Armstrong Commercial Launching New Sheet Vinyls

Lancaster, PA, March 3, 2006 --Armstrong announced that it has revitalized four of its top-selling and durable homogeneous and inlaid sheet vinyl lines--Medintech, Medintech Tandem, Possibilities Petit Point and Connection Corolon--and introduces an entirely new visual, Royal, to bring optimal performance, visual consistency, color integration and significantly improved installation, including a revolutionary new seaming system, to the category. The products’ high-performance and easier, less frequent maintenance attributes benefit managers, owners and other stakeholders of healthcare, education, corporate and other commercial facilities. The new products also offer design flexibility with enhanced color coordination within the line, as well as across product categories and with other commercial interior finishes, to address the needs of designers and architects. The most significant innovation is the conversion from felt-back to fiberglass backing on Armstrong’s two most popular inlaid sheet products, Connection Corlon and Possibilities Petit Point to enhance their flexibility for easier handling, simpler installation and greater dimensional stability. “This is exciting news, not only for Armstrong but for the industry-at-large. Armstrong vinyl sheet products have long been recognized as the industry benchmark for quality and versatility, offering a winning combination of resilience, aesthetics, durability, maintainability and value,” says Dominic Rice, vice president, commercial resilient products. “We’re once again taking the lead in providing customer-focused solutions, such as our new ground-breaking seaming system and flexible fiberglass backing.” Predicated by customer interviews and feedback, these product enhancements build on Armstrong’s long-standing reputation in the marketplace and have been developed to exceed customer requirements and deliver visual consistency, superior installation ease and almost effortless maintenance while remaining at competitive price points. All Armstrong’s vinyl sheet products will have the same maintenance options, as well as a new ultra violet (UV) cured coating which allows for three maintenance regiments: traditional polish, spray buff and dry buff. In addition, UV cured urethane is tougher, harder and therefore more durable than regular urethane-coated products and is not as easily stripped. The newly enhanced UV cured urethane coating allows for low maintenance options that are now consistent across all of Armstrong’s commercial vinyl sheet floor products. Armstrong has ensured that these new products, as well as all its existing resilient products, are recognized for contributing to indoor air quality through FloorScore, a new voluntary certification program administered by the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) that identifies flooring products that meet stringent air quality requirements for low emitting building materials. Armstrong now offers the S-761 seam adhesive, a new, patent-pending seaming system for commercial sheet vinyl that provides simpler, faster, and less expense seaming options. “With S-761 Seam Adhesive from Armstrong Commercial Flooring, installing vinyl sheet flooring is quicker and easier--bringing value to the installation process for both the building owner and the contractor,” explains Rice. “Installing a floor with S-761 Seam Adhesive saves time and money over traditional heat welding, because an installer can go from almost 11 hours of seam installation time with heat welding to just minutes with S-761.” Other benefits include: - Heat welding can cost $3 to $5 per lineal foot while S-761 Seam Adhesive costs pennies per seam. - No complex installation necessary; it’s simple enough for any installer to successfully complete a seam. - No extra equipment is needed. (Heat weld tools can cost anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000.)