to its booth. A number of debuts took place, including a new surfacing, Country Surface.

Launched in the Country Collection it brings Old World charm with a handscraped textural finish and recessed edges to mirror the look and feel of materials sculpted by European artisans from years past, noted Tim Tipton, director of marketing.

But, the hottest products at the booth appeared to be the company’s latest accessories—a multifunctional profile, a flushnount stair nose and a wall base. Featuring INCIZO technology, the profile allows four different applications—expansion, adapter, edge and transition—and replaces Quick-Step’s existing profiles.

The stair profile incorporates the mill’s patented Uniclic locking system to produce a seamlessly flat transition to the floor on each step, with no raised profile. The patented wall base is a compliment to Quick-Step’s Quadra stone and ceramic laminate tiles. Tipton said the length of one board matches the length of one tile, allowing the grout in ceramic tiles and the subtle V-groove in natural stone tiles to be visually in line with the wall base when the boards are clipped together.

A party was taking place at the Wilsonart booth as the company celebrated its 10th anniversary in the laminate flooring business. As part of the celebration, it had its largest launch of new designs—28 in all, including 12 new Classic planks, seven Classic tiles, four Estate Plus planks and six new Red Label planks.

Some of the new products feature Wilsonart’s first distressed finishes. Also, to allow dealers more flexibility in their selling and to give consumers more options, some designs are being made available in two widths—a 5-in. narrow plank and a 7-3/4-in wide full board.

There are even some unique wood species, such as Flinders Acacia, from North Flinders, Australia, which is noted for its dark red-brown color and random structure, meaning it varies from straight, open, tight grains to wild, cathedral shapes. It is available in the Classic planks collection.

Estate Plus features natural anagre, a creamy colored heartwood with natural luster, and Santos Rosewood, which has straight graining with large, open pores and some cathedral graining.

Finally, Portland butternut has been added to the Red Label Collection. Featuring the new distressed finish and two width options, this specie comes from the west coast of Portland, Ore., and has a limed finish that is typically found in furniture.

Alloc was showing off its Commercial collection which is now deemed suitable for heavy commercial use as it achieved an AC 6 wear rating, the first in the category to be given such status. It had previously held an AC 5 rating, at the time the highest or toughest ranking allowed.

On the residential side, new designs have been added to its Basic, Domestic and Original collections. Additionally, two new finishes and enhanced textures for two existing finishes have been created and can be found in the Domestic line. The new finishes feature four-sided beveled edges and a distinctive, heavy “wood structures.” Also, the texture on its Lively and Traditional oak products has been enhanced for heightened authenticity.

Fresh off being acquired by Germany’s Pfleiderer, Canada’s Uniboard came to Surfaces with a dozen new colors, including eight exotics, such as quarter-sawn bamboo and Santos Mahogany.

Ginette Desjardins, Uniboard’s vice president of sales and marketing, said all the new products are embossed-in-register and range “from the softest fawn to the most stunning espresso. Uniboard captures the reality and detail of the wood’s grain like no other in the industry.”

In addition, she said the company’s focus for 2006 is “value. We increased the number of SKUs available with our sound barrier pre-attached underlayment.”

A flurry of activity surrounded the BHK booth as the company not only showed off new products and displays, it launched a comprehensive line of true solid and engineered woods and unveiled its new, global identity—Moderna by BHK (Editor’s note: Both will be covered extensively in an upcoming issue)

For its laminate products, new designs were added to its Vision, SoundGuard and Perfection lines. African Rosewood and Vintage Oak were added to the Vision V-Joint collection; Classic Pecan, Natural Bamboo, Woodstock and Brazilian Rosewood are now part of the SoundGuard line, and Mexican Rosewood has been added to Perfection.”

Kaindl had its first showing in the U.S. as the Austrian company is launching a top-quality branded line exclusively for the specialty dealer. Billed as better, best and luxury lines, the products feature a number of unique qualities.

Not only has the top-selling looks been incorporated, consumers can select products that reflect different lifestyles, ranging from casual to formal, noted Steve Mone, president. A country look is also offered as is Kaindl’s exclusive “long strip.”

Numerous value-added features have been developed with the level of benefits increasing to help dealers sell up. At the top end, Kaindl One Luxury offers both optical or real V-grooves as well as antibacterial, anti-mold and anti-static technologies. In addition, it has a green moisture resistant core—Aqua Stop 6—and sound reduction properties. For tile and stone, the product is offered is larger ‘“supersized” formats to better accommodate these looks.

Hartwig Siemerling, CEO of Robina Floors used Surfaces to declare the company “is open for business.”

As with BHK, the company, which has been primarily known for its laminate products, has gotten into the wood business by launching a large selection of pre-finished engineered floors (Editor’s note: These will be explained in their entirety in an upcoming issue).

On the laminate side, Robina showed off 21 of its planned 27 SKUs. Available in 8mm and 12mm with a plank width of nearly 7-3/4-in., the floors also feature a locking system licensed from the Pergo Group.

Columbia Flooring, which also sells both wood and laminate offered a number of new items, most notable, the launch of its own Laura Ashely branded products. Numerous products make up the designer collection, including 8mm and 9.5mm thicknesses, and various strip, slate and handsculpted designs.

Also two additions to its popular Echo Palisades Collection were featured. The high-end line now features Castille Clic, which incorporated the mill’s exclusive SculpTex structure. The other product, Cascade Clic, is a 15-1/2-in slate tile in four colors.

(Editor’s note: In the next issue, we will continue our recap of Surfaces by looking at what took place in the resilient and ceramic categories as well as what some of the main fiber suppliers had to offer. Future issues will spotlight individual companies and their introductions along with other unique happenings that took place during the market.)

—Steven Feldman, Louis Iannaco and Matthew Spieler contributed to this story