MFA & RFCI Merge

LaGrange, Georgia, May 8, 2019-Following approval by the Multilayer Flooring Association (MFA), and the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) boards of directors, Harlan Stone, MFA president and Dean Thompson RFCI president/CEO signed an Asset Transfer Agreement, a legal document designed to combine the two organizations under the RFCI umbrella.

This important industry initiative commenced on April 25, 2018 with the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by MFA and RFCI. The MOU set the stage for MFA and RFCI legal counsels to undertake appropriate diligence and other work to facilitate the joining of the two organizations.

In November 2016, the formation of the Multilayer Flooring Association was announced with a mandate to set industry standards for the new and emerging multilayer flooring category. These standards would be threefold for performance, safety, and sustainability. The end result goal was to create a stronger, more stable, new hybrid flooring category for the benefit of all stakeholders. In December 2017, a key MFA goal was accomplished with the ASTM publication of Standard F3261-17-Standard Specification for Resilient Flooring in Modular Format with Rigid Polymeric Core.

On March 14, 2018 MFA and SCS Global Services announced a pilot certification for new resilient flooring products in the multilayer format with rigid polymer cores. After review of the pilot program during their recent meeting, the RFCI board of directors agreed to advance this certification beyond the pilot phase.

The multilayer flooring category, now referred to as rigid core luxury vinyl tile, is realizing significant market growth based on its exceptional value proposition and has quickly become a mainstream resilient flooring category. The organizational services required to support this unprecedented growth exceed the scope of MFA and hence, the need to combine MFA with RFCI. Nearly all of the MFA members are now members of RFCI, which makes for an easy transition.

RFCI is a long-standing resilient flooring industry trade organization that now represents all categories of resilient flooring including sheet vinyl, flexible luxury vinyl tile, rigid core luxury vinyl tile, rubber sheet and tile, vinyl composition tile, linoleum, and cork flooring. Over 95% of all resilient flooring manufactured and/or marketed throughout North America is represented by the 20 RFCI manufacturing members.