Beyond Las Vegas: Product introductions from flooring firms not exhibiting at Surfaces - Jan 2018

By Beth Miller

Each year, flooring firms have the option to attend multiple shows, including Surfaces, in order to reveal new products. And each year, some firms choose to go their own way. While Shaw’s recently merged Anderson Tuftex brand will be exhibiting at Surfaces, the Shaw brand will showcase its products through its regional dealer conventions. Also introducing products through other means are Metroflor, Chilewich, Flexco, Oriental Weavers, Emil Group, Object Carpet and Milliken.

SHAW CARPET
Shaw Industries has not exhibited at Surfaces in 14 years; however, its newly created Anderson Tuftex brand will launch its premium lines at the show. The Shaw Flooring Network Convention is a biennial event; last year it took place in Orlando, Florida, and the next one won’t be until 2019. This year, Shaw will host numerous regional shows to launch its new products.

Last year was a busy one for Shaw, particularly in the fourth quarter, from investments and acquisitions to new brands and new partnerships. In October, Shaw made known its plans to invest more than $42 million in its Meigs County, Tennessee carpet plant. It also purchased Tricycle, Inc., a technology innovator supporting the commercial interiors business, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In November, Shaw revealed the brand merger of its Anderson Hardwood Floors and Tuftex Carpets of California. In the same month, it declared its plans to shutter its Stuart, Virginia solid hardwood manufacturing facility by the end of the year. In December, Shaw announced its investment of $184 million in its Andalusia, Alabama manufacturing facility, which produces face fiber used to manufacture its carpet. Shaw also signed the United Nations Global Compact.

For 2018, Shaw’s soft surface focus is the roll out of its Bellera carpet collection. “Bella” means beauty, and “era” means timeless. The collection is made up of solids, tonals, tweeds, barberpoles and pattern loop visuals. Bellera comes in 13 styles. The Bellera collection will feature Shaw’s

Endurance high performance fiber, its reengineered fiber technology with advanced dye chemistry. This high performance PET fiber is capable of withstanding harsh chemical spills. Bellera also includes R2X stain and soil protection. All of this is married with Shaw’s Lifeguard backing system. Bellera comes with a ten-year unlimited warranty. Translated, this means that Shaw will replace the carpet with no questions asked as long as the product is installed indoors and over cushion. Labor is covered for the first year.

SHAW HARD SURFACE
Shaw is also launching several new products in the laminate, hardwood, resilient and tile categories.

Repel, Shaw’s water-resistant laminate product, will be available in three new styles: Woodhaven, Gold Coast and Kings Cove. Woodhaven comes in four contrasting colors that range from a light to a dark brown with an embossed-in-register (EIR) surface texture. Gold Coast is available in five neutral and earthtone colors, including light and dark hues, and its surface texture is wirebrushed. Kings Cove has a scraped surface texture and also comes in five neutrals and earthtones. Repel is a mixed species look that comes in a 12mm platform and a 5” width. In order to prevent water from penetrating the click system, an additive has been mixed with the lacquer at the bevel. Repel comes with Shaw’s 30-year warranty.

Shaw introduced an EIR surface texture on its new Classic collection of entry-level laminates, which is something it has never done before on this level of product. Classic Concepts is a standard oak look that comes in four colors. Another EIR product is Classic Vintage, available in three hickory looks. Both styles come with a 7mm platform and an 8” width.

Falling between the entry level products and the high-end products are Coventry and Central Park. Both are 8mm beveled laminates with oak looks.

In the tile category, wood-look products make up 43% of Shaw’s sales. For 2018, Shaw will be introducing 16 new tile and stone products. Among these is Canal, an entry-level porcelain tile with a rustic hardwood visual that comes in a 6”x24” in three colorways.

Valentino is an Italian-sourced product that has proven very popular for 2017. This year, to complement Valentino, Shaw will introduce Timeless, a weathered hardwood-look glazed porcelain tile that is available in an 8”x32” plank. Timeless is available in four colors.

Tempest, a Turkish product, and Covenant come in one size and one color, though the 8”x48” long plank styles vary greatly in texture. Tempest is less textured than Covenant and comes in a blend of rich greys. Covenant features multiple tonal contrasts in a timeworn natural wood-look finish.

Shaw launched an engineered hardwood collection called Extreme Nature in 2016. It was such a popular product that Shaw will be revamping it to include new species for 2018. It originally came in a 9-1/4” width and will be reintroduced in a 7” width. The sliced-face collection is available in three styles: Reflections Ash, Reflections Maple and Reflections White Oak. Each are 1/2” products and 82-1/2” long. Ash and White Oak have wirebrushed veneers, and Maple has a distressed veneer with minimal texture. White Oak is available in three visuals: light, medium and dark. Ash, which Shaw has never before domestically manufactured in an engineered format, offers the highest variation rating of any Shaw wood product. Extreme Nature comes with Shaw’s Now & Forever Lifetime Warranty.

Shaw’s focus for its resilient program is fully launching its Floorté Pro collection of rigid core/SPC products. In June 2017, Shaw entered the SPC category with the launch of the Floorté Pro 5 Series in 4.5mm and 4.8mm thicknesses with a 12 mil wearlayer. The 20-color line comes in primarily oak visuals. New for 2018 will be 3 Series, a price point just below 5 Series, in a product called Impact 306C, a 3.4mm thick plank with a 6 mil wearlayer. Impact is launching in January in a 7”x48” format with a microbevel and comes in seven colors.

The 7 Series features a 6.5mm thickness and 20 mil wearlayer with 20 SKUs of plank and 20 SKUs of tile. All products come with the soft silence pad that has a 71 IIC (impact insulation class) sound rating. In the 7 Series tile line, Shaw added a bevel that gives the appearance of a 1/8” grout line. Both the 5 Series and 7 Series products will be offered with both direct glue and click options.

CHILEWICH
Chilewich’s Mosaic pattern on its flatweave area rug will now be available in a white/black colorway. The pattern uses a Jacquard construction and is made with Chilewich’s bi-color yarn, where each strand contains two different colors. And Market Fringe is handcrafted in collaboration with a small weaving mill in Los Angeles, California and finished in Chilewich’s factory in Georgia. It is available in six sizes in three colorways.

FLEXCO
Flexco has two new product introductions. FreeFlex is a collection of rubber tile, and Geodesy is a collection of solid vinyl tile.

The FreeFlex collection contains new sizes and shapes of PVC-free rubber tiles. It coordinates well with other types of flooring, such as carpet tile and LVT, while affording the durability of rubber.

Geodesy is a collection of new tone-on-tone speckled colorways of solid vinyl tile. Inspired by the study of Earth’s geometric shape and its gravitational pull, the placement of each colored chip within the Geodesy collection is random, and the design is shaped by gravity’s influence. This manufacturing process creates unique tiles where no two are alike.

METROFLOR
Metroflor will launch the extended Engage Genesis SPC line with its narrower, longer, wider and multi-length plank formats. All Engage Genesis SKUs feature Metroflor’s Isocore Technology and are 100% waterproof.

The 12 mil Engage Genesis 1200 Vol. 2 series is now available in 8”x48” planks and a narrow 6” format. In-register and enhanced grain embossing are offered with a painted accent bevel that provides more realistic plank definition than a microbevel.

Engage Genesis 1200ML Multi-Length series extends the 6” plank format to feature varying lengths of 24”, 36” and 60”. The 1200ML series is suited for residential and light to medium commercial settings.

Engage Genesis 2000XL Vol. 2 series planks are 9”x60” and feature in-register embossing as well as a painted accent bevel. A thicker 20 mil wearlayer makes these products suitable for a wide range of residential and heavy commercial applications.

The 20 mil Engage Genesis 2000T collection features the first-ever tile format in the large 16”x32” size, in Linen and Rough Concrete with a micro-beveled edge. These tiles are suitable for any residential setting and a wide range of heavy commercial settings.

All Engage Genesis products come with the FX3 Surface Protectant, which helps prevent abrasion and protects against stains, and it is infused with Ultra-Fresh treatment that inhibits mold growth. The larger format tiles include DropLock 100 locking technology.

EMIL GROUP
Emil launched its 20Twenty ceramic tile collection at Cersaie 2017. 20Twenty features different types of wood-look tile in various sizes, including its namesake 20cm x 20cm (8”x8”). The inkjet printed design mimics different wood species’ vein patterns, structures and colors, taken from different angles-from the side, from the end and along the length of the planks. The different sizes can be combined or alternated on floors or walls. 20Twenty is offered in five colorways.

Vintage is meant to look exactly as its name implies-worn wood with variations in shade and texture caused by passing time. Industrial is an oak-look tile inspired by a modern industrial style. Pallets White mimics a bleached, salvaged pallet, while Tavola’s walnut look is also meant to replicate the look of salvaged boards. Tronco reproduces the look of old oak logs, with their flaws and coloring. All five products are also available in two larger formats.

ORIENTAL WEAVERS
Oriental Weavers will be exhibiting its newest area rug products across town from Surfaces at the Las Vegas Market. Six new globally influenced designs will be added to the Richmond collection. Richmond, a machine-woven 100% polypropylene collection made in Egypt, is a blend of traditional designs and modern-day hues. It is comprised of deep blues, greys and ivory. It is one of Oriental Weavers’ top selling collections and has a suggested retail price of $599 for a 5’x8’ and an IMAP of $299 for a 5’x8’.

MILLIKEN
Milliken will expand its Imagine Figurative carpet collection for residential interiors and introduce several collections for mainstreet commercial applications, as well as new area rug collections.

Seven new products will be added to the Imagine Figurative residential carpet collection. Since its launch in 2012, the Imagine collection has grown to over 60 products. The 2018 launch is expanding this product line with the addition of a fourth color palette, Seaside Retreat, which includes several soothing blue tones.

In addition to offering all Imagine Figurative products on an optional commercial base, Milliken is also launching several new products that will have strong mainstreet appeal, including an expansion of Milliken’s LVT offering, which features a wide range of wood, stone and abstract patterns as well as both glue-down and loose-lay installation methods. All LVT products come with a 28 mil wearlayer.

In addition to LVT, Milliken is also launching a full range of carpet tile designed exclusively for the mainstreet market, comprised of 18 patterns of neutral colors. All carpet tile within the mainstreet range will come with Milliken’s patented cushion backing and lifetime warranties.

Milliken is launching several new area rug products in 2018. In The Moment captures a unique collection of everyday moments, like its Rainy Day Stroll, and is offered in three different sizes in ten rug styles. The Drayton Collection is made up of ten rug styles inspired by Drayton Mills, a historic textile plant based in South Carolina. Each Drayton rug style is available in five colors and five sizes.

OBJECT CARPET
Plankx, a new product of Object Carpet, which manufactures in Germany, will be distributed in the U.S. by Summit International Flooring. Plankx’ carpet tile product is made of 100% nylon. The colors range from bold patterns to warm, weathered wood. The collection is available in seven designs-Block, Industrial, Route, Surface Textile, Timber and Transfer-in 10”x40” planks that can be arranged in six different layouts.

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