Salem, N.J.—As a four-time winner of the Award of Excellence’s Best Overall Manufacturer, Mannington Mills understands it is looked to as a leader for product innovation, design and helping dealers and distributors be successful, and for Surfaces, the company is prepared to show the industry “What’s Next In Flooring.” “When times are tough,” said Tom Davis, Mannington’s president and CEO, “you look at yourself in different ways. It forces you to be creative, and, at Mannington, we’ve done a number of things to take us into the year with a great deal of anticipation and excitement.”

The mill plans to take that internal thrill and project it outward at Surfaces in a big way—from new, innovative resilient, laminate and wood products to an abundance of incentives. “Surfaces is very important,” he explained, “especially for us as we rely on the specialty dealer. So we hope to share our enthusiasm with the attendees at the show.” “We want to keep the momentum we’ve built up in the last few years going,” said Ed Duncan, senior vice president of residential marketing. To do that, Kim Holm, president of Mannington’s residential business, said the company was “very aggressive” in 2001 laying the foundation. For example, the mill made its biggest push in display placements and “invested heavily” in technology and equipment, including a 108,000-sq.-ft. expansion of its laminate facility in High Point, N.C., allowing for new and expanded manufacturing capabilities and more warehouse space once complete by mid-year.

While Mannington’s 2002 introductions in resilient, laminate and wood are a direct result from the investments, Mark Brown, resilient product manager, said the development of new products were driven by what the consumer wants most of all: fashion. “It’s all a matter of style. That’s what she wants first and foremost and the old, traditional vinyl is not fashionable.” To create such a product, he said all details need to be looked at. “It’s a combination of pattern, color, texture and gloss. They all have to work together. To accomplish that, we taken our NatureForm technology to a new level with NatureForm Textures.” Joe Amato, director of styling, said, up to now, Mannington has come as close as anyone in achieving a resilient product that truly captured the realism of the natural product it was mimicking. “Every stone or wood surface has its own unique texture and pattern and it’s our job to mimic it as best we can. We were almost there with NatureForm as it combined an overall mechanical embossing with chemical registering. “Now,” he continued, “with this patent pending technology we can do in-register mechanical embossing. It not only gives a more detailed look, it allows us to fit the right texture with the right stone. This really allows us to open doors in creating realistic products.” Stuart Beattie, vice president of styling and design, called the innovation, “truly advanced. It’s never been done with a 12-ft. wide vinyl. This really is the Holy Grail in capturing detail and design.” Holm said Mannington “wants to recreate the category” in a way similar to what polyester has done in recent years by getting away from “the cheap look and feel.”

Two products—Shenandoah and Cozumel—in nine SKUs will kick off NatureForm Textures. The products will be within the existing NatureScapes collection at a price in line with the other products. Like all Mannington resilient products, these will feature the company’s Guardian Protection wearlayer for added strength and durability. Even though the company’s laminate plant expansion is not complete, it does not mean Surfaces attendees will not get the chance to see “what’s next” in this category. With sales of glueless floors accounting for more than 20% of the industry, and Mannington’s strategic focus to offer fashionable floors in all types of products in all price points utilizing the latest technologies, the company has introduced M-Lock. John Himes, marketing director for wood and laminate, said the glueless floor features “a new and unique locking profile that has outstanding strength, is easy to install and is outside all litigation issues.” Two technological advances were used to create this product: a proprietary waterproof sealant on any non-laminate exposed area and a high clarity finish. “This high-tech application allows for all edges to be sealed from water 100%. That means you can’t even use a waterbased glue to glue the seams even if you wanted to.”

The initial M-Lock collection will be offered in 10 woodgrain planks and comes with a 20-year residential warranty against fading, staining, wear and water damage. A five-year light commercial guarantee is also available against fade, stain and wear. It will be positioned between the NatureForm Plank and NatureForm Tile lines in terms of price point. Also on the laminate front, Mannington’s popular iCORE collection, while still available for residential applications, has been transformed into a heavy duty commercial floor. Ten wood plank designs are in the offering. “Even though we launched it two years ago with a residential and light-to-medium commercial push,” said Davis, “we feel it is better suited for higher traffic areas normally found in retail and restaurant settings. We spent the last year modifying it to justify the heavy commercial with large expanses rating including bringing most of the production in-house.”

Finally, in the area of hardwood flooring, Himes said Mannington wants to continue “to differentiate it-self, while expanding our specialty dealers’ business.” To achieve that in 2002, the company has launched the Trade Winds collection of four exotic woods—Canelo Teak, Magellan Oak, Island Chestnut and Andino Cherry—in five SKUs. This Gold Series line features seven-ply engineered construction and Mannington’s 7-Step UltraWear Plus finish with ScratchResist. To help create excitement with this line for salespeople, Mannington is giving away a seven-day trip for two to Tahiti. The winner will be picked in June. Attendees do not have to wait until June though to get their fair share of prizes from Mannington as the company will be giving a luxury, seven-day vacation to Hawaii. Also, executives will handing over the keys to a 2002 model Harley-Davidson V-Rod and a Ford Thunderbird. Both vehicles will be on display in Mannington’s expansive booth on the upper level of the Sands Expo Center. To find out more about these prizes, stop by Jay’s Bargain Basement, a special exhibit area by Mannington in the lower hall. —Matthew Spieler