Farnham, Quebec—In recent months, Domco Tarkett’s residential and commercial divisions have made numerous expansions and additions to their resilient product collections in order to better fulfill the needs of its customers. Residentially, the manufacturer’s Domco and Tarkett business units have each broadened their products and services to give dealers more profit opportunities. Chip Braulick, director of marketing for Domco Tarkett Residential, said the company has continued to take advantage of its TruTex technology with its new products. “The introductions recreate in sheet flooring a broad range of slate and ceramic tile designs that maximizes the visual nuances between glossy and matte surfacing and a ‘hard’ hand available only with the TruTex Innovative Surface,” he explained. “And, the color palette of the new designs is strongly based on nature’s colors.”

The Domco division has responded to the growing demand for larger formats in ceramic and stone patterns with the addition of a large-scale, 16-in. ceramic tile design featuring TruTex to its Vintage collection. The technological innovation has also been added to Domco’s popular Rustic line with three designs in 12 colors. A new line, the 7500 Series also features Tru-Tex and is part of the Domco Dealer Money Maker (DMM) program, which allows dealers to earn more money through select products such as this one. 7500 features a thick construction and includes two slate looks and a ceramic tile pattern. On the Tarkett side, the TruTex technology can be found in its various introductions.

First up is the addition of a 9-in. scale design in four colors to its Contours line. Taking into account the major expansion of Contours last year, the collection now has 58 SKUs. Similar to what Domco did with its DMM program, Tarkett is beefing up is Retailer Profit Maker (RPM) program with the 7300 Series. RPM gives participating dealers a pric ing strategy that is targeted to higher retail margins so they can have more profit opportunities. Braulick said 7300 offers a thicker, high end construction that “maximizes the styling advantages of the TruTex surfaces.” The 7300 Series includes a modular slate design and two ceramic looks. Beyond these products, both Domco and Tarkett have enhanced their builder-grade offerings, CustomFlor and Preference, respectively. Braulick said the purpose is “to offer this key customer segment a collection of patterns and colors that meet the styling preferences of new home buyers.”

While the residential divisions of Domco Tarkett have been busy rounding out their collections, the companies within the commercial division have been equally as busy with their various business units adding to and expanding their product lines and services. Nafco is not only continuing to build on last year’s successful launch of PermaStone, it has three consumer-friendly displays available for dealers to show off its products in a number of configurations. Units include the Design Center, Sales Manager and Natural Selection. On the commercial side of the Tarkett unit is the launch of Expressions VCT. The 64-color collection is designed to meet the needs of various commercial applications.

The Azrock division has added a new Premium VCT to its lineup with Cortina-Stone, and expanded the color line of its vinyl enhanced tile (VET) series. Available in 14 colors with a marble design, CortinaStone “adds more variety to Azrock’s existing Premium VCT color choices,” said Jim Perrego, design manager at Domco Tarkett Commercial. “Every color was designed to enhance design flexibility by complementing our Solids and Feature Strips.” The 10 new colors to the VET series give the line 26 in all. “These new colors were added to meet the demand of the education and retail markets,” said David Voll, Azrock product manager. VET is a premium tile line because it has more vinyl than standard composition tile does, giving it enhanced durability and easy maintenance. In recent months, the Tarkett Sommer unit has broadened its Linosom linoleum collection with three additional color and design pallettes—Toscano, Etrusco and Trentino—while expanding the Veneto range. Trentino is made for the healthcare market and has already been a favorite is various facilities across Europe.

While its eight “healing” colors make it ideal for the healthcare segment, Greame Hendry, product manager, said they are also suitable for a variety of other public use applications such as schools and libraries. Toscano and Etrusco each have nine colors that all coordinate, allowing “for even greater possibilities when creating the perfect warm and inviting ambience,” Hendry said. Finally, with 39 colors now available in its palette, he said Veneto is “an inspiration for every sector—education, healthcare and commercial interiors.” In other news, the Domco Tarkett Commercial division has been busy strengthening its distribution network. In fact, in the past six months, it has six distributors which have either signed on or expanded their territories or product mixes.

First Design Distributing expanded its territory to include North and South Carolina, taking over the area previously serviced by JABE Distributors. Design has been a long-time Domco Tarkett distributor and will now service the new markets with Azrock, Domco and Nafco brands. Shortly after Design Distributing’s expansion, Space Flooring & Supplies, which supplies dealers in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee, added the Tarkett Sommer line to its stable of Domco Tarkett Commercial products. Earlier this year, Design Solutions, a four-year-old distribu tor in Maryland, north Virgin ia and the District of Columbia, took on the Tarkett Sommer Linosom collection. Then, Orders Distributing Co., which has been carrying at least one type of product from Domco Tarkett and its predecessors since the late 1950s throughout a large territory in the Southeast, added the Tarkett Sommer products to its lineup of Domco Tarkett Commercial goods. And, most recently, Wheeler, which started distributing the mill’s products last November in Florida, has added the Tarkett Sommer commercial and Tarkett residential products to its offerings. The distributor was already carrying Tarkett commercial and Nafco residential products. For more information about Domco Tarkett, call 514/293-3173.