Surfaces 2009 - March 2009

By Darius Helm, Brian Hamilton and Anne Harr

Though there was less traffic in the aisles and some booths were ominously quiet, others were bustling, reflecting the vigorous efforts of flooring manufacturers to come up with the right formula to attract attendees. Judging by the range of strategies employed, including the ever popular more-of-the-same approach, a lot of marketshare will be changing hands this year.

Attendance at the show was down 31% to about 24,000 from 34,540 last year, and exhibitors were down 29% from 982 in 2008 to just about 700 this year. The main show floor on the upper level featured many new faces. Most of the big players, like Beaulieu, Daltile, Anderson, Stanton and others, were there in force. Other significant players, like Mirage, were not in attendance. Mannington, which has for years had the biggest space, instead exhibited in a ballroom right around the corner in the Venetian. Armstrong, which hasn’t exhibited at the show since 2003, also used a space in the Venetian.

The expo is held on two levels with fundamentally different atmospheres. The upper level, with all the big players, feels like a mall compared to the lower level, which is reminiscent of a bazaar with its smaller booths and incredibly wide array of unexpected and often obscure offerings. And despite the drop in attendees, both levels saw plenty of business taking place. Some exhibitors commented that there seemed to be a greater proportion of distributors this year, compared to retailers, and there was a sense that the percentage of motivated buyers was higher.

While expectations for bold design directions and major innovations were understandably modest, there were still a few surprises. Among the most compelling was Välinge’s Wood Fibre Flooring, an ingenious new technology for surfacing laminates that could have a major impact on the industry. Many of the innovations at the show revolved around the greening of products, so it appears that the sustainability movement is maintaining some momentum in this recession. Several hardwood players announced FSC certifications, and producers in all categories showcased products with high recycled content. Even vinyl players had recycled content stories, like Centiva with Stria, a vinyl tile with total recycled content of 51%.

There weren’t a lot of major announcements at the show, though perhaps the most significant was Mohawk’s acquisition of Solutia’s Wear-Dated brand. However, it’s not entirely clear what this acquisition will mean. Mohawk did not purchase any nylon production facilities from Solutia, nor did it buy the Ultron commercial brand. And the long term impact on other carpet mills using Wear-Dated fiber is not yet clear.

For the complete Surfaces story and highlights of the intros, see the March 2009 issue of Floor Focus Magazine.

Print the Article