Armstrong Staying in European Commercial Market

Teesside, England, Aug. 20, 2010--Armstrong World Industries will remain in the European commercial flooring market, even though it is exiting the residential business, according to a story in nebusiness.

The firm is shutting down a 33-year-old linoleum plant in Teeesside due to reduced demand.

"The withdrawal from the European residential business is considered necessary for Armstrong to focus on the commercial flooring business and those markets where we have leading positions in order to build a sustainable and profitable business,” said Armstrong executive vice president Frank Ready.

Key factors given for the decision to close the plant were the “significant reductions in demand for residential cushion vinyl flooring products across Europe and the small scale and disadvantageous input costs of the Teesside facility”.