Metroflor's Konecto, one of the first floating LVTs to be marketed in the U.S.

By K.J. Quinn
Simply put, Metroflor luxury vinyl flooring is built to last and perform for today’s demanding lifestyles. The proof is in the pudding, as the company offers a plethora of realistic stone, wood, ceramic and plank visuals.

“We’ve had good success selling Metroflor both commercially and residentially,” reports Paul Holland, co-owner, Holland Flooring, Milford, N.H. “There is a niche in the marketplace where people have a mindset that doesn’t favor wood, carpet or ceramic, and luxury vinyl tile gives them a viable, attractive alternative.”

Metroflor claims to have reinvented the luxury vinyl tile (LVT) category by making significant advances in performance and styling. The end result is floor tile that offers abundant design and color selections at opening price points through trade-up levels to provide shoppers with quality products at a moderate cost. “LVT performs and is backed by strong warranties, easy maintenance and, most importantly, the aesthetics are exceptional,” said Michael Raskin, president of Metroflor, a division of Halstead International.

Metroflor products are composed of vinyl backing, printed film and a thick wearlayer fused together under high heat and pressure, creating a solid mass that will wear for many years. Computer-controlled technology helps ensure the finest products. “Metroflor provides a long-wearing floor guaranteed to stay dimensionally stable, withstand wear and most household chemicals, maintain color fastness and requires no waxing,” Raskin pointed out. All products are manufactured according to international standards and quality assurance based on ISO 14001, 9001 and 9002.

The thick, clear wearlayers offer years of carefree enjoyment. “Depending upon the Metroflor quality you choose, home owners can get up to a lifetime warranty,” Raskin noted. “This is a result of the strong composition of our wearlayer combined with our manufacturing process.”

Metroflor said it is implementing recycled vinyl, whenever possible, in its product lines and taking an initiative to help preserve the environment. All products provide excellent indoor air quality, are non-allergenic, do not promote fungal growth and are recyclable. “We began using 25% recycled material in most of our products and within the year,” Raskin said, “our goal is to have all our resilient tiles and planks to that 25% recycled content mark.”

Quality alternatives to natural materials

Floor designs resembling wood, tile and stone are top sellers in LVT, namely because they provide natural-looking styles without the maintenance headaches associated with these materials. These faux looks are positioned as quality alternatives to natural materials and also said to be more forgiving, comfortable underfoot and carry a lower installation cost. “We can be more creative and innovative because we have very few constraints when creating new designs that are in fashion,” Raskin said.

Collections available from Metroflor include American (plank), Metro Design (plank and tile), Solidity (vinyl ceramic tile), Tru-Tile (vinyl ceramic available with grout), and Tru-Woods (hardwood flooring sealed in protective vinyl). A new collection, Konecto, is positioned as installer friendly, requiring no adhesives and minimal subfloor preparation ( FCNews Jan. 15/22).

“It’s got everything from oddball metallic patterns to your basic ceramic look,” John Downer, president, Buddy’s Carpet in Cincinnati, said of the product lines. “The lines really have some cool looking patterns that you can mix and match for the house.”

Like most LVTs, Metroflor products are touted as either a vinyl upgrade or a quality alternative to natural materials. Avalon Carpet Tile & Flooring, a 12-store chain headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., markets Metroflor as an option for customers shopping for a hardwood or ceramic tile look, according to Sean O’Rourke, hard surface product manager. Plus, the product is priced right, he said, adding that it offers excellent value when compared to the installed cost of natural materials as well as resilient sheet goods. “Typically, our people will say, ‘If you’re interested in a wood material, look at this,’” he said. “The design realism on Metroflor is definitely better looking than a sheet goods product.”

Seeing is believing

Some dealers show Metroflor LVT on display floors and merchandising racks within their ceramic and wood departments, while others display it in the resilient flooring area. “I have individual samples of Solidity tile within the ceramic and marble display. It shows how well the product looks compared to the real thing,” said Gerry Yost, co-owner, Serenity Design, Ship Bottom, N.J. “We also show pictures of different floor installations we’ve done to promote the product.”

The Metroflor merchandising display at Buddy’s—situated strategically inside the showroom between the ceramic tile and resilient flooring departments—serves as a silent salesperson for the line. “Once we have customers in our showroom looking in the general hard surface area, I think the aesthetics of the patterns on the rack draw a lot of people right to it,” Downer said. “When the customer starts looking at it, she really likes it.”

Buddy’s sold the product successfully in the commercial sector for about five years and began selling it to consumers about a year ago. “It’s really taken off for us,” Downer said. “It offers a wide variety of natural looks that are realistic. Plus, the product installs well and we haven’t had any problems with it.”

Holland Flooring reports similar success selling the line to both commercial and residential customers for the past seven years. Metroflor is a particularly easy sell to commercial customers who are interested in purchasing floors that can withstand the heavy pounding of abusive foot traffic while maintaining their good looks. “It’s fairly easy to sell a commercial product if you can sit down with a customer and talk about things like wearlayer and thickness,” Holland said. “Some supermarkets are going to the commercial Metroflor product because they don’t have to worry about replacing it after a period of time.”

Consumers prefer LVT over conventional sheet goods in kitchens, family rooms and entryways for similar reasons, Holland said. “You get better value in the long run.”

Metroflor, headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla., was founded by Gerald Raskin in the late 1960s as a distributor of primarily domestic manufactured flooring products covering the New York metropolitan area. “My dad began going overseas and developed proprietary products that were designed and branded under Metroflor and expanded his coverage throughout the U.S.,” Raskin said. “The focus was always on innovations, design and branding.”

Later, Gerald teamed up with Halstead New England and manufactured products in Taiwan, China and Korea. Metroflor later merged with Halstead after Gerald’s death and Michael took over the business. “We have a great appreciation for style, design and color,” he said. “We search the globe for floors that make a statement.”