By Sarah Zimmerman
With the current economic state affecting all categories—both on the residential and commercial sides—it seems manufacturers are innovatively investing more than ever to amend past problems, create new and better products and programs, and prepare to be in the best possible position for the turnaround.

One category doing just this is commercial resilient, which has, of course, taken some blows along with the rest, but maintains an optimistic view of the future based on its common market use, new technology— allowing for greener, better performance products—and fresh, expansive design capabilities.

“While a slowdown in overall commercial came in late 2008, the real decline hit quarter one of ’09,” said Dominic Rice, vice president of product management – commercial resilient for Armstrong. “We expect to continue seeing a slowdown in all commercial areas, but healthcare and education— focus markets for resilient— will be least affected and longer term will have the strongest growth potential, thanks to the demographics in the U.S. of Baby Boomers and Boomlets.”

Also taking a glass-half-full approach, David Thoresen, executive vice president – North America for LG, explained everyone was hoping for a stronger performance in the first half of ’09. However, he maintains newer players to the game—like LG—remain in a growth phase even now, and therefore have nowhere to go but up, hopefully two-fold in the economic resurgence.

And one area of growth for the category continues to be green. According to industry leaders, virtually all resilient products are environmentally friendly, whether it’s through low-VOC emissions, low-maintenance options or a very long in-service life.

“Environmental product attributes are increasingly important selection criteria for resilient products,” Rice explained, “but are also weighed with the other key selection criteria of cost, performance and aesthetics to determine the right product for the space. We need to remember that the definition of environmental differs from end user to end user.”

So to fill all niches, Armstrong offers a variety of commercial-grade products across several shades of green and at various price and performance points. For example, its Migrations BioBased Tile and linoleum with NATURCote offer rapidly renewable, biobased content and high-recycled content, while vinyl composition tile (VCT) incorporates recycled content and is a regionally manufactured product with regionally sourced materials.

Expanding further on the variance in green among the category, Don Evans, vice president of sales and marketing for EarthWerks, and Kevin Kolaski, manager of EarthWerks’ commercial business unit, talked about not only the company’s product offerings but also its environmental programs and practices. “The manufacture of vinyl flooring is extremely efficient from the low use of energy, water and human resources,” they explained, “not to mention products are long-lasting, easy to maintain and 100% recycleable.”

Currently, all of EarthWerks’ commercial resilient products are manufactured with a minimum of 50% recycled content. It also offers an easy-to-use spray adhesive—available in 100% recyclable containers— which allows for simple installations, repairs, removals and reuses. And, the company’s “Green for Life” program provides full services from the reclamation, reuse and recycling process after the materials’ useful life.

Similarly, LG markets sustainable offerings due to its use of recycled content in all key products, long life cycle and ease of maintenance. “We are getting to the point where recycling post-consumer floors is becoming more and more cost effective and has a genuine impact on the environment,” Thoresen suggested. “Our hope is that the green movement stays focused on this.”

Future hurdles & successes

So what’s the resilience of resilient come 2010? First, leaders said there are a few hurdles to jump over in the second half of ’09. All heads obviously noted market demand due to the economy, credit and costs as areas in need of attention.

However, EarthWerks’ Evans and Kolaski also mentioned misinformation in marketing materials, product dumping and lack of understanding and appreciation from specifiers and end users on vinyl’s low cost/long life combination, as well as its “outstanding recyclability” as factors.

Adding to the pot, Thoresen pointed to the importance of partners heading into next year. “There are becoming more alliances in the marketplace to pick and choose from,” he explained. “One of our better decisions was Starnet for instance. Since being named fastest growing vendor at its spring meeting, our level of interest with other members has been nothing less than outstanding.” However, he warns: “Choose carefully, as conversely there are many other partners without the same returns.”

And Armstrong’s Rice encouraged continued innovation, noting design as one example—an attribute rather than an issue for resilient—as another focal point to stay ahead of the game. “Since it is so widely used, designers want a breadth of possibilities to meet all needs,” he said. “A lot has to do with the execution of the designs; if you’re going to do it, do it really well. And remember, key drivers in any environment are product innovation from a well-established, reputable supplier.”