By Matthew Spieler
Salem, N.J.—Mannington Mills has always believed the best way to service specialty dealers is to offer product in as many, if not all the floor covering categories. That trend continues as the company’s 2007 introductions include its entrance into two emerging segments in the resilient and wood categories—fiberglass-backed resilient and wood that installs with a mechanical locking system similar to laminate.

These products are part of Mannington’s largest set of introductions in the company’s 90-plus year history, said Ed Duncan, senior vice president, residential marketing and new business development. In fact, this year’s launch is 25% more than last year’s which, at the time, was a record for the company.

“When the economy slows,” he explained, “Mannington believes that’s the time to step things up and be in the right position with product and merchandising. Unlike others, who may limit their product introductions, we go all out with new and innovative offerings so our distributors and dealers will be ready when things turn around.”

While many of this year’s introductions help round out existing lines, a great many stand by themselves. The two biggest are Mannington’s official entry into fiberglass and glueless wood.

On the latter, Dan Natkin, hardwood product manager, said mechanical locking systems have been slowly permeating the category, though not as fast as they did in laminates, and it will be the “biggest story in hardwood this year.” With that, Tradewinds with Loc-n-Go technology “is our first foray into glueless wood and it will, not, be our last.”

Loc-n-Go’s patented mechanism is, he noted, “the easiest locking system on the market—bar none. It’s 15% faster than angle locking mechanisms.”

Produced by Sweden’s Välinge, one of the two main makers of patented locking systems in the world, Loc-n-Go is a “drop-lock system,” Natkin explained. “The lock at the head seam features an ingenious spring that takes hold more tightly so you have a more consistent look.”

The initial collection features three species—Canelo Teak, Magellan Oak and Andino Cherry—and four colors on a 1/2-inch thick, five-inch-wide plank which is the trendy width in wood flooring. “Consumers are looking for wider widths so this keeps up with that demand,” he said, adding that three years ago Mannington first introduced Tradewinds but its planks were three-inches wide.

Since Tradewinds with Loc-n-Go is different that Mannington’s other wood offerings, the company created “a unique stand alone tower display,” Natkin said, “so dealers and consumers will not mix it up with the traditional wood products we offer.”

Resilient’s future

Anyone involved in the resilient category will tell you times have been tough, with sales flat to down the past few years. Despite this, there have been some bright spots such as glass-backed floors, which were reintroduced into the U.S. market less than five years ago and have been met with great success.

“It’s the fastest growing segment in sheet vinyl,” said John Rocconi, resilient product manager. In the short time it has been around, glass-backed products now account for approximately 10% of the total residential sheet vinyl market as “sales in 2006 grew by 50%.”

Mannington’s entrance in this area may be later than others, he noted, “but we didn’t want to rush in; we wanted to make sure our product differentiated itself from the competition in performance, styling and merchandising.”

To do this, the mill decided it had to make the product at its plant here and not import it from Europe. The result is Sobella, an umbrella brand for Mannington’s glass-backed offerings.

Derived from the Italian word bella, meaning beautiful, Sobella stands for “so beautiful,” which equates to style. “It’s a soft word that implies everything about the product—comfort, family, children and home. It’s soft enough to replace carpet,” said David Sheehan, director of resilient business.

Sobella is being launched in two collections consisting of 12 patterns and 35 SKUs. The Best line, at 115mil thick with a 15mil wearlayer, has 23 SKUs, while the Better line’s 12 SKUs are 100mil thick with a 10mil wearlayer.

Rocconi said the company utilized its best technology in constructing Sobella, including NatureForm Optix, Scratch-resist, Guardian, GripTech and Never Yellow. Plus, unlike other products on the market which use two to three color stations, Mannington uses six to seven. This not only creates greater detail, dimension and real pattern-matching capabilities, “it allows for new styling concepts never before done in sheet vinyl.”

Sobella’s Better and Best are warranted for 10 and 15 years, respectively, come in 12-foot rolls for easier handling and can be submerged in water. In addition, they feature aluminum oxide in the wearlayer.

While Sobella can be loose laid, Rocconi said it can be glued using Mannington’s existing products. “The backing is also different from others in that it is textured for better gripping—whether it is laid down with or without glue.”

Displaying Sobella is easy with Mannington’s pulpit styled, compact unit that allows for easy product removal. Though compact, there is still space for literature and take-home samples. In a sense, it is being shown similar to how carpet is displayed in that you can easily feel the product, take it out and place it on the floor or do performance tests with it.

Adurable enhancements

The other bright spot in resilient has been the luxury vinyl segment. While most refer to this area as LVT or luxury vinyl tile, fact is, “over 50% of our sales come from planks,” said Sheehan, “and we expect it to hit 70%. Mannington has really leveraged the plank format, especially in the 5-inch width.”

Mannington’s Adura Luxury Floors has become one of the biggest sellers in company history, he noted. In fact, last year’s Handscraped introduction resulted in record-breaking sales. This year’s products pick up from last year with “even more realistic handscraped looks,” as well as the addition of exotics to capitalize on consumer desire for these types of wood species.

“The technology in the category is growing so we can now do more with embossing and texture,” Sheehan explained. “We can also get great print clarity with extremely fine detail, especially with the cherries.”

“This category,” he added, “allows us to quickly take what is popular in other areas and transfer them to LVT.” One of the reasons for this is Mannington’s ability to take advantage of its NatureForm Optix technology.

For 2007, the Distinctive collection features four patterns and 10 SKUs in a 5 x 48 format. But Adura is not just about wood, as many of its designs mimic the popular tile and stone looks on the market.

And, knowing that grouted installations are very popular, Mannington is introducing Adura Luxury Grout. “This gives you the look of tile without the work, plus you get the added bonus of comfort and warmth that LVT provides,” Sheehan said. “It brings Adura to the next level of realism.”

Adura Luxury Grout comes in four patterns, 19 SKUs and features eight popular grout colors, which are formulated so if a mistake is made, the installer can go back and fix it without any hassle.

(Editor’s note: Given that this is a record year of product introductions for Mannington, FCNews will focus future stories on its launches in tile, wood and laminate.)