Dallas, TX – February 1, 2016 – The Columbia brand has recently launched three NEW engineered hardwood collections: Wimberly, Ashby, and Vale. These new product collections are the right products for today’s market, empowering Columbia retailers to capitalize on the continued growth of the engineered hardwood market. Equipped with the right products, Columbia retailers are poised to capture greater sales and increased profits in 2016!

Engineered Hardwood Trend
“One of the biggest flooring trends that has shaped the overall hardwood market over the past two years is the steady rise in the percentage of engineered sales,” said Harry Bogner, senior vice president of hardwood for Unilin, Columbia’s parent company. “This trend started a few years ago and is projected to continue increasing. At Columbia, we are continually positioning our retailers for success in this growing engineered market by regularly launching new products such as the Wimberly, Ashby, and Vale collections.”

NEW Wimberly Collection
Columbia’s new Wimberly engineered hardwood is a rustic antiqued flooring collection with a beautifully weathered appearance, resembling the uniqueness of reclaimed wood. Striking knots and dramatic character marks further emphasize the depth and texture in these lightly wire-brushed oaks and hickories that feature a multi-stain antiquing process, creating high-end visuals.

NEW Ashby Collection
Columbia’s new Ashby collection features longer/wider planks, including softly wire-brushed oaks and smooth maple in fashion-forward matte tones. 7” wide planks offer random lengths up to 72” long and showcase the natural beauty of hardwood with ample amounts of rustic character including cracks, knots and splits. Includes SuperiorShield surface technology.

NEW Vale Collection
Columbia’s new Vale collection is a blend of smooth maple and walnut floors, along with softly wire-brushed oak and hickory — in longer/wider planks. Rich browns, warm grays, and unique natural tones create high-end visuals. Ample amounts of rustic character, including cracks, knots, and splits are featured in this new collection.

Longer / Wider Trend
“In engineered flooring, longer/wider planks are rapidly expanding their share of the engineered market, offering the consumer a larger format for today’s open-concept home,” said Bogner. “One attribute of a wider longer engineered plank is that consumers get a solid wood look, with the additional benefit of engineered’s dimensional stability. Columbia’s new Vale and Ashby collections equip retailers with wider/longer products that provide this solid wood look.”

Wire-Brushed Trend
“Columbia’s new Wimberly, Ashby, and Vale collections all touch on another trend: wire-brushed surface textures,” added Bogner. “Wire-brushed surface texturing is definitely the hot thing right now!”

Reclaimed / Time-Worn Trend
Columbia’s new Wimberly is a rustic antiqued flooring collection with a beautifully weathered appearance that resembles the uniqueness of reclaimed wood. Striking knots and dramatic character marks further emphasize the depth and texture of this antiqued flooring.

Increased Sales!
“Our hardwood team takes great pride in continually offering Columbia’s customers engineered products that feature the most popular colors, clarity of stain, surface textures, and added value finishes on the market today, at a very attractive price,” concludes Bogner. “Columbia’s new Wimberly, Ashby, and Vale collections provide retailers with a full array of outstanding looks and a long list of attractive selling features — to fully capitalize on the continued growth of the engineered hardwood market!”

For More Information
To learn more about Columbia’s new Wimberly, Ashby, and Vale collections, visit columbiaflooring.com.

About Columbia Flooring
Columbia Flooring is a domestic manufacturer of solid and engineered hardwood and laminate flooring. Columbia is part of Mohawk Industries which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is a Fortune 500 company. For more information, visit www.columbiaflooring.com.

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