Some manufacturers exited for regional shows and were successful in their efforts. The decisions to leave the Surfaces show were made to provide quality time with retailers/contractors and fill their product and educational needs. Bottom line: the regional and the national shows are important to all segments of the industry.
I'm positive that no one got to all the booths at Surfaces. Here are just some of the interesting products I viewed at the show: the Honeywell Monet color process used in Blueridge Home residential carpet styles; Carpenter's Stainmaster carpet cushion; Stainmaster resilient flooring by Mannington; the BR-111 Casanova Engineered exotic line; Tarkett's Personal Expressions FiberFloor using advanced fiberglass technology; the MAPEI BioBlock antimicrobial protection for its adhesives, grouts, caulks and waterproofing; Faus InterPlank Design for seamless continuation between planks, and Microbevel for increased depth and realism to the floor; Mannington's Adura lvt; DeckStrip weatherproof carpet strip for individual deck boards; EarthWerks Montana Luxury Vinyl Plank; and Mullican Flooring's Southern Classics reclaimed/reborn wood floors.
It was definitely evident that manufacturers checked out the needs of the marketplace prior to unveiling this year's products.
Royalty Celebrates 40th Anniversary
Happy 40th anniversary wishes go to Royalty Carpet Mills and its president and founder, Mike Derderian. Royalty Carpet Mills commenced manufacturing carpet with one tufting machine in 1963. In a short time, Royalty Carpet Mills added three more tufting machines to accommodate the tremendous growth.In 1992, the company acquired Pacific Crest Mills (now Pacificrest Mills) to produce commercial carpet for the designer/specifier/architect market. Camelot Carpet Mills was purchased in 1999 to expand the company's product offerings.
The Irvine, Calif.-based company has now grown to a total of 975,000 square feet of manufacturing facilities and employs a total of 850 employees. Royalty Carpet Mills has evolved to become the West Coast's largest independently owned vertically integrated carpet mill with yarn spinning, tufting, dyeing, and finishing producing medium- to high-end styles.
As the needs of specialty retailers, design centers, homebuilders and big boxes have changed, Royalty has met those needs with additions of ceramic tile, porcelain and stone categories
