Here are a few of the exhibitors and campaigns that really caught our eye on day one of the trade show at TISE 2019 in Las Vegas.
Valinge. Lennart Thalin, North and South America region manager for Valinge, displayed his company’s Nadura and Woodura flooring products made using the company’s wood powder technology.
“We are an innovation company. We invented Nadura and Woodura to make our wood veneer more durable while also using less wood in the process. We can make something that looks like wood or tile but it’s much stronger. It’s a floating floor that locks together. We also have single-layer sheets of the veneer for floor producers, so we can be a materials supplier to them [and not a competing floor producer].
“The products are designed using Binder and Powder (BAP) printing. You print out your design using water and powder. The powder sticks to the water. Then you remove the water and heat everything [until the design is baked in].”
DriTac. John Lio, vice president of marketing for DriTac, showcased several new products in DriTac’s adhesives and underlayment lines. He also shared plans for DriTac to start offering its own sports floor line by the end of Q2.
“We have a new spray adhesives line called SprayTac for sheet goods, VCT and LVT/carpet tile. We want to offer unique, eco-friendly solutions to the consumer. We also have introduced DriTac 2000 Vertical for wall applications of hardwood flooring as well as stair treads, caps and risers.
“Additionally, we are offering a recycled rubber underlayment called EnviroTread. From there we’re going to go full bore into rubber—at the end of Q2 we plan to launch an eco-friendly sports floor called PowerTread, in both rolls and interlocking tiles.”
National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA). Michael Martin, president and CEO of the NWFA, spoke about his association’s just-launched “Real Wood, Real Life” consumer campaign. The campaign came together after a consumer survey the association conducted in 2017. “We found out that two-thirds of consumers wanted wood in their dream home, even if they didn’t have wood now. If people want real wood, we need to push that message out to the marketplace.”
The campaign includes a toolkit for members with creative for ads, suggested social media posts, a media outreach tip sheet to get in touch with local members of the press, and a FAQ for consistency of messaging. A 34-page “Homeowner’s Handbook” showcases the benefits of hardwood flooring and “is a great tool to help up-sell consumers to hardwood,” Martin said.
The ultimate goal of the campaign is to drive consumers to woodfloors.org as a clearinghouse of hardwood flooring information, and from there to connect with a certified NWFA professional, Martin added.
