Not Your Grandmother's Laminate
    Jim Gould - August 22, 2008  Talk Floor Post
    During the last two decades, no product has impacted our industry as much
    as laminate flooring and no industry has been impacted by flooring as much
    as laminate.  I just returned from speaking at the TAPPI conference, an
    organization that represents the manufacturers of paper and core materials
    used in the manufacture of laminate.  Flooring represents a small but
    growing percentage of that industry whose primary customers are furniture
    and wall panel manufacturers as well as automotive dashboards, etc.

    Laminate flooring manufacturers have continually improved their product to
    the point that it looks nothing like the first generation product.  That said,
    there are even more changes in the labs that will make tomorrow's laminate
    even more attractive and better performing.  Innovations like 3-dimensional
    printing, formaldehyde free, direct printing, fiberglass reinforced tops for
    stronger surfaces, polypropylene films for water resistance, etc., were
    dreams that are now becoming reality.

     Flooring has been both a driver and a beneficiary of many of these
    improvements.  End result is that laminate flooring continues to improve to
    meet the needs of a broader range of end use markets.  
    No pun intended but it looks like laminate flooring has only scratched the
    surface of its flooring opportunity.

News and Events
Blog Posts
Events
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October 1-3, 2008
LGM Carpet Seminar with Lew Migliore                   

Topics include Industry Overview, Carpet Construction, Fibers and their
Characteristics, Dyeing and Tufting Processes, Installation, Cleaning and
Maintenance, and more.  Click here for more details...
Surfaces Week in Las Vegas - Feb 3, 2009
Industry Leadership Forum: Vision 2009
The opening event at Surfaces 2009, this forum features industry leaders Ralph
Boe, Frank Ready, Keith Campbell, Tom Davis and Randy Merritt speaking about
their vision for 2009.  The event benefits the Floor Covering Industry Foundation
and is sponsored by the Floor Covering Institute, Affluent Insights and Hanley
Wood. Contact Jim Gould or Chris Ramey for more details.