Surfaces 2025 Review: Traffic might have been softer than last year, but most exhibitors report doing more business – March 2025

By Darius Helm and Jennifer Bardoner

The annual TISE event, comprising Surfaces + Tile + Stone, took place in Las Vegas, January 28 to 30, with over 800 global brands from 25 countries exhibiting across 400,000 square feet of show floor. By most accounts, attendance was down slightly compared to last year, but indications of an upturn in the residential market later this year drove a lot of activity, and most exhibitors were pleased with the results.

In addition to the show itself, there were the education sessions, over 80 in all, which started a day earlier, covering industry trends, challenges and strategies for long-term growth in the shifting marketplace, along with various meetings and roundtables, including women’s leadership events. And there were plenty of training and live demonstrations on the show floor, as well as a return of the puppy lounge, sponsored by Shaw-cute and cuddly, but also reinforcing the fact that over two thirds of U.S. households have pets.

FLOORING DEVELOPMENTS
Many manufacturers framed their focus as an effort to give homeowners the personalization they crave. Various producers gathered their intros into curated groupings to appeal to a range of aesthetic tastes. So, there was, unsurprisingly, a lot of variety. But perhaps the biggest movement was a shift to better-end goods and higher price points-for various reasons. One is the cost to borrow money. With higher interest rates, only consumers with money in the bank can afford to remodel, and their preference is for higher quality products that cost more. Manufacturers have responded by offering more medium to high-end floorcoverings.

At the same time, there has been a valiant effort to elevate the look of lower-priced goods through sophisticated, trendy hard surface visuals and more upscale effects in carpet.

Most of the producers offering resilient flooring focused on WPC, with several firms getting into it for the first time and others shifting their focus away from SPC to WPC, and there were also more flex LVT offerings. Much of this has little to do with the strength of the high end of the market. Rather, it’s in response to low-end SPC failures, often due to core formulations with too much filler (because it’s cheaper). Those that did showcase SPC generally offered thicker, more robust products.

Laminates continued to trend, along with hybrid products that often use modified laminate cores or similar constructions, touting waterproof and water-resistant characteristics.

Products featuring digital printing, including direct digital printing on cores, were on display in many of the booths, with most of the big players participating. And many emphasized the performance characteristics of their printed cores, making the case that these new technologies don’t reduce the durability of the floorcoverings.

HARD SURFACE TRENDS
Perhaps the biggest trend at this year’s show was a movement away from homogeneity. Over the last several years on the hard surface side, the most prominent trend has been how similar everything looks: pale white oaks, low gloss, in wide planks, with a slow movement toward naturals and some richer hues in the last couple of years. There were some signs last year that design trends were poised to broaden, but this year those trends were on full display.

In terms of species, in both real and faux products, this year saw a strong showing in red oak (both de-pinked and natural), hickory and maple, among others. There was also some pine, including real pine from AHF in its compressed wood offering under the Robbins brand, one of the most eye-catcthing real wood visuals at the show.

Some producers went wider and longer with their planks, but many offered narrower, shorter formats, as well. And in terms of hard surface colors, while full color ranges were offered in most collections, what manufacturers showcased were often rich, higher chroma midtones-an infusion of color, a return to the yellow and orange hues that were so dominant nearly 20 years ago.

Nothing was too jarring. Even the rustics were soft, timeworn and harmonious, and while there were dynamic wood looks-character-grade visuals with knots, mineral lines, spalting, contrast through cerusing and wirebrushing and on a larger scale through stains across or between boards, even a bit of surface texture with chatter marks-all of these effects, by and large, served the flow along the length of the product. And many producers offered select and higher-grade visuals for overall serene looks. For instance, there were plenty of maple looks but not a lot of its unique characteristics, like bird’s eye knots or the stripy wave effects of curly maple. Some wood and wood-look collections had a lot of range in color and contrast, and many of these introductions had more wood undertones-yellows, oranges, a few greens, warm greys-than in recent years.

There were many tile and stone looks in resilient flooring, but no massive swing in that direction. Stone looks ran the gamut, from scene-stealing marbles with dramatic veining to more subdued travertines and sandstones. And there was very little in the way of traditional tile looks, like encaustic patterns.

SOFT SURFACE TRENDS
Manufacturers put their best foot forward when it came to carpet this year, offering real improvements rather than the typical hype. For instance, introductions of textured broadloom, which dominates the lower half of the market, came with upscale effects this year, like crisper, more vivid micro-colors in multicolored products, and mixed luster levels for a luxe shimmer.

However, most of the energy on the carpet side was seen at the higher end. Decorative imported carpets were stronger than ever, in a wide array of expressive constructions, made of fibers ranging from wool to polypropylene. There were many crisp organic tonals and tailored, complex berber-like styles, often with a high-design contract look. A lot of the high-end hand-loomed, hand-knotted looks seemed explicitly designed to elevate the handmade aspect, including one at Couristan with hand crocheting. Traditional, heavy-handed luxury carpet styles were mostly hidden away, but reinterpreted versions with modern colors and softened aesthetics were on display.

Manufacturers report that a big and growing chunk of their decorative carpet offering is being fabricated into area rugs used over hard surface flooring. It’s a high-end trend, in part to accommodate the large living spaces of luxury homes.

Some traditional motifs were trending, like checkerboard and plaid designs, houndstooth and other squared geometric patterns, mostly in medium scale. And there was plenty of color on display, including many subtle greens and some blues-leading to a lot of looks with coastal vibes-and some hotter red and pink accents.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
A big emphasis this year for Mannington was elevating its visuals, both in carpet and hard surface, to offer styles more meaningful to consumers, and it came out with one its most robust LVT launches in years. “We have a huge Adura launch this season that focuses on the idea of personalization,” noted Terry Marchetta, Mannington’s vice president of design. She added, “Consumers want their environments to really showcase their personalities.” To that end, the firm increased the lengths of its Adura LVT and Restoration laminate planks from 48” to 60” and leveraged technologies like TruDetail, NatureForm Glaze and bevel capabilities, including its new SculptedEdge, to elevate the realism. TruDetail enables a larger number of unique planks per design; NatureForm, introduced last year, creates varying precise gloss levels on the surface of products; and SculptedEdge offers wood looks a less rustic bevel option than the firm’s CraftedEdge.

For its Adura LVT offering, Mannington introduced new species visuals, including Gala, a 7”x60” plank with an applewood look, with mineral line and spalting effects and a good range of color within single planks. It comes in three midtone colors, including Blossom, which has subtle orange undertones. Also new is Timber, a clean poplar look with some of the cathedraling found in red oak. It features a subtle wirebrushing effect and SculptedEdge bevels, and it comes in three colors, including a vivid straw yellow called Sap.

A new Adura tile look is Basilica, a 12”x24” timeworn stone look with added realism from its TumbledEdge, mineral deposits, low-key veining, painted bevels and about 24 unique designs per SKU, thanks to TruDetail.

New to the Restoration laminate line is Everest, a 60” European white oak look that is digitally printed for 18 unique planks per design, with wirebrushed and cerused effects, in-register embossing and SculptedEdge bevels.

On the Phenix carpet side, the focus for the start of this year has been on solution-dyed nylon introductions. At Surfaces, noting that the firm has been very early with its launches this season, Jimmy Tuley, president of Mannington Residential, said, “Our nylon launch shipped this week. We’re going to hit the ground running with the selling season.”

According to Marchetta, the emphasis on the carpet side has been to elevate the look with proportionate pattern and with color, including some sophisticated lighter and brighter colorways featuring some earthy greens, blues and browns. Karma is a sophisticated texture product reminiscent of a dense frieze, and a step up from that is Signature, which has a more refined, crisper finish, since it was manufactured with two ends per needle. Also new is Seaside, a solid-color patterned carpet that comes in pale colors with a flowing pattern that conveys a coastal vibe, and Relic, a reimagining of a traditional ornamental design. All are made of solution-dyed nylon 6.

With its Karastan Black Label launch, which comprises 28 flatweave and hand-knotted styles, Mohawk is tapping into what Jeff Meadows, president of residential sales, estimates to be a $300 million to $350 million market. “Our Karastan brand’s been great, and it’s a high-end brand, but this is taking it to an ultra-high-end consumer,” he said.

Whereas Karastan’s offerings previously topped out around $40 per yard at retail, the premium new imported wool and self-produced synthetic offerings will end up around $70 to $80 per yard, he said.

Mohawk’s vice president of sales, Jason Randolph, said the sophisticated traditional and textured styles were a highlight at the show and are “a game changer for our Karastan customers.” He noted that they can be fabricated into rugs through the new Made to Order Studio, an online platform that walks users through the customization process.

To help promote the new studio, the Black Label display includes room scenes with rugs-which Randolph estimates account for almost half of such styles’ sales-and physically showcases different hand-serging options. While standard size rugs have been available in the past, the new offering allows for custom sizes and attached cushion.

The display cross-merchandises six curated matchups with hard surface styles in Karastan’s BelleLuxe and LuxeCraft lines. Randolph also highlighted new additions in those collections. BelleLuxe’s lineup of engineered hardwood and laminate flooring has gained what he believes is “probably the best wood line we’ve ever had in Karastan.” The Gault Estate is a premium European white oak collection featuring a 3mm sawn face, 9/16” thick product in either an 81/2”x86” (random length) or a 5”x24” herringbone format. And the LuxeCraft resilient collection gained its first WPC.

Beyond Karastan’s premium styling, Randolph said one of the things retailers like about the brand is its limited distribution, a model that is being expanded to Pergo. Adding to this differentiated strategy, the storied hard surface brand is being revamped to provide retailers with offerings that are higher end than what is available at the big boxes, in addition to competitively priced products.

Along with new designs that lean into the clean aesthetics of Scandinavian style-in line with Pergo’s roots-as well as modern looks with a little more character, the brand will be the only place outside of Karastan that WPC is offered.

Dal-Tile had a relatively small presence within Mohawk’s sprawling booth space, but Patrick Warren, vice president of dealer sales and corporate showrooms for the Daltile brand, said the conjoining has been a win for both Dal-Tile and parent company Mohawk. While Dal-Tile has pulled back its presence at Surfaces, it has joined Mohawk’s road shows, giving dealers at each show access to the company’s full suite of products.

“We want dealers to think more about a full room than a single product component,” Warren said, noting complementary offerings like Daltile’s One Quartz countertops, for which the company is again expanding its capacity.

With Warren reporting a recent uptick in demand for Dal-Tile products over the past five months-“the worst month was October when we had all the hurricanes, and that was up 1.5%,” he said-one of the focuses at the show was making sure dealers are ready for the rebound.

“We’re being leaner at our local [distribution centers], meaning the right products in stock,” he said, adding that samples of any inhouse-made product can be shipped out within two days.

Calling it “the best new product we’ve ever launched,” Warren highlighted Sovran, a collection of 24”x48” marble looks, most of which give the appearance of grouted mosaics in bold geometric designs.

This year, Shaw Industries’ expanded space was split between hard and soft surface, irrespective of brand, as the firm focused its messaging on the relationship between design and innovation in the development of its varied flooring products. One panel focused on carpet, for instance, was made up of information about the firm’s proprietary technologies, like LifeGuard waterproof backing and ColorGuard colorfast technology, as well as design innovations like the breadth of color offered through combining piece-dyed and solution-dyed face fibers.

Shaw also introduced two new carpet innovations, ColorClarity and NaturalTwist, both of which were utilized in Shaw Floors’ latest Pet Perfect+ styles, as well as in its Simply the Best Values collection of elevated but affordable products. ColorClarity is a dyeing technology used on solution-dyed PET that enables crisp “pencil-point” color definition, and NaturalTwist blends fine yarns with thicker yarns and different lusters, expanding design possibilities.

Under the Perennial collection, two new Anderson Tuftex styles, Laken and Laine, offer refined patterned loops in a handmade look, using ColorShift technology that varies in intensity of the color input for space-dyed looks and ombre effects in solution-dyed yarn. And then there’s ColorShiftEco, which uses run-out yarns that would have been landfilled-and the variations in those yarns lead to unique organic effects.

For the Coretec brand, the firm introduced several new products, including a worn, reclaimed-wood look in Weathered Oak under Coretec Premium, using a patent-pending dual bevel technology with micro-bevels on the short side and pressed bevels on the long side with a dark line along the edge, suggestive of the gap found in real hardwood installations. And it added five additional colors covering key trends, including bright midtones, deep and warm colorations, and naturals elevated with subtle color shifts.

One notable new technology showcased at Surfaces from Shaw’s TotalWorx was its Speedlink Spline for hard surface installations in larger spaces, a plastic strip designed to run down the middle of the space so that installers can lay down the floor outwards in both directions. One major benefit is that it allows two installers to work on the same floor simultaneously, reducing installation time.

The firm also re-entered the laminate market with two laminate collections in the Shaw Floors brand. Oak Grove is a 10mm product with an AC4 performance rating, and Oak Crest is 12mm with an AC5, and both come in seven colors. And it added eight new engineered hardwoods with either 3mm sawn veneers or 2mm sliced veneers. Species include red oak, white oak, hickory and maple.

Engineered Floors increased its booth size by one third at this year’s show, in part to showcase its expanding offering of hard surface flooring. The firm rolled out 32 introductions-ten in hard surface and 22 in carpet-with a wider range of styling and price points.

Referencing all the speculation about the arc of business this year, president and COO James Lesslie told Floor Focus, “If we don’t have business picking up by the second quarter, then I think we’re going to have what we have for the year. I’m not on this ‘third and fourth quarter is going to be great’ mindset.”

On the carpet side, the firm has expanded its PureColor High-Def technology across a broader range of price points and enhanced its multicolored texture products. It has added Colorburst and space-dyed capabilities, with 24 individual colors going into carpets, according to Joe Young, vice president of product and marketing. The biggest chunk of floor space was devoted to Prismatic from the DreamWeaver brand, shown in the Saturation colorway, a lustrous space-dyed texture product with vivid colorations.

To the Pentz mainstreet brand, the firm added seven new styles-four are carpet tile only, two are broadloom and tile, and one is just broadloom. New styles include Techtonic II, a crisp linear construction for both carpet tile and broadloom with subtle geometries conveyed through color.

In hard surface, the firm extended its PureGrain brand beyond PureGrain High-Def products made in its Georgia Hymmen-driven line to include PureGrain Comfort WPC, PureGrain Renew laminate and PureGrain Endure imported SPC. The products come with in-register embossing and pressed bevels in either 7”x48” or 9”x60” formats.

And it came out with two big PureGrain High-Def series, Bold and Balanced. Designs in Bold are expressive statement pieces, while Balanced designs are more low-key, with smooth colors and subtle graining. The Bold series includes Antiquity, a design reminiscent of aged and reclaimed woods, with strong graining and mineral streaks and dramatic color contrasts, while Divine from the Balanced series is more harmonious, with fewer color contrasts and an overall softer aesthetic.

The firm also added the Xcessories line, which includes stair treads, end caps, risers, quarter rounds and more. And it introduced a retailer program called EF Connect, which enables retailers to use content generated by Engineered with their own logos, geo-fenced so that nearby retailers don’t use the same content for a period of time.

AHF Products came to this year’s show with 35 new collections and over 500 SKUs across a range of product categories. The firm, which has ten U.S. manufacturing facilities as well as one in Cambodia, produces hardwood flooring, ceramic tile and resilient flooring. It also offers laminate flooring and a high-performance hybrid called Ingenious Plank with a modified laminate core that, according to the firm, outperforms on the NALFA swell test.

On hand to discuss new products and the state of the market were AHF’s leadership, including president and CEO Brian Carson, who announced his departure a couple of weeks later. Carson had been with AHF for six years. CFO Brent Emore is serving as interim CEO.

Hardwood was a big focus at AHF’s space this year. One significant development has been color matching between engineered and solid offerings, enabling the consumer to pick their color before determining their needs. Among the higher-end introductions was Hartco Prime Harvest Elite, an AB grade product, the highest quality of hardwood flooring. The engineered version, European white oak, is color-matched to red oak on the solid side that is de-pinked through the firm’s Puretone process.

Also, AHF expanded its hardwood offering to include unfinished engineered wood in red oak, white oak and hickory, available in 9” widths for Cambodia production and 7” widths for product manufactured in the U.S.

Perhaps the most striking product in AHF’s space this year was a densified pine in the Robbins line, which, according to the firm, is harder than heart pine. The planks showcase pine’s unique high-contrast linear graining. Other densified species on display were ash, maple, red maple, cherry and walnut. Also new to Robbins were herringbone formats.

On the resilient side, the firm came out with its first WPC, a 12mm Robbins product with an Ultra Matte finish, and it added ten new visuals to its Alterna resilient line.

Under AHF’s Crossville porcelain brand were two new offerings, Sociale and Rural Retreat. Sociale, inspired by stones from around the world, comes in six styles, including dark and dynamic Diamond Black Granite and soft and creamy Zecevo Marble. And Rural Retreat is a live-sawn white oak design in five colors ranging from the high-contrast dark and moody Twilight to the pale, natural hues of Daybreak.

There was also a demonstration in the space of Crossville’s FeatherSoft finish, introduced last year under the Beljn collection. The finish has a smooth, soft feel when dry, but transforms when wet to a high DCOF (dynamic coefficient of friction) of up to 0.6, well above the 0.42 ANSI standard-running a finger along the surface, it slides where the tile is dry, but abruptly grabs where it’s wet.

In line with the move toward textured products with color, Jared Coffin, The Dixie Group’s senior vice president of product and marketing, highlighted several introductions across its brands. The move, he said, comes as homeowners return some of their square footage to wall-to-wall carpet.

“We kind of lost the first floor for a little while, but we’re getting some of these more statement rooms back,” he explained.

Shimmer and Tattersall, from Dixie’s premium Fabrica brand, feature long color lines that include some of the deep, saturated tones Coffin said are trending, including shades of green and red. The solution-dyed nylon collections, made at Dixie’s California facility, also touch on the trend toward texture through their mix of yarns.

Seville and Valencia, imported additions to the decorative Decor by Fabrica brand, feature watery green and blue pastels as well as earth tones that highlight the machine-made wire Wiltons’ crisp, nubby patterns.

In Dixie’s mid-tier Masland brand, Purebred offers a companion to one of its best-selling products, Pedigree. The new introduction features the same EnVision solution-dyed nylon and face weight in a complementary subdued crosshatch of different yarn sizes. The predominantly earth toned new collection is in line with the trend of neutrals warming up and beginning to include golden tones, he said.

The more affordable Dixie Home brand also received infusions of statement and trendy colors. Refuge and Enclave draw from the palettes that solution-dyed nylon provides while incorporating polyester accent pieces to highlight the patterning. Coffin also spotlighted Adore, a 90-ounce DuraSilk polyester introduction available in 24 colors.

For its hard surface offerings, Dixie is updating its displays to highlight consumer benefits, like WPC’s enhanced acoustics and comfort underfoot, explained director of hard surfaces Amy Tucker. The category gained a new 7”x72” offering in a 12mm format, which Tucker calls the “sweet spot” for WPC. TruCor Prime X features wood looks with character in a variety of midtones.

Other hard surface introductions include add-ons to Fabrica’s Calais and Chateau engineered hardwood collections to offer some rich, warm tones, as well as contemporary concrete and marble looks in Dixie Home’s TruCor tile-look SPC lineup with integrated grout. Tucker noted WPC, engineered wood and premium SPC as focus areas for the company.

Cali Floors’ booth this year, dubbed Cali National Park, showcased visuals and motifs from the varied natural landscape of California, where the firm is headquartered. And Cali brought to Surfaces its biggest team ever in order to showcase its expanding offering of hardwood, SPC, WPC and laminate flooring. While it introduced products along a range of price points in a good, better, best program, president and CEO Doug Jackson noted, “We’re selling more upper-end goods this year.”

On the wood side, the firm expanded beyond its Barrel line of European white oak with a new collection called Varietals, featuring species including hickory, acacia, ash and maple, mostly in clean, refined grades. And it remarketed its mid-grade Whisky & Wine hardwood line.

The firm also came out with a new, affordable WPC collection, Trestle, with a 6.5mm construction (5.5mm plus 1mm backing). It’s heavy on oak visuals, along with rift sawn looks, rustic painted looks and even a Southern pine design.

In addition, Cali added to its laminate offering with Santa Cruz, a 12mm, AC4 rated product that the firm describes as its most realistic laminate to date. Positioned as ‘better’ between its 10mm Pacifica and 14mm Mavericks, Santa Cruz features NaturMatte embossing that uses multiple gloss levels for detailed realism. And the planks are 100% waterproof, according to the firm.

At I4F’s booth, people crowded around the interactive displays of its new HerringB/one technology to personally experience how it simplifies installation of the popular pattern and eliminates the need for A/B planks. Like all of I4F’s innovations, HerringB/one is offered as a bolt-on for existing production lines. It is available for laminate, SPC and WPC.

“It’s a big advantage in installation because you don’t need to look at which panel you need in that moment; you have less waste because it’s one sample; and you save a lot of time in production,” explained technical director Pieter Devos, adding that it also allows for installation to occur in a forward or backward direction.

The IP company also showcased its Ceramic Click technology, which features real ceramic tiles attached to HDF boards with a specialized profile that simplifies installation and guarantees 1mm grout lines.

“You start installing in the morning, and you can finish in the evening,” he said, noting that typical installations can necessitate the closure of spaces for weeks.

Developed in partnership with a Turkish ceramics producer, the innovation should be available by year’s end, and the firm is already beginning to sign up licensees.

Business was good for Novalis in 2024 as it grew in a down market. Part of this year’s exhibit were four kiosks that paired four consumer macro trends with Novalis’ corresponding SPC product collections. Consumers looking for traditional styling should consider Foundations, urban is paired with Revival, coastal is paired with Latitudes and mountain is paired with Wander. According to Kim Hill, who was recently promoted to vice president of product and marketing, these macro trend pairings make it easier for the consumer to pick the right product.

The most high-performance new collection is Foundations, an 8mm product with a 30 mil wearlayer, which is inspired by European design sensibilities. The collection is made up of 11 designs: eight 9”x60” refined wood looks and three 18”x36” tile designs, including Toasted Marble, Hearthstone Beige and Iron Gate. The collection features a satin finish.

Then there’s Latitudes, 7.5mm with a 22 mil wearlayer, which brings more of a casual coastal vibe, with eight pale and midtone woods in 7”x48” formats with pressed bevels and three 12”24” tiles, including Sea Pearl with a pale blue-grey cast.

Revival, a 6.5mm line with a 22 mil wearlayer, is all wood looks with more of an urban feel. It comes in 7”x60” planks as well as 4”x24” formats for herringbone installations with a Unizip universal A/A click format-as opposed to the more typical A/B format of left and right panels.

Finally, there’s Wander, the thinnest and most affordable collection at 5mm, also with a 22 mil wearlayer. It’s a more rustic collection inspired by mountain retreats, with eight dynamic 7”x48” wood looks with plenty of character, contrast and depth, and three 12”x24” tiles-two rugged, earthy stone designs and one darker tile, Matterhorn Grey, elevated with sporadic near-white veining.

In addition to product, the show was an opportunity to see Stanton’s refreshed branding and new soft surface displays, which are categorized by texture, pattern and performance. Senior director of product and innovation Adam Feldberg highlighted Hendricks as his personal favorite from among the patterned introductions. The 100% New Zealand wool is hand-loomed to look like a hand-knotted rug, and its earthy colorways speak to the trend of warm hues. Feldberg noted the chocolate brown as an emerging consumer preference.

Port Douglas and Byron Bay feature a similar natural palette, and their solution-dyed UV-stabilized polyester construction capitalizes on the trend of performance materials, which Feldberg said “is not going anywhere.” Usable indoors and out, they provide a sisal or jute look but are soft underfoot and easy to clean, offering a designer look for households with pets and kids.

Stanton has seen such growth in its Pet Guard lineup, introduced last year, that it has a dedicated new display. It features nine new introductions that are a mix of plushes and LCLs and include some space-dyed yarns, in line with the tagline, “elevate the everyday.”

Stanton’s growing hard surface business is now adding hardwood. The 36 SKUs include ash and French oak in a wide spectrum of colors that range all the way from white to black, several of which have corresponding patterned options. Spanning four collections-SoHo, Uptown, Hudson and Lexington-they feature 3mm to 5mm live-sawn faces. Hard surface vice president Jamann Stepp expects them to cost in the teens at retail.

“As the industry goes, I think hardwood took another slide last year...but I think the premium hardwood customer is someone with some disposable income and not so price-conscious,” he said, adding that the new offerings will be somewhat selective in terms of retail availability.

Added in December, WPC represents another new category for the company. In March, the Summit collection will gain new introductions that feature massive 10”x82” and 12”x86” planks in a 12mm format called Natural Beauty Summit.

Karndean, a British headquartered LVT specialist that is one of the leading residential and commercial players in the North American market, partners with Asian producers (almost entirely outside of China) for its U.S. lines. This year, it came out with 25 new products-ten in Korlok rigid core, 11 in Opus gluedown flex and four in Knight Tile, the firm’s most affordable program. Karndean also launched Karndean Design Aesthetics through three life-sized vignettes of interior decors-Prana, In Ctrl and Mix + Max-each with 21 colors across all LVT formats and price points (with differentiation in performance rather than design).

Prana’s aesthetic, showcased with River Hickory LVT, is soft, calm and harmonious with an elevated biophilic vibe. In Ctrl is modern and refined, with the vignette highlighted by a rich, warm wood-look floor, Russet Character Oak. And both are minimalist compared to Mix + Max, which is bold and maximalist with strong contrasts in style and color, shown with a dynamic LVT visual called Sillano Marble.

The firm is also continuing its partnership with Ty Pennington, a carpenter and TV host best known for his work on TLC’s “Trading Spaces” and ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” with its “Ask Ty Anything!” contest. Through the final day of Surfaces, retailers were encouraged to submit questions to Pennington, and the three randomly chosen winners will each receive a shoutout for their businesses through a social media video from Pennington.

Originally a tile importer, MSI has been aggressively adding to its “addressable market” through new categories and more premium offerings. This year, the company introduced its first WPC, WayneParc, as well as acoustic wall panels that David Raymond, team leader of national sales and marketing, said have generated “staggering sales” among flooring retailers since the panels require no specialized installation and are in line with the trend toward fluted looks. And, noted director of sales Jason Andrews, there are four walls for every floor.

Andrews reported that the fluted theme highlighted in MSI’s trends outlook is its most-visited trend page. In keeping, MSI is adding a variety of related porcelain and natural stone offerings, including marble looks in its popular Urban Slat porcelain wall collection. Also new are the Folk and Hip Hop porcelain collections, which offer contemporary beadboard looks.

The WPC introduction is in line with the company’s move up in offerings. While Andrews noted that MSI is not abandoning its opening price point offerings, he said, “We see that opening-price-point consumer being challenged by the economy and by inflation still.”

WayneParc is a 12mm (10mm board+2mm backing) offering with a 30 mil wearlayer in 9”x87” embossed-in-register planks with rolled bevels.

Additionally, MSI introduced a hefty SPC collection, Studio, featuring 9mm products with a 30 mil wearlayer and a full dent warranty. To highlight its premium position, it will stand in its own LED-lit display. The domestically produced line is one of the offshoots of investments in MSI’s Cartersville, Georgia SPC plant, which Andrews said the company has tripled in size and outfitted with all new machinery since acquiring it in late 2021.

Having introduced its super-soft Cloud 9 polyester in 2023, Tarkett Home has since been focused on migrating all of its soft surface styles to the proprietary fiber-which gained eye-catching patterned and textured introductions this year-while also preparing to launch several new hard surface platforms. L’Artisan is its first hardwood line; the company has developed a hybrid resilient called ReNue; and FlexGen is its first looselay LVT, a format that Lauren Schnakenberg, senior director of residential marketing and design, said is growing in the builder and multifamily markets amid concerns over low-end SPC.

With Schnakenberg noting a trend toward the mid to higher end in residential remodel, L’Artisan features a 4mm sawn face in both a 9.45”x86.61” (varying lengths) and 3”x34” format. The oak collection comes in a range of midtones in line with the move toward warm hues and includes four corresponding herringbones in the traditional “narrow” format, another emerging trend, Schnakenberg said.

ReNue builds on the move toward sustainability among younger generations, who make up the largest consumer segment.

“They’re specifically asking for that more and more,” reported senior project manager Katie Szabo Sweetnich. “And furthermore, in years past, it was a significant premium to have non-PVC. I think people may have wanted it, but they wouldn’t pay 30% more for it. So now that we’re able to do it and still be competitive from a price standpoint, it really speaks to that customer’s need and value.”

In addition to being 100% recyclable, the ten-look collection is made in the U.S., a broader selling point amid the global instability and tariffs. Its core is made of polymer-encapsulated hardwood fiber, making it waterproof and more durable, and its 30 mil/AC4-equivalent wearlayer provides additional protection.

Having more than doubled capacity at its U.S. plant over the past year, CFL is transferring production of some of its more premium products from Asia to the Calhoun, Georgia facility. Showcasing products and innovations that will be made domestically, marketing director Jerome Nurenberg said, “The idea was always to come to the U.S. and not do this in a small way but in a very meaningful way. In the beginning there’s a learning curve, so you start with standard products, but our focus as a company is value-added products.”

One of those is direct-digital-print LVT, which the U.S. plant will be shipping in the first half of the year. The products offer enhanced realism thanks to integrated embossing that marries perfectly with low-luster visuals so crisp that they’re hard to discern from the real thing, even by touch. And the number of unique planks is ten times greater than with traditional offerings, Nurenberg noted. He added that the multilayer construction, which the company calls a dense polymer core (DPC), is allowing CFL to provide a dentproof warranty and warranty larger installations than with standard rigid LVT.

“They’re all 60” long, and then different channels have very different looking designs and different widths,” he said of the new products, which feature clean visuals based on the company’s top-sellers and customer feedback.

Also introduced at the show was a patent-pending “enhanced bevel,” which gives the appearance of a tight pressed bevel. Nurenberg highlighted this and ultra-matte finishes-both of which CFL will now be making domestically-as big design trends.

Southwind Floors celebrated its 30th anniversary last September. The firm was founded in 1994 as Cherokee Carpets, a broadloom producer, and a decade ago it added hard surface in the form of flex LVT and WPC, and since then it has also started offering hardwood and laminate flooring. “All of our floors here at Surfaces are U.S.-made,” Drew Hash, CEO of Southwind, told Floor Focus during the show.

At Surfaces, the firm introduced new WPC products, as well as SPC, looselay flex LVT and a range of carpet products, including its first polypropylene carpet tile which should find traction in the mainstreet commercial market.

A standout this year was Summit, a 5”x60” WPC that’s 3/4” thick, which is ideal for replacing hardwood floors, particularly when running it under door jambs and the like. In fact, its Uniclic locking system is particularly thick and robust, and can almost be tapped in horizontally. The line, which is embossed-in-register and features a 3mm IXPE pad, comes in jatoba, hickory and white oak visuals.

Installed on the show floor was Inspiration Plank, an 8mm hybrid with a foamed SPC core, a 75-plank repeat and direct digital printing that was introduced last year. The firm also came out with a looselay flex LVT called Contour Plank in a range of oak and hickory visuals.

Over the last 18 months, the firm has retooled its entire broadloom offering, which is all made of solution-dyed PET, and at the show, it came out with four new cut piles and three LCLs, including the 80-ounce Pure Luxury II, which was installed on the show floor, and Exalted Prime, a 60-ounce cut pile recoloring of Northern Lights, a longtime best seller.

Kährs, whose resume includes the invention of the engineered wood category in 1941, had a space in the NWFA pavilion where it showcased its Estate collection of 5/8” engineered wood, all made in the U.S. through a partner manufacturer with a traditional tongue and groove profile-the vast majority of Kährs products are manufactured in Sweden with locking systems.

The 5” wide line, with lengths up to 8’, is made up of maple, hickory and red oak. And the oak, which comes in a clean grade, is effectively de-pinked for a look more like white oak.

Inhaus, a division of Germany’s Classen, serves the U.S. market with two types of hard surface flooring-laminates and Ceramin planks. Ceramin technology combines polypropylene (PP) and a mineral akin to graphite for its waterproof cores, which are direct digitally printed.

Alex Pearson, Inhaus’ director of sales–Canada, noted that the mineral, like graphite, is thermally stable and also acts as a dry lubricant, easing installation and minimizing damage, and 25% of the polypropylene is post-consumer recycled. The flooring is a single-polymer construction-with PP in the core, pad and wearlayer-enabling more efficient recyclability.

On the Ceramin side, the firm came out with Icon, an AC5-rated premium 60” plank, and Gallery, a more affordable 52” plank-both in wood looks ranging from pale natural hues, like Gallery in Fraserview, to the rich, ruddy colorations of Icon in Postmark.

Classen’s biggest markets are North America and Europe, and by volume, laminate is still the bigger business, with close to a billion square feet produced annually from manufacturing in Germany. New to the Lamdura laminate line is Manor, a wood-look collection in a herringbone format with a proprietary universal click system, which is color-matched to the updated Landmark collection.

The firm also displayed its only PVC-based line, comprising digitally printed AC5-rated moldings-which, Pearson points out, can be taken back and printed anew up to six times. The moldings are produced at its facility in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Priding itself on innovation, Nox, a South Korea-based LVT producer, showcased several new technologies, including a PVC-free offering made of thermoplastic urethane (TPU) that is 100% recyclable, called EverEco+. Operating as an OEM producer in the U.S., where it has a factory in Ohio, Nox can top the eco-friendly core with any of its 6,000+ designs, said director of product marketing and planning Joony Kim. He also noted that the product, whose composition offers enhanced scratch resistance thanks to its elasticity, is already warrantied by several adhesive providers.

Sustainability is a core focus for the company, which has won several related awards. In 2023, it began transitioning to a bio-based PVC production method called Bio-Circular Balanced PVC, for which a third-party Environmental Product Declaration is expected in May.

The show also offered a sneak peek of the forthcoming LDW+ (Luxury Design & Interior Wall Tile) and True Texture offerings. The latter combines coating and embossing technologies to offer a more realistic surface texture that enhances the visual, something Nox was especially focused on for ceramic looks. Its LDW+ launched in Korea last year to provide an installation-friendly alternative to ceramic tile thanks to the gluedown LVT’s locking system.

Taylor Adhesives started as a carpet adhesive company in 1977 and has since expanded to produce adhesives for all flooring types. In 2018 the firm was acquired by Meridian Adhesives Group. Taylor operates factories in California, Texas and Georgia, and is well known for its branded and OEM products. Taylor recently developed and launched a new product, Terrain, an adhesive specifically engineered for the synthetic turf market. Terrain is a single-component, moisture-cured urethane adhesive, engineered for both indoor and outdoor use. It features a 45- to 60-minute open time, and a cure time of 24 hours, with minimal expansion once cured, and a permanent waterproof bond.

With the wide array of colors one of the main selling points of Forbo’s waterproof Cinch Loc Seal glueless linoleum tiles, the company added 13 new options to the rainbow of visuals. To highlight the possibilities that the interchangeable 12”x36” plank and 12”x12” square formats offer, inspiration catalogs are part of the display, and residential sales manager Tim Donahue said he’s seeing more creative installations, in line with the current trend toward personalized spaces.

The company also displayed several potential new visuals for its hybrid Flotex. Composed of a flocked nylon 6,6 face and a waterproof PVC backing, the product is popular in both residential and commercial settings, said Donahue. The test designs included a tight wispy swirling pattern, a hatch-marked striated look and crisp intersecting braided-rug visuals. The high-definition patterns are printed onto the face, offering endless possibilities.

Building onto its premium Canopy LVT offering, International Flooring Company (IFC) is launching Canopy Flex, a looselay construction with an integrated cork pad and specialty backing that eliminates the need for adhesive. “Everybody glues down looselay, so why not take that step out of the process?” explained IFC co-founder and president Julian Dossche.

The pressure-sensitive backing not only simplifies the installation and removal process-leaving behind no residue when pulled up-but it also provides a low-commitment way to experiment with patterns like checkerboard, which is trending, said marketing director Sarah Ballew. Dossche noted bathrooms as areas where the flexible format will especially shine. And the cork pad achieves sound ratings in line with homeowner association standards, he said.

Launched in a variety of marble and stone visuals, Canopy Flex will grow to include wood looks, based on the positive reception already received, said Dossche, who expects new-home construction to remain challenged, channeling activity into the remodel sector, as well as multifamily.

IFC also introduced a new bevel called Natural Edge Plus, which is pressed on the two long sides of the planks and features a micro bevel on the two short sides to more closely mimic the look of an installed pre-finished hardwood floor.

In conjunction with its 23 new broadloom introductions, Kaleen highlighted the expansion of its Luxe hand-knotted rug offerings, which now encompass 80 styles. Whereas senior vice president Blake Dennard said nine months to a year is typical for such custom Indian imports, Kaleen turns out its hand-serged selections in 30 days.

Its Kaleen and Pure Life brands also gained several 22’ wide broadloom styles, which Dennard said is especially noteworthy for flatweaves due to seaming issues. The massive swaths can also be ordered as hand-serged custom rugs.

“There are some large, large rooms in a lot of these new, modern homes that are very open concept and require a very stately sized rug,” noted marketing director Cole Lewis.

While Kaleen’s offerings are premium, Dennard spotlighted its competitive pricing. “Our average is right around $40 to $49 per square yard for a product that 15 years ago was selling for $70,” he said. “By being the manufacturer and bringing it directly to the retailer, we really can open up the marketplace.”

He noted shags as doing well, in part due to the natural fibers Kaleen uses. Prachi Gupta, vice president of design and product development, said consumers are looking for options that feel organic. The nesting mentality ushered in by the pandemic has also led to a renewed interest in traditional patterns, she added.

A big portion of Unilin’s space was dedicated to illustrating the durability of its LVT locking systems-a general concern in the industry amid failures of low-end SPC with inferior elements. Vignettes showcased Uniclic’s and Unidrop’s resistance to height differences and separation in a variety of common scenarios.

The IP company also showcased advancements to several of its existing innovations, including new technology that precisely cuts pressed bevels, allowing for the same treatment on short plank ends.

“A lot of pressed bevels are very long and not steep because they need some tolerance to cut the bevel,” explained sales representative Michiel Van Lysebettens. “So, if it’s one millimeter to the left or one millimeter to the right, it doesn’t matter much because you still have the long pressed bevel. But it doesn’t look natural. It looks more like a pillowed panel.”

Another bevel enhancement was added to its Unigrout treatment, which provides a grouted installation for LVT that enhances its realism and helps protect against water reaching the subfloor. The new version incorporates a lacquer with sand particles that offers a finished cement look for outfitted gluedown styles, without the need to add grout. Sales and marketing director Floris Koopmans said it was a highlight among visitors to the booth, along with the P-SPC core technology introduced in 2022 that replaces PVC with PET.

Couristan, which has been in the flooring market for 99 years-it started as an area rug business-focuses on the high end with mostly wool styles with a focus on New Zealand wool, along with PET and polypropylene constructions. This year, it will introduce 59 new styles. “When you cater to the luxury consumer, you have to be creative at all times,” noted Len Andolino, president of the firm.

Creations by Couristan, the firm’s more affordable line that was launched about 15 years ago, focuses mostly on woven PET and polypropylene. This year, it came out with nine new indoor/outdoor woven polypropylenes, including products like Breeze Point, a soft and shimmery polypropylene, along with some dramatic updated traditional looks, like Park View and Park Ridge, that are strong candidates for fabricated rugs. According to Andolino, Couristan does a lot of fabricated rugs for clients. Hand-loomed indoor/outdoor flatweaves with geometric motifs include Sea Island, showcased in Onyx, an earthy colorway with black undertones, and Kiawah Island in Terra Cotta, a diamond pattern with ruddy undertones.

Among the most eye-popping looks this year are Alicante and Westmont, featuring flatwoven constructions overlaid with lush over-sized 3D cut pile contours, patterned into fat geometric bands in Alicante and meandering worm-like effects in Westmont. Also notable is Donegal, a space-dyed product elevated with hand crocheting, and, under Couristan Premier, an undyed New Zealand wool product in earth tones ranging from near-white to deeper browns.

The message this year at the booth of Välinge, the Swedish innovation company, was that the firm is committed to working more closely with entities along the value chain, including distributors, large retailers and installers, in a strategy designed to both strengthen relationships and drive demand upstream for the firm’s product offering. Välinge also cited its focus on installer education, including sending professionals to do courses with CFI and make the case that installers can make more money by using innovations that enable faster installations.

Välinge staff were also on hand to talk about a laminate core the firm has developed that has no added formaldehyde.

Following up on last year’s introduction of Small, an affordably priced 6”x46” Hardened Wood plank, Bjelin added a herringbone construction at this year’s show with an A/B format click system. It also showcased some innovative spliced veneers, mostly rift-sawn off-cuts along with other cuts, combined into wide boards, with the linearity of the rift-sawn grain conveying a natural flow to the boards.

Kane Carpet, which was launched in 1947, has been a leader in face to face Wiltons since the technology was introduced over 30 years ago. In 2019, Kane added the Herbanian line of luxury hand-loomed products, and this year it extended the line with a series of lustrous and shimmery hand-loomed nylons from India in a range of earthy colorways, along with some rich golden browns and several medium and deep blue hues.

Noting that many traditional carpet designs are too strong and garish to work with today’s hard surface flooring, Bruce Kurtz, vice president of sales and marketing, pointed out several more complementary styles, including organic designs-Laguna Beach, Trendsetter, Compliment, Cartagena-and updates on classic designs, from tonal offerings like Buen Retiro to a range of colorful motifs like Dignified and Artisanal.

To encompass its holistic home solutions, which include flooring, countertops and, now, cabinets, Hallmark Floors is rebranding to Hallmark Home and launching a new website that is set to debut in April. Similarly, the manufacturer’s booth showcased the integration of those offerings in kitchen vignettes throughout the space.

Having been in the hardwood industry for nearly 30 years, Hallmark is using that experience to create premium cabinets that focus on both fit and finish. Additionally, its partnership with Sherwin-Williams ensures not only consistent but also trend-forward colors-which lead home interior projects, noted Hallmark sales and marketing vice president Mark Casper.

Color is a throughline between its flooring collections, with the most popular typically offered in a solid, SPC and, now, laminate format. The new offering comprises four collections: Crescendo, which features European inspired visuals in 9.68”x80.7”; Clarity, which offers clean looks in 9.25”x89.17”; Tempo, featuring organic visuals with some saw marks in 9.25”x89.17”; and Balance, a more rustic lineup in 9.25”x89.17”. Of the 20 products, 11 are hickories, six are oaks and three are maples.

“Everybody was saying, ‘They have to be oaks. They have to be these colors,’” Casper shared. “So, we put the same colors on hickories, cleaned them up, sent them out in the field, and that’s what we sold the most of. People are looking for choice; they don’t want the same exact thing their neighbor has.”

After introducing laminate last year, Happy Feet has now entered the engineered hardwood category. The Turnberry collection, debuted at Surfaces, rounds out the supplier’s hard surface offerings (though it does not carry ceramic).

“Our largest customer said, ‘We sell a ton of engineered wood, and we’d rather buy it from you,’” said co-owner and PR director Paige Johnson. “So, we said, ‘If you’re asking about this, there’s ten others that want it.’ And they’re going crazy over it. We’ve been selling container after container. Everybody loves the style, the price point.”

The six-look collection features a range of woods in pale to midtones, with light wirebrushing to enhance the visuals of the 3mm dry-sawn faces. Retailing between $5 and $6 per square foot, the imported offering opens the door to new customers, who might not want LVT, Johnson noted.

“I’ve had like three new customers come in and say, ‘We don’t do luxury vinyl, but we’ve heard good things about you. What can we do?’” she said.

For its LVT portfolio, Happy Feet now offers a variety of trims and profiles made using its own decor films to provide exact matches with the flooring-another customer request, said Johnson.

The flooring brand of LX Hausys, HFlor spotlighted technologies that illustrate the intersection of its multipronged approach to the interiors business. The booth featured a complete kitchen setup, highlighting its wall panels, countertops and cabinetry-a new U.S. offering for the South Korea-based company-in addition to flooring.

The brand’s new CraftedConnections collection was showcased as the feature floor, blending two of the three visuals: a plaster look (CraftedClay), which creative director Martha Wakelin said is an emerging trend across home interiors, and a wood look (CraftedWood). A linen visual (CraftedWeave) will also be available when the products are released in Q2.

The looselay LVT collection incorporates HFlor’s recently debuted TrueMatte finish. The specialized UV coating provides enhanced resistance to scratches and staining, as well as greater realism through the incorporation of subtle surface wrinkles.

Upon request, CraftedClay and CraftedWood can also be made with HFlor’s newest innovations: TrueFit, which improves dimensional stability through the addition of a fiberglass layer, and TrueQuiet, which enhances acoustics and comfort thanks to an integrated sound layer in the case of 5mm products or an attached IXPE pad for thinner looselay and SPC.

Having kicked off a refresh of its entire portfolio in 2020, Del Conca USA hosted its first Surfaces booth this year. Vice president of marketing and sales Mauricio Inglada Rubio highlighted the brand-new Elements collection as not only a crowd favorite but also an example of the revamped direction.
“We have a nice portfolio; it’s now the time to take an extra step with a look that is not so, let’s say, safe,” he explained.

Available in 12”x24”, 24”x24” and 24”x48”-a size that Rubio says is now gaining traction in the U.S.-the collection features a large-aggregate stone look, almost like a soft, oversized ceppo di gre. Matching pavers and mosaics, including an organic cobblestone design that Rubio noted as a secondary crowd favorite, offer flexibility both indoors and out.

In addition to product, the show provided an opportunity to spotlight Del Conca USA’s domestic positioning. Despite its Italian parent company, Rubio noted that 95% of Del Conca USA’s products are made at its Tennessee factory, something they are working to convey through the addition of U.S. flag icons on product packaging.

Lions Floor, a family-owned operation launched in 2017, has an SPC facility in Vietnam, and later this year it will start up its Vietnamese molding facility, with plans to add a facility for films, as well. At Surfaces, the firm showcased SPC, WPC, laminate and flex LVT.

WPC, soft-launched last year, comes in two primary collections: Seaside Summit is a 9-1/2”x84” 10mm product (8+2) with a 30 mil wearlayer; and Canyon Coast is 9”x72”, also 10mm, with a 20 mil wearlayer. Both lines, inspired by European white oak, come in seven colors. Seaside Summit has soft, low-key visuals, while Canyon Coast has more character marks.

The firm also added top-selling SPC colors to its two-year-old District flex LVT line, which comes in 6 mil, 12 mil and 20 mil constructions. And its Comfort Heights laminate line comes in 14 wood colorations, from pale naturals to midtones to a couple of rich, dark hues.

Building on the success of last year’s Essence collection, which offers both a “refined” and a “vibrant” aesthetic for the same inspiration material, Landmark Ceramics is carrying that approach forward in its new Trail colorbody porcelain collection, which mimics travertine.

Trail Refined comprises soft tone-on-tone visuals in both vein- and cross-cut aesthetics and comes in four muted natural colors. Its Vibrant counterpart features more pronounced visuals in a crosscut aesthetic and draws inspiration from several specific travertines that are popular in the U.S. Both are available in a variety of formats, including mosaics, with some also offered as veneers-which gained a ribbed “bamboo” option-and pavers. Expanding on the indoor/outdoor possibilities, several of the Refined offerings are also available in a “Grip” format that provides slip resistance.

Welspun showcased several new technologies, including a hybrid polymer core (HPC) comprised of polymer and stone for gluedown products up to 5mm thick.

The flexible core was illustrated in the new Color Pop collection of 2.5mm to 5mm dryback LVT. The 6”x36” planks provide for personalization with their unique colorways, which include soft blues and pinks in addition to more traditional colors modernized through the addition of contrasting hues, topped with a 12 mil wearlayer.

Building on the current trend toward personalized spaces, Welspun also showcased machine-washable rugs, a new offering for the manufacturer. Printed at its vertically integrated facilities, located in India, the rug designs can be “whatever the heart desires,” said CEO Keyur Parekh.

Welspun also debuted new hard-surface treatments, including an antimicrobial and stain resistant Ultra Matt and another that mimics the appearance of oiled wood, the latter of which was applied to the new Nature’s Bouquet SPC collection.

Swiss Krono, which has production in Barnwell, South Carolina as well as from three sister facilities in Europe, focuses its U.S. business on private-label partnerships. At Surfaces, it showcased Artureon, which the firm reports is waterproof by virtue of its chipboard core with edges fully sealed with a specialized adhesive. According to the firm, boards submerged in water will not expand. The higher-end line, which includes 30% post-consumer content, comes in two styles. Grande is a 12mm large-format product, and Norma is an 8mm product, for a total of eight wood decors.

WeCork rolled out several new offerings in its fade- and scratch-resistant Serenity collection of floating cork flooring, which features a commercial-grade finish with an AC5 rating. Joining the lineup are two printed cork visuals as well as a red oak look.

The legacy family-owned company has also added classic solid cork tiles in up to a 24”x24” format to help address the need in the market following the shutdown of fellow provider Expanko. WeCork president Tina Crossland noted that because they’re baked versus stained to provide color, “they can be sanded and refinished for decades.”

The fifth-generation company recently refreshed its logo and brand identity and is gaining a new website, set to launch in April. Crossland highlighted the addition of a Roomvo visualizer, which partner retailers can add to their own website for free, she said.

Family-owned Johnson Hardwood unveiled two new WPC collections at this year’s show, with the designs based on the latest trends in real hardwood products. The 12 SKUs in each collection feature a beveled edge and warm earth tones with a traditional look. The firm also introduced a new 3/8” engineered hardwood designed for the builder market. Johnson, which used to be exclusively focused on hardwood, now does about half its business in LVT.

Biyork, a full-line Canadian distributor, is entering the U.S. as an OEM supplier and already has customers that include NFA and CCA, said U.S. division vice president of sales Philip Key. He noted that the company does not provide the same products in the same market.

“By 2026, the goal is to have inventory for pallet buys and a carton program,” he said. “In 2025, we will continue with OEM and a pallet program.”

Blending the benefits of WPC and SPC, the firm’s HydroGen 8 hybrid LVT features a new Nimbus core that is softer underfoot.

“SPC has been a race to the bottom, but with the Nimbus core, it gives you something different,” he said, adding that it can also be used for hardwood and WPC. HydroGen 8 also has pillowed edges and TrueShield, a finish that protects against scratches and stains. The treatment will be applied to all of Biyork’s 2025 introductions, Key noted.

Anatolia, a Canadian tile producer with manufacuring in Turkey, came to the show with two distinct introductions. One was its Aeterna line of Turkish-made sintered stone-the firm started up its facility near Izmir in September 2023-and the other was its line of Guardia multilayered jobsite protection fabric. The line comes in two tiers-Guardia, which is grey, and Guardia Pro, a white material that is thicker and more tear-resistant. Guardia, offered in rolls that are 36” wide and 100’ long, is reusable, waterproof and self-sticking and can be used to protect floors, countertops and any other vulnerable surfaces.

The Aeterna line of sintered stone comes in 60 colors, eight finishes and three thicknesses (6mm, 12mm and 20mm). It includes a vivid array of natural stone looks and a handful of wood styles.

Schönox HPS North America continued its “need for speed” theme with a Porsche driving simulator positioned at the front of its exhibit. Flooring contractors waited their turn to experience the thrill of driving the Barber motor speedway and compete for the highest score.

From a product perspective, the booth was manned with uniformed “on-it” field support personnel who answered contractors’ questions. Schönox MBL (moisture blocking leveler), a two-part system for concrete substrates with residual moisture issues, was the featured new product. According to Thomas Trissl, CEO of TMT America, the firm enjoyed another growth year in 2024.

As part of the Surfaces experience, Schönox hosted an invitation only cocktail party at the Skyfall Lounge on the top floor of the W Hotel.

Küberit USA entered the U.S. market four years ago and it has exhibited at Surfaces for all of those years. The German profile manufacturer came to the show with its full complement of offerings, including floor and wall profiles ranging in thickness from 2mm to 22mm, serving both the residential and commercial markets. Its German facility makes over 15,000 SKUs, noted vice president Karen Bellinger, with over 700 different styles and colors stocked here in the U.S. Bellinger added that anything not stocked in the U.S. is air freighted from Germany.

The transitions, which can be customized for a wide range of visuals, are currently most heavily used in the LVT category. Among the many products showcased at Surfaces were its expansion joint profiles, which are particularly relevant in today’s market due to the use of hard surface flooring over large living spaces.

At a press conference at Surfaces, Leap Tools, maker of the Roomvo room visualizer, announced its acquisition of QFloors. Chad Ogden, CEO of QFloors, emphasized that the firm will continue to offer the same QPro products and services to its customers, including several new products. QOrders is a tool that integrates QFloors’ ERP software for customers that do multifamily, commercial and builder work. It allows a property manager or builder to easily go to a web page to place an order that then automatically shows up on a dealer’s QFloors system. Another new product scheduled to be released this quarter is QTagger, which connects with QFloors’ product catalog and provides nightly automatic pricing and quantity updates, helping flooring dealers keep their showrooms up to date. QFloors is celebrating its 25th anniversary by offering customers a celebration/users-conference cruise in Alaska later this year.

During the press conference, Roomvo and QFloors said that the two companies align well in culture, philosophy and vision. The two have no product overlap, so they feel that by joining forces they are each offering their customers more. Both brands will stay the same and continue to offer the same products and services.

Roomvo had several new products at the show. In Roomvo Pro, the firm added several features for retail sales associates, allowing them to manage samples, create leads, send automated emails and visualize products right from their phones. Also new is Brady, Roomvo’s AI chatbox designed for flooring dealers. Brady is available on dealer websites to answer customer questions and send through leads at any time of day or night.

Palziv North America, a producer of polyethylene underlayment and attached pad serving both the residential and commercial markets with its HQ Living brand, exhibited a range of products. The closed cell structure of its polyethylene foam is not only a moisture barrier, but it also ensures high sound mitigation properties as well as comfort and support-it returns energy better than the alternatives, according to the firm. And its construction features air channels on the underside for moisture to escape.

At the show, Palziv introduced two commercial broadloom cushions. The mint green one offers standard performance, while the lavender one has enhanced density for high performance applications.

In Floor Focus’ January issue, Palziv’s Tuff Layer hard surface underlayments were misidentified as polypropylene, but in fact they are made of cross-linked polyethylene.

Broadlume is preparing to roll out its Flooring Industry Business Intelligence (FIBI) AI platform, and vice president of marketing Jeff Bieber noted that the company’s December acquisition by Cyncly will give it access to a large AI team, enhancing their ability to develop and implement new AI tools.

FIBI integrates with a retailer’s website, CRM and ERP systems to streamline day-to-day operations and analyze data to maximize efficiencies and sales opportunities. On the front end, it can help customers find products that fit their preferences, answer product questions and make appointments, for example. On the back end, it can do everything from tracking sales, analyzing and ordering inventory, and using data to help strategize around areas for improvement, to demystifying sales performance and projections, promotions or product trends. It also removes the possibility of incomplete information or human error in data entry.

While Bieber said it can be used in conjunction with other providers’ software, he noted the enhanced opportunities when all are aligned.

“You don’t need to have a full suite,” he said. “Now, if you do, it’ll be easier and better. It’s a better data set.”

With Cyncly’s new light detection radar (LiDar) technology, authorized users can simply and accurately measure a room via a phone or tablet with iOs 13 or better, streamlining the estimation process. And, when combined with other available tools like Cyncly’s visualizer, CRM and ERP systems, retail staff can virtually showcase products in the desired space, estimate and quote the job, and accept payment from the comfort of a client’s living room with just one visit.

“It knows which is flooring, which is cabinets,” said head of sales Bryce McGee. “You can tell it, ‘I like these colors. I like this style. Stay within this budget,’ and it’ll go pick products and draw it out for you. That’s going to move all across our industry-and we’re just getting started.”

With Broadlume now under Cyncly’s umbrella, the teams will begin working to develop a more connected and efficient network of technology that brings together the best features of various systems.

Copyright 2025 Floor Focus 

Related Topics:National Flooring Alliance (NFA), Kaleen Rugs & Broadloom, Shaw Floors, Tarkett, Lumber Liquidators, Shaw Industries Group, Inc., Tuftex, Karastan, Broadlume, Anderson Tuftex, Coverings, Crossville, Couristan, Daltile, RD Weis, Phenix Flooring, Masland Carpets & Rugs, Armstrong Flooring, Mannington Mills, The Dixie Group, NWFA Expo, AHF Products, Novalis Innovative Flooring, The International Surface Event (TISE), Engineered Floors, LLC, Mohawk Industries