Thomasville, N.C.— Unilin Flooring, parent company of Quick-Step, has announced plans to build a 600,000-sq.-ft. laminate flooring manufacturing plant here, which will supply product to the North American market. The new plant represents an $80 million investment and a further commitment by the Belgian company to sell its products in North America. “We are pleased to announce that because of our success with the Quick-Step brand in the U.S. market, Unilin Flooring has decided to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility here,” said Piet Huyghe, Quick-Step’s president. “This new plant will give us an even greater ability to serve this market, which has proven to be so receptive to our product.”

The construction of this plant, which will include the latest in advanced manufacturing equipment, confirms Unilin’s intention to become a leading player in the North American laminate flooring market, he noted. The company’s Quick-Step brand, first introduced in the U.S. less than three years ago, has already become a leader in the industry with 17 major distributors and thousands of retail outlets selling the product across the country. “The success of our brand is what has driven the need for this new manufacturing facility,” said Tim Tipton, the company’s director of marketing. “Technological advances in the product that enhance both its beauty and durability are just one reason for Quick-Step’s success.”

Quick-Step is an innovator in the manufacture of laminate flooring products, he noted. As the inventor of direct pressure laminate and Uniclic, the patented tongue-and-groove locking system, Quick-Step “leads the industry in cutting-edge innovation. These innovations have created a more sophisticated and natural looking laminate floor. “As laminate flooring becomes more increasingly realistic in look, feel and sound,” added Tipton, “its sales continue to grow. Laminate flooring purchases are climbing at 10 times the rate of carpet and five times the rate of both hardwood flooring and ceramic tile.”

Once the plant is operational, Quick-Step will realize its strategy of becoming the first full-integrated producer of laminate flooring in the U.S., noted Huyghe. The company first established a manufacturing facility in Thomasville in 2001, purchased a core plant in Mt. Gilead, N.C., last fall, and now will construct this plant, which is expected ultimately to employ 330 people and be operational by the spring of 2005. These three facilities will produce Quick-Step product that will be shipped all over North America. For more information, visit www.quick-step.com. —Louis Iannaco