The Coretec Revolution: A dozen years ago, the creation of the Coretec brand and its unique new product construction disrupted the entire global flooring industry – January 2025

By Darius Helm

In the 12 years since the invention of rigid LVT, the category has transformed the domestic flooring landscape, growing to a nearly $4 billion behemoth and taking on the mantle of the largest hard surface category, with an 18% share of the U.S. market, edging ahead of ceramic tile, a category invented some 5,000 years ago.

THE INNOVATION
In 2013, exhibitors and attendees at the annual Surfaces show in Las Vegas witnessed the unveiling of a new brand-Coretec-the seed for a new species of flooring. The multilayered vinyl flooring, representing a bold reinvention of PVC constructions, was a watershed that reoriented the entire flooring industry, in some ways similar to the Heuga-Milliken-Interface carpet tile movement that permanently knocked broadloom off its perch. But in this case, the innovative new concept was launched by a single firm of moderate size, USFloors, which to that point was best known for its high-design hardwood and bamboo products-its big introduction the previous year was a combination of strand-woven cork and bamboo.

“We launched the product at Surfaces 2013, and by the end of the show, we knew we had a tiger by the tail,” says Piet Dossche, USFloors’ founder.

Reflecting on the development of Coretec’s WPC, Dossche notes, “It came about as a result of an evolution, a quest to solve a problem-the moisture challenge that every wood floor, be it solid, engineered or laminate, was struggling with. The ‘eureka’ moment came about when visiting an outdoor decking manufacturer [in China] where we saw, in addition to boards and planks being extruded, also larger 4’x8’ sheets being extruded for use in furniture, wall panels, outdoor advertising boards, etc. We quickly saw the opportunity to apply it as a waterproof coreboard instead of MDF. With an LVT top layer and a cork pad for comfort and sound, the product was born!”

The firm went all out on building the brand, adds Dossche, “by not only aggressively hiring more than 100 new salespeople within a span of 18 months, but also advertising heavily in the flooring trade magazines and talking about it and pitching it in front of every major retailer whenever we had the opportunity!”

His $90 million business went on a tear, quadrupling in value by the time it was acquired by Shaw in 2016. It quickly grew to be the largest hard surface brand in the U.S. market, with current annual sales north of $1 billion.

THE BRAND
Today, there are more manufacturers of rigid core flooring than one can count. While many firms produce high-quality products like WPC and thicker SPC that push the category forward, others concentrate their efforts on entry-level SPC products, some of which have been implicated in product failures. However, Coretec, under Shaw’s leadership, has maintained its focus on quality.

“When you’re the leader, the industry looks to you to preserve the trust it has placed in you,” says Seth Arnold, Coretec brand leader, who came to Shaw in November 2024 after a quarter century with Mohawk. At the heart of Coretec is innovation, Arnold notes, along with style and trusted performance.

“Coretec is really positioned to that premium practical consumer who is doing residential remodel; that’s where Coretec built the brand,” adds Arnold, though he reports strong demand in custom homes and large-scale remodels, as well. And Coretec Pro’s high-quality SPC goes to the builder market.

There are currently no clear standards in place to prevent the flow of low-quality products into the market, which elevates the importance of trusted brands, Arnold points out, noting that it’s common for customers to walk into specialty retail stores asking for Coretec.

When it comes to Coretec’s high brand equity, Arnold contends that it’s less about brand awareness and more about brand trust and product authority. “And our job as the brand team is to make sure we’re showing up, leveraging that technology, when consumers are starting that flooring journey,” he says.

“The last five years for Shaw have been devoted to building the deepest most reliable supply chain,” adds Arnold. “That supply chain excellence gives us the ability to be market focused, customer focused and consumer focused.”

When asked about keeping up with consumer needs and demands, Arnold says, “We will continue to innovate. So much of that is not about finding a new idea but more about what’s at the core of what a consumer really wants-a beautiful, long-lasting floor for a beautiful space. So, we’ll stay close to that core.”

Copyright 2025 Floor Focus

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