FCNews recently released its Winter Markets Product Guide 2022. Flooring retailers attending the winter markets—which included Surfaces, three regional Market Maker shows, a series of Mohawk Momentum Roadshow events and several Shaw winter regionals—were treated to some truly inspiring products that are sure to make an impact in 2022 and beyond.
The products spanned all flooring surfaces and covered stylish and colorful designs in today’s popular formats. Each manufacturer that chose to participate in this Winter Markets Product Guide had the opportunity to submit photos and descriptions of four recently introduced products or top sellers.
Standouts included Create Flooring kicking off 2022 with a diversified lineup that included SPC, engineered hardwood and laminate. The company’s Lofts collection is a water- and scratch-resistant laminate that features a 14mm overall thickness available in random lengths of 2, 4 and 6 feet along with a 7 ½-inch-wide plank.
While many flooring manufacturers seek to mimic the look of real hardwood, there are still suppliers who market the genuine article. That would include Hallmark Floors, which aims to impress with several new offerings. This includes Empire, an engineered hardwood collection featuring trendy colors in the ever-popular herringbone pattern. The series also boasts European oaks with American hickories and maples milled for ease of installation.
Staying with the hardwood theme, Mercier has added seven new products to its Atmosphere collection, including red oak.
Mohawk strengthened its performance hardwood portfolio with additions to the UltraWood line, unveiling new collections in maple and European white oak, along with enhancements to UltraWood Plus with CleanProtect. UltraWood Plus also provides WetProtect technology—a lifetime surface and subfloor waterproof warranty—as well as EasyClean, Mohawk’s enhanced lacquer resistance against stains and soil buildup.
Shaw Industries, which returned to Surfaces for the first time in 15 years, wowed retailers with a bevy of new offerings across its family of brands—Anderson Tuftex, COREtec, Philadelphia Commercial and, of course, Shaw Floors. A/T’s Caboodle, for example, was noted for its naturally imperfect geometric shapes carved out of sandstone canyon walls by Mother Nature. The durable Anso high-performance fibers in Shaw’s new Pet Perfect carpets offer built-in stain protection, fade- and bleach-resistance and easily releases pet hair while vacuuming.
The growth of hard surfaces has provided a pathway for traditional carpet mills to cross over and get a slice of the still growing pie. A case in point is The Dixie Group, which is now a bona fide player in SPC/rigid core, hardwood and laminate. Its new TruCor 3DP provides an innovative direct digital print onto an SPC core. Two times the resolution of some PVC film options, this 3DP technology utilizes synchronized digital print textures that mimic cathedrals, graining, knots and mineral streaks found in wood or stone.
Stanton, which was one of the last traditional carpet companies to make the leap into hard surfaces, brings its style and design game to SPC. This year it is introducing DWF Natural Beauty Tile 16 series, which features 16 x 32 format luxury vinyl in a stone visual. The oversized tiles provide a clean look with a low-profile grout line that allows the organic designs to flow with less visual interruption.
Exceptional high-definition visuals, textures and painted bevel edges are the signature features of HDPC vinyl plank from Wellmade Performance Flooring. Coupled with Wellmade’s HDPC rigid core structure, the product provides excellent impact resistance and waterproof performance.
CFL’s FirmFit brand, meanwhile, is touting its Intown & Downtown collections as offering the strongest waterproof floors for moments when “life happens.” Made in Calhoun, Ga., the rigid core floors include the Scratch Shield Max finish for extra wear and stain resistance.
Floor Covering News’ Winter Markets Product Guide 2022 is designed to highlight the latest and greatest introductions from some of the industry’s major players across all categories. Beyond that, this guide also provides information dealers can use on the store floor. Whether a consumer is asking for a particular product or is in need of some direction navigating the vast options, this special issue is chock full of helpful details that can be utilized during the buying process. From waterproof hardwood to 3D printed SPC, this guide has it all.
