Cleveland, OH, December 8, 2005-- In a move that strengthens their position in the commercial flooring category, Tarkett announced the acquisition of Johnsonite of Chagrin Falls, OH, the leading brand in specialty flooring and flooring accessories.
Johnsonite will continue to be directed by the current management team. Other terms of the agreement were not released.
According to Marc Assa, Chief Executive Officer of Tarkett AG, the acquisition of Johnsonite is the continuation of Tarkett's global growth strategy and represents its third major acquisition in 2005 in its quest to provide flooring solutions for each segment of the worldwide market.
Assa added, "Johnsonite is one of the most respected companies in the flooring industry in America. We expect to build on this brand strength by marketing suitable Tarkett high performance commercial solutions under the Johnsonite name."
With this acquisition, Tarkett gains additional insight into the commercial interiors market in North America and the force of a leading brand while Johnsonite secures access to an extensive worldwide product portfolio of high performance specialty flooring solutions as well as Tarkett's global sales, marketing and logistics networks.
Jeff Buttitta, President and Chief Executive Officer of Johnsonite added :
"This strategic relationship will raise the opportunity to bring greater value to our end users and market channel partners such as the design community, flooring service providers and Johnsonite's strong distribution network."
"At Johnsonite, it has always been our mission to create value and measurable lifetime economic return for the end-user." stated Buttitta. "Our new relationship with Tarkett will allow us to create additional customer value through broadening our system capabilities for such key market segments as healthcare, education and corporate."
Buttitta emphasized that Johnsonite will continue to focus on the specialty flooring and accessory categories within the commercial market and added that in the coming months Johnsonite will be exploring the global portfolio of Tarkett innovations for commercial solutions that fit Johnsonite's position of enhancing high performance environments through productivity and life safety.
Tarkett's Commercial Tile business will continue to be distributed by the current Azrock and Expressions network in North America. The organization led by Gilles de Beaumont will continue to operate from its base in Houston, TX.
Johnsonite, based in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, is the leader in specialty flooring solutions that integrate design, function and life-safety. With sales in excess of $120 million, sales, manufacturing operations and product distribution facilities are located throughout North America.
