In a move that the company says is tied to a scarcity of PVC resin in the United States, Tarkett Commercial said it will increase the price of its commercial vinyl composition tile (VCT) products and some commercial sheet vinyl by 5 to 7 percent beginning Feb. 1.

"In the past ten months, two of the five major PVC resin plants closed in the U.S.," explained the president of Tarkett Commercial, Gilles de Beaumont. "In order to secure all the PVC resin needed to supply to our customers, we were forced to bring resin from overseas. As a result we cannot offset the price difference, making this price increase necessary."

Tarkett becomes the second major floor covering supplier in less then a week to announce a price hike tied to the dwindling number of resin plants in the U.S. Armstrong Floor Products cited the same reason when it announced that it will increase the price of commercial vinyl composition tile and select residential sheet products by 4 to 6 percent and will raise the price on 8 ft. and 14 ft. sheet products by 15 percent. Those increases also take effect beginning Feb 1.

In making its announcement, Tarkett also reaffirmed its commitment to production cost-efficiencies and increased product availability.

"Tarkett will continually re-evaluate our production processes so that we as a company can continue to deliver our products in a timely and efficient manner," added de Beaumont. "Tarkett remains dedicated to creating efficiencies that help lower manufacturing and supply costs wherever possible."