Metroflor Corporation announced that its SPC and WPC products achieve the requirements for Assured Certified – a program created by the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) and SCS Global Services (SCS) to ensure the continued growth and integrity of rigid core LVT marketed and sold in North America. Positioned as “Smart. Durable. Responsible,” the Assure program establishes industry-wide, uniform standards for rigid core LVT safety, quality and performance, regardless of where it is manufactured. While Assure is administered by the RFCI, the program is operated by SCS Global Services (SCS), a leading third-party certifier.
Metroflor’s Inception and Metrostone SPC floors and Genesis WPC floors meet the standards for Assure certification.
“The Assure standard’s important role is twofold," said Russ Rogg, president, Metroflor, "For the customer, it enables immediate identification of a quality product that also meets important environmental and safety criteria and standardized performance requirements. For the industry, it establishes uniformity and consistency for rigid core flooring and protects the category from inferior products. We are proud that our all of our SPC and WPC products have achieved these rigorous standards.”
“The standards for the Assure Certified program provide the best protection and quality assurance for all rigid core manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, retailers and, of course, consumers and end users," added Dean Thompson, president and CEO, RFCI.
Assure is the culmination of an effort begun by the Multilayer Flooring Association (MFA) and SCS in 2018 to create a pilot certification for new rigid core, multilayer flooring products. By bundling existing standards, the collaboration created an all-encompassing platform for safety, quality, performance, and sustainability for the category.
“The MFA needed a standard to promote the category at large, providing both manufacturers and end users with an agreed-upon standard,” said Harlan Stone, CEO of HMTX Industries and now Chairman of the Multilayer Flooring Advisory Committee at RFCI. “Working hand in hand with our members and SCS, we created the pilot format, which is now under the auspices of RFCI. Thanks to their great cooperation, this standard is now being widely accepted. Our goal is to both achieve and surpass the success and impact of the FloorScore Certification with this new standard, enabling more manufacturers, including Metroflor, to achieve even greater heights of quality and safety.”
Assure certification includes an assessment of the manufacturing quality control procedure for material suppliers, product traceability, chain of custody, internal QC testing, and segregation of non-conforming products and materials. It also includes an on-site manufacturing facility audit as well as performance testing in compliance with the rigid core ASTM 3261-17 standard, testing for heavy metals and ortho-phthalates content, and FloorScore testing for indoor air quality.
For more information, visit metroflorusa.com.