Alan Rowell was recently named director of sales for Aspecta. In his new role, Rowell will lead the commercial sales manager team, working in concert with Aspecta distributors to focus on the right customers and ensure that salesforce.com and Reed Construction Data are used to their fullest capabilities. Floor Trends connected with him recently to learn more about what’s in store for 2018.

FT: What's your outlook for 2018?

Rowell: For the commercial segment, our outlook is this: The growth potential is phenomenal--there is so much opportunity out there in different segments.

FT: What commercial categories are presenting great opportunities for Aspecta and why?

Rowell: At Aspecta, we are seeing the greatest growth trend in retail and hospitality. We are capturing more of the retail market than ever before. Retail is evolving and there is a great deal of experimentation in designing stores that elevate the customer experience to gain a competitive edge against online shopping. The retail design trade is looking to create beautiful, unique, warm and inviting environments for differentiation, and that's where Aspecta can add value with high-performing, better styled, and innovative products.

For hospitality, the segment's emerging ability to embrace LVT instead of carpet is just the tip of the iceberg. Accelerated acceptance is providing huge opportunity for Aspecta, and our specs for the sector are increasing rapidly. We are finding that Aspecta Ten provides a much faster and efficient installation reduces the opportunity-loss due to rooms being down due to replacing the flooring.

Education is also growing. K through 12 as well as higher education are embracing LVT in place of the traditionally used VCT. LVT provides easier and less costly maintenance, while offering a design palette that lends warmth to the environment for students and faculty alike. VCT gives an institutional cool feel, without the warmth that LVT adds.

FT: Where do you see LVT heading?

Rowell: In terms of volume growth, we are still on the upward growth curve. Technology is changing at a rapid rate in the segment. A decade ago, we launched Konecto, the industry's first floating LVT. Since then, we've seen the evolution of WPC and Structural LVT and now we are into the SPC/rigid core phenomenon -- all in the past few years. New categories bring new opportunities. Aspecta means not only style and design, but innovation, too. We are always working on the next generation of products. We will have interesting new products to reveal soon….stay tuned.

FT: Explain the role sustainability pays for your commercial clients.

Rowell: Sustainability is very important as a differentiator in the marketplace. Sustainable attributes also mean transparency. We are a very transparent company and make sure we provide all the product attributes through our Product Authority team (PAT), who have achieved Declare labels for the entire Aspecta product line. We post our products on Mindful Materials and Origin. Our PAT is keeping ahead of the entire LVT category in terms of certifications and standards. We were the first rigid core LVT product to achieve a Declare label, for instance.

For more information, visit www.aspectaflooring.com.