Floor Surfaces

Selecting a flooring material for many commercial and industrial installations is often heavily dependent on performance but that doesn't mean that appearance and design have to suffer as a result. Quite the contrary, the flooring industry has developed many dynamic and attractive products that can be used quite creatively and innovatively with performance characteristics to suit a variety of light-, medium-, and heavy-duty installations. This is probably most evident in the use of the variety of commercial resilient flooring products that are available, from high design luxury vinyl tile (LVT) to technically focused resilient sheet products that can be made with 100 percent bio-based plasticizers. From a design standpoint, resilient flooring products are available with homogeneous makeup using non-directional designs and colors which can make more of a bold design statement than some common directional patterns. Manufacturers offer literally dozens of tone-on-tone non-directional colors to choose from.

Photos courtesy of Gerflor USA

Resilient flooring can provide the design benefits of non-directional color and enhanced surface finish treatments even in high-demand environments such as healthcare settings and schools.

These state-of-the-art resilient flooring products are also suitable for a variety of building types. Available as roll goods and ISO 22196 certified to inhibit the spread of bacteria, they can be ideal for healthcare and school environments. In these settings, products are also available that are FloorScore™ certified with low volatile organic compound (VOC) content, are 100 percent allergen-free, antimicrobial, and even compliant with the European REACH system for chemical safety. Advanced surface treatments on this type of flooring provide the best stain and chemical resistance in the industry as well as no wax properties for easy maintenance.

Benjamin Bachman, CEO of Gerflor USA, says, “We've seen a trend where 70 percent of our sales are from products developed within the last three years. Innovations in technical features have allowed a number of new resilient flooring products including one which is the only homogenous sheet flooring made with a 100 percent bio-based plasticizer, making it a sustainable choice.”