Lancaster, Pa.— Armstrong World Industries will unveil a host of new residential products in its major categories next month and have them to retailers by early spring. Featuring new technologies, innovative styling, high performance and easy maintenance, the new offerings add sales appeal, uniqueness and heightened fashion to the mix. In resilient sheet flooring there is a Designer Solarian Collection, the next generation, and four new designs in both Destinations and Starstep/Traditions.

In Armstrong’s wood category, wider widths, distressed surfaces and fine furniture finishes define the new Bruce collections; high-end exotic species, wide-width planks and designer-quality choices mark the new entries of Hartco, and blends of Old World charm with handcrafted looks characterize the Robbins presentations. In laminate flooring, Armstrong has incorporated proprietary technology with advanced printing techniques to create realistic, natural visuals like wood and stone. The company has also has developed a new high performance limestone-enriched luxury tile called River-Stone, regarded as “an alternative to ceramic tile.”

Armstrong executives are very optimistic about the massive rollout of new products, color and design additions, and the marketing and merchandising support planned for the program. Considerable research and its pursuit of technology contributed to the development of the array of new products. “We not only made the commitment to supply our dealers with the finest, most advanced products out there, we also had to be reasonably certain that we could present consumers with cutting-edge flooring in all categories,” said Roger Oates, vice president, marketing, Armstrong Floor Products. “And I believe these new products will do that.”

Resilient Armstrong’s Solarian brand has enjoyed a preeminent position in the marketplace for more than three decades, so the company decided to launch a Designer Solarian Collection, a new version of an old classic. The sheet flooring features an exclusive InlaidColor Graphics Technology, an inlaid stencil process, combined with a MasterWorks Technology in rotogravure printing, which give the products unprecedented visual depth, dramatic texture and design clarity. “We’ve taken flooring design to exciting new heights,” said Allen Cubell, vice president, Residential Sheet, Armstrong Floor Products. “The designs are beyond anything we could have imagined.”

Designer Solarian, available in 6-1/2-ft. wide rolls, comes in four styles and 14 colors, flexible vi nyl backing, a patented Clean-Sweep surface for easy cleaning, a 15-year residential ToughGuard warranty and a five-year light commercial warranty. Rio Vista is a 9-3/4-in. paver with the look of Durango limestone accented by diamond-shaped in-sets. Stone Mosaic has the linear look of a smaller scale, staggered rectangular format with fine, colored chips complementing the smooth lines of travertine in each tile. Sculptured Stone features a random layout in a rustic, French provincial limestone with milky high spots accentuated with fine chips.

Maidstone is a large scale 13-in. rustic, multicolor slate with textural high spots in dimension and texture. Armstrong also added four new designs to Destinations, a line introduced two years ago and still popular, and to Starstep/Traditions, which are virtually indistinguishable from real wood, stone, slate and ceramic pavers. Destinations features ToughGuard durability, guaranteed not to rip, tear or gouge from normal household use, a CleanSweep surface and a 15-year warranty. Additions to Destinations are: Stoney Creek, a highly realistic design with highlights and shadows capturing the image of a 2-in. tumbled marble, in six colors.

Tumblestone is a 6-in. stone paver with a thin, realistic grout line and a low gloss finish, in four neutral colors. Mesita is a three-dimensional rustic brick paver with realistic grout, a limestone finish on the brick and an ultra-low gloss surface, in three colors. Lime Rock is a large multi-size sandstone paver with realistic grout and embossing that creates a 3-D quality, a low gloss finish, in five colors. The StarStep line has a felt-back structure, Tough-Guard, Clean-Sweep and a 15-year warranty. Traditions, Armstrong’s Interflex structure designed to bridge sub-floor irregularities, offers Clean-Sweep and a 10-year warranty. Four designs were added to both the StarStep and Traditions lines: Natural Pecan, a 4-in. plank design of pecan wood detailing the graining in Chestnut and Natural.

Triana, a 12-in. honed marble visual picking up natural fossilized shells to enhance the image with narrow, straight grout lines in three colors. Old Country is a 4-in. wide plank image of real oak with an embossed texture, in three colors. Atlantica is a 12-in. natural slate image with subtle shifts of color, embossing, and sand textured grout, in six colors. Wood American Originals, the new Bruce line, comes in 3- and 5-in. wide random-length planks of maple with square edges and ends, and in 3-, 5- and 7-in. wide planks in oak with micro-beveled edges and ends. They have the look of distressed Red Oak or maple and are designed for high traffic areas, making them suitable for both residential and commercial use. Available in six colors, they have Bruce’s Permion no-wax finish in low gloss, a 25-year residential finish warranty, a three-year commercial finish warranty and lifetime structural warranties.

Bruce’s new Liberty Plains Collection of solid premium hardwoods comes in 3-, 4- and 5-in. wide planks in select species, including oak, maple and ash, in six colors. The products are coated with the UV-cured Dura-Luster Plus finish for beauty and durability and are backed by a 25-year residential finish warranty and a lifetime warranty for structural integrity. Turlington Plank has a super-smooth quality finish, a satin-like surface that looks and feels like fine furniture. The 3/8-in. engineered planks are 3- and 5-in. wide with four-sided micro-beveled edges. Available in six colors with low gloss UV-cured Dura-Luster Plus no wax urethane finish, it has a 15-year residential finish warranty, lifetime structural integrity, adhesive bond and sub-floor moisture protection warranty.

Targeting consumer demand for exotic hardwood species, Hartco offers the Valenza Collection, Beckford Plank, Biella Plank and Verdone Plank. The Valenza Collection builds on two interior design trends: a move toward naturally exotic materials and Global Fusion, which integrates elements from around the world. The Valenza group combines the highest quality with the beauty of exotic species, such as Cabreuva, Jatoba, Kempas, Lapacho, Pradoo and Sakura. The first three are also available in engineered construction. The Collection comes in 3-1/2-in. planks, has micro-beveled edges and ends, a 25-year residential finish warranty and a lifetime structural warranty. Engineered products also carry a three-year commercial finish warranty.

Beckford Plank, an engineered oak product in two bold widths and five colors, combines fashion and function. It has an extra smooth piano finish, eased edges and ends, HartGuard Deluxe Low-Gloss ultra-violet cured urethane finish that features an aluminum oxide technology that repels spots, spills and stains. It is backed by a 15-year residential finish warranty, lifetime structural integrity warranty and adhesive-bond and sub-floor moisture protection warranty. Verdone Plank has boldly defined wood graining, rich textured detail and character marks in extra-wide planks. It comes in three colors with micro-beveled edges and ends, HartGuard Deluxe finish, a 25-year residential finish and lifetime structural warranties.

Biella Plank is engineered natural oak in 3-1/2-in. width with detailed wood graining and micro-beveled edges and ends. It has the Hartco Permion finish and carries a 25-year residential finish and lifetime structural warranties. Canadian Birch by Robbins is a contemporary visual with smooth clear lines that make it distinctive in its simplicity. Random length planks are 2-1/4-, 3-1/4- and 4-1/4-in. wide with micro edges and ends. It comes in four colors and features the Forever II finish, a 25-year residential finish and lifetime structural warranties.

Robbins also unveiled Legno Vestuto and Legno Lavorato, two solid hardwoods with extra-wide planks and extended lengths that highlight a handcrafted look, featuring their aged, hand-hewn finish, rich texture and long lines. In White Oak with a 25-year residential finish warranty. Legno Lavorato in Naturale is 6-5/16-in. wide in random lengths and micro-beveled edges and ends. Legno Vestuto in Paglia is 6-5/26-in. wide in random lengths and square edges and ends. The Passeggiata Collection comes in extra-long planks made from varying lengths of wood fastened end-to-end and are easy to install. Engineered hardwoods, they have micro-beveled edges and square ends, and carry a 25-year residential finish and lifetime structural warranties. There are three species and five colors. For additional information on Armstrong or its products, call 717/397-0611.