After a year in the doldrums, the global floor covering industry is finally getting together at the largest international floor covering exhibition at Domotex in Hannover, Germany. The show brings a vast and mixed offering of products, information and experiences that have been developed during the last year. Many manufacturers target Domotex as their global launching platform for new introductions and innovations. Here are some quick notes and thoughts from the first day of the show. The picture below shows laminate flooring on display.
- Laminate manufacturers Classen and Pergo recently announced a cross licensing agreement for fold-down joint technology. (Pergo is now led by ex-Classen chief Dr. Ralf Eiserman.)
- Classen v. Shaw. We have learned that Classen filed a lawsuit against Valinge and Shaw last week for infringement of patent rights of the fold down technology. Valinge says they are ready for the fight.
- “Powder” or "Paper Free" technology for laminate flooring has improved dramatically. The innovation is being led by Valinge and Kronotex. This technology eliminates the need for décor paper and, therefore, balance backing paper, and carries an ecological story since it uses recycled HDF to create the wood fiber. It also increases wear and impact resistance. You can read Valinge's press release at this link. The driving goal of lower production cost doesn't seem to have been achieved yet and design and color flexibility appears rather limited. Still, I applaud Valinge for their continued efforts to perfect this technology since it could become the production method of the future if improvement continues.
No chance to shop for innovative products - yet - but I’ll quickly report anything that is exciting in my next blog post. Wish you were here, but if you aren’t I’ll just have to drink your allotment of German beer!
Jim
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