Armstrong Locking Hardwood Wins Award

Lancaster, PA, February 14, 2007--Armstrong's Locking Hardwood flooring was honored with the prestigious 2007 American Building Products Awards from Home magazine, a leading consumer shelter publication. For the 11th consecutive year, Home Magazine (homemag.com) editors selected each product based on innovation, durability and practicality. Thirteen of the latest and greatest American building products will appear in the March 2007 issue of the magazine, which is available on newsstands February 13. “Always on the look-out for new ways to make new construction and remodeling projects more efficient and beautiful, Home’s editors annually search for home products that merge innovative technology with beautiful design,” says Home vice president/publisher Jack Grant. “We’re very gratified with this great recognition. Armstrong’s goal for Locking Hardwood was to develop high quality flooring that offered beautiful visuals and could be installed more quickly with a lower installed cost. We achieved not only better technology but better looking floors with superior value,” says Dick Quinlan, general manager, Wood Products. “We took visuals that the American consumer wants and brought them to market with a great locking system, making it easier to install for builders, retail installers and remodelers,” he says. Since the need for adhesive is eliminated and installation time is reduced, consumers will benefit from a lower installed cost with less disruption to their household and are able to enjoy their new hardwood floor faster. According to Quinlan, the NextGen Engineered Technology is taking off in North America where 50% to 60% of new homes have concrete subfloors--homes perfect for a floating hardwood floor. “Installation is quicker and easier, and Armstrong’s years of technological research, backed by the strength of its brand reputation, have paid off,” he says. The winners were honored during the International Builder’s Show at Home’s American Building Product Awards ceremony at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday, February 7 from 6-8 p.m. Product Profile: Armstrong Locking Hardwood: Beautiful Flooring with Faster and Easier Installation - Armstrong locking line includes a wide spectrum of product options--Exotics, Hand sculpted, American Style Visuals. The collection includes 32 different products, all featuring the Armstrong exclusive NextGen patent-pending engineered technology, which eliminates the need for glue, staples or nails and reduces installation time. Similar to “click” laminate floors where the panels are joined together without glue, NextGen is the result of nearly three years of research and development and offers a substantial reduction in the length of time required for installation. The collection offers 5-inch single planks and 5-inch two-strip planks with 15 and 25-year residential warranties, and in some cases an additional 3-year commercial finish warranty. Trend-setting visuals are available in three distinct collections--Hand-scraped, Global Species and Oak. And, as an engineered hardwood floor, this product uses only a fraction of the raw materials that were traditionally required for 3/4" solid hardwood floors of the past, making them an outstanding sustainable and more environmentally-friendly option.