Mannington’s Sobella Collection, the mill’s brand of fiberglass flooring.

By Louis Iannaco
Responding to the trend of floors that require no adhesive, an increasing number of resilient manufacturers have thrown their hats into the ring by launching their own floating products. And with the segment in general feeling the pressure to offer something different, new and exciting, the use of technology has given the sagging category a much-needed shot in the arm.

Armstrong offers two lines to choose from in this category—CushionStep and StrataMax. With CushionStep, noted Allen Cubell, vice president, marketing and new product development, the company has a very clear and simple trade-up story, featuring three collections called Wood, Stones and Impressions. The lines consist of three price points—good, better and best—with gauges of 80- 100- and 120mils, and wearlayers of vinyl, urethane and textured urethane, respectively.

“One of the differentiators, particularly in the higher end line, is that rough texture, the incredibly natural look and feel the products have,” he explained. “The look and feel, the design aspect of it is very desirable.”

However, Cubell noted, whenever you have something that “cushy” and it’s not glued or held down, it’s very susceptible to rips and tears. “So, to address these two specific issues we developed StrataMax. We felt, for the category to continue to have a future and grow, we needed a loose-lay product that was a true loose-lay and not have any of these caveats.”

StrataMax was designed specifically to be a loose-lay floor in the North American market, he noted. “It was designed not to buckle over normal household conditions, it was designed to be far more durable. If you held this product, you’d think it was a piece of LVT, not a fiberglass floor.

“On the performance angle,” stated Cubell, “it was designed to be much more stain-resistant so it’s easier to keep clean. The other aspect of StrataMax is, it can be installed directly over OSB, which the fiberglass floor really shouldn’t be.”

Stronger the better

In general, he said the product is “far more durable, far more stain-resistant, far more buckle-resistant, that’s why this is a very different floor. It’s just not going to buckle under normal household conditions. And the construction is very different.”

Because of its performance story, Cubell said the company has targeted the people who care the most about this attribute. “If you can get through production builders and property managers and the roll stock retailers who mostly serve those markets, you know you are going to have something that works. Many of them see the differences and see what the opportunity is here.”

Metroflor president Michael Raskin talked about Konecto, the first floating LVT flooring in the country that has a patented locking system requiring no adhesive. “The benefits are that it is waterproof, recyclable and easy to install and repair. The market has reacted very positively based on the fact it’s easy to install and is a product that gets almost no call backs.

Ease of installation

As with Cubell, when it comes to installation, “everyone benefits. It may be one of the easiest products to install so extensive training is not required. With products that are difficult to install it requires proper training, but Konecto installs quick, fast and easy, and after the floor is installed one would never know it was not glued down.”

Metroflor has three collections—Prestige and Sierra, both of which can be used for residential and commercial applications, and the Country Collection, designed for residential use only.

Regarding ease of installation, Cubell noted, “The category needs this flooring because, as any retailer will tell you, there are fewer trained, quality installers. And that’s in every category. So you need floors that are easier to lay.”

Being easier to install, he added, opens up more areas for the consumer to either do it themselves or have a quick installation, like the basement. “Whether it’s CushionStep or Strata-Max, if you have a flood, you can take it up and put it back. You can change your mind. If you put it in your kitchen and, a few years from now, you don’t want it there, you can put the whole thing or a small part of it someplace else. As a floating floor covering and as a quick-change floor it gives you so many more options than we had in the past.”

Mannington’s Sobella, which is the mill’s brand of fiberglass flooring, offers a variety of unique features and benefits. “It’s designed for the North American market by Mannington’s award-winning styling department,” said John Rocconi, resilient product manager. Sobella also employs the mill’s proprietary NatureForm Optix technology, which combines the beauty of nature with state-of-the-art printing, texturing and finishing processes.

“Sobella has excellent durability, stain and wear resistance thanks to the use of superior surface technologies, including ScratchResist,” he added. “From a merchandising standpoint, it comes in true 12-foot rolls, while many other manufacturers supply the wider European widths which do not fit into traditional dealer displays. Sobella’s merchandising unit has clear graphics, great product reveal and easily removable samples, making it easy to sell for the dealer and easy to shop for the consumer.”

While resilient floating floors have hit the market only within the last few years, the category has become very popular, capturing approximately 10% of the segment’s overall sales, according the FCNews research.

“It suits the needs of every customer,” said Rocconi. “From a consumer standpoint, Sobella is thick, soft, quiet and comfortable—all things she demands from a resilient floor. From a sales standpoint, it provides something ‘new and different’ in the resilient category for the salesperson to be excited about. And from an installation standpoint, it’s easy to handle, it won’t crease easily, it’s more forgiving over certain subfloors, and when it’s glued down, it uses a pressure sensitive adhesive.”

And whether it’s the kitchen, basement, dining rooms, recreation rooms, bathrooms or playrooms, the applications for floating resilient flooring are seemingly endless.

Benefits, attributes = popularity

Though the long-term benefits of a happy consumer are a big part of this product’s selling story, noted Rocconi, it also offers more immediate benefits. “Fiberglass-backed products tend to be in the mid to upper-end of the category, and the product mix allows for easy selling and an easy trade-up story that makes sense for both the salesperson and the consumer.”

According to Raskin, resilient floating flooring’s popularity is because “it does not require adhesive and it’s so easy to install. The LVT market has been heating up and this being the first floating LVT makes it even more popular because now we can go head-to-head with laminates and sheet vinyl which is a larger market than LVT. Customers like laminates because they’re glueless and customers like sheet vinyl for easy maintenance, and Konecto has both benefits. The look is also more realistic than sheet vinyl and laminates.”

All see a bright future for the segment. Over the next three to five years, Raskin noted, the sky is the limit. “Based on the reaction and current sales rate it will be a major product being sold both commercially and residentially.”

Rocconi said, we see the fiberglass flooring segment continuing to gain popularity in the next few years. “In our first year in the category, we’re experiencing extremely positive results, and we anticipate that will continue in the foreseeable future.”

According to Cubell, during the next three to five years, “I see this area growing significantly. My hope is that it would grow enough to offset the decline of the category in general. That may be a stretch, but as there are more and more unique attributes of the floor, consumers could wake up to it again.”