By Matthew Spieler
Despite laminate flooring’s multitude of environmental, styling and performance features, times have been especially tough for the category in this recession. To their credit, manufacturers have not been deterred and continue to innovate, hoping once the recession starts receding, the segment will be in a position to gain market share. This was evident at Surfaces 2010 in Las Vegas as suppliers big and small came to the show with new formats, designs and merchandising systems.

Nearly all new styles were concentrated in wood looks, with the exception of a couple of mills which also unveiled tile designs. When it came to mimicking wood, this year’s operative word in laminate is “long”—as in the overall length of each plank, in many cases exceeding 7 feet. The color palette has been subdued some with more focus on strong neutral grays, while the overall texture has been softened to reflect a more contemporary distressed feel. Wide widths are still en vogue, and technology is allowing many to use thinner formats— down to 7mm—while still maintaining the overall integrity of the product.

The following is a look at what some of the major U.S. mills and importers were showing at Surfaces:

Armstrong

Milton Goodwin, vice president of laminate and ceramic, said New England Long Plank is the company’s entry into the extended plank trend. Coming in at over 7 feet in length and 7 inches wide, the four SKUs feature embossed-in-register (EIR) texture and Armstrong’s Lock & Fold installation system.

On the Bruce side, a key introduction was Mineral Forest, an 8mm thick, 5-inch-wide collection that mimics petrified wood.

Lamett

Six colors make up the Lamett Long Planks collection. Each plank is 7 feet 5 inches long and features a piano finish. Perry Coker, president of Lamett North America, said the collection’s colors compliment the 20 existing laminate hues,bringing the company’s total to 26 “top selling styles.”

Lamipro

In addition to increasing the overall color spectrum on its top selling styles, the company introduced a 12-inch-wide plank in five colorations.

Though it is only 8mm thick, Pete Ciganovich, executive vice president, said the collection features an AC5 rating, a fold-down locking system from Välinge and a warranty package second to none—20 years commercial and lifetime residential.

Mannington

The Longwood collection is the mill’s entry into this new dimension. At 12mm thick, the six-SKU collection is part of Mannington’s premium product lineup. Its length is nearly 7 feet, and each design features the company’s high clarity Diamond Bay finish along with the popular 5G locking system.

With 35% of its laminate sales in tile looks, David Sheehan, vice president of resilient and laminate business, said the mill also introduced a number of new lines, including Malaysian Palm, whose visual comes from a Chinese Palm.

Despite the tough economy, he noted it has been seven years since Mannington updated its laminate display. With that, the company introduced Ultraflex, “a unique and proprietary system that makes updating very easy because you can change the size of the sample holders— and it only needs one tool to set up the unit.”

Max Windsor

The company’s first entry in the laminate category is Domain. Hailed as a “new generation” of laminate, the German engineered line comes in 22 colors— from light to dark—featuring smooth and scraped surface treatments, and its Titanium finish comes in either matte or mirror.

Pete Spirer, marketing director, added the HDF Domain comes with Maxlock interlocking edges and ends, making installation “a snap.” And, because Max Windsor is so confident in the quality of the line, it is backing it with a 30-year wear warranty.

Monticello

As part of its goal to become a full-service supplier of flooring, the company is entering its second year carrying laminates and broadened its offerings for 2010 with such collections as Florence, Pompeii and Milan.

Florence is only 7mm thick, but due to its German engineering the three SKUs incorporate the 5G locking system. Pompeii is a little thicker, coming in at 8mm. All three SKUs are textured. While Milan’s 10mm construction, 5G locking system and four-sided bevel make it an upper-end product. Tim Tipton, vice president of sales, said the line is positioned to attract consumers seeking more value for their buck.

Pergo

Making its return to Surfaces as an exhibitor, and settled in under its new organizational structure, officials from the mill said the company that helped spur the category in the late 1990s is once again ready to commit to specialty retailers with new laminate and LVT collections.

Along with its entry into Long Strip Planks and tile formats, Pergo introduced “High speed Laminate With Nano technology,” a 7mm HDF board that features unique composite service layers; a new Pergo Commercial line that was created specifically for light commercial environments and includes a multi-layer EIR. Many of the introductions also feature new technology by Pergo, including the patented PerfectFold Joint locking system and TitanX Advanced Surface Technology, the mill’s premium scratch protection finish.

George Kelley, CEO, said these are “game-changing products that underscore our commitment to help the specialty channel succeed.”

Quick-Step

In addition to a new collaboration with HGTV interior designer Erinn Valencich to show consumers how easy it is to decorate with laminate, the company launched Verseque with the new GenuEdge technology.

Roger Farabee, senior vice president of marketing, said GenuEdge allows the product’s surface design and color to “literally roll over the edge, creating the same visual found in real wood planks.”

The 8mm Verseque also features Quick-Step’s new ScratchGuard Advanced Finish Protection, which Farabee said is four times more resistant to micro scratches than other brands.

Tarkett

Taking advantage of its global presence, the mill introduced the Trends and Solutions collections. “Trends features realistic embossing, beveled edges and narrow widths at a reasonable price, while the 8mm Solutions is a perfect performance-value stocking product,” said Jeff Katz, residential director of laminate.

It features Tarkett’s AmeriCore core board made from 100% cherry and oak chips, along with the mill’s revised TLock installation system.