PARIS — August 27, 2018 —  Tarkett, a producer of flooring and sports surfaces solutions, has signed an agreement to acquire 100-percent of Lexmark Carpet Mills.

Lexmark produces high-quality carpet, primarily for the North American hospitality segment. Lexmark is a well-recognized brand among leading hospitality chains. In recent years, the company has extended its product range to address the residential market.

Headquartered in Dalton, Ga., Lexmark achieved around $120 million of sales in 2017, employs 460 people and operates one plant in the United States. Lexmark has demonstrated a strong and profitable growth model, particularly through the successful acquisition of Northwest Carpets in 2015, a manufacturer of broadloom carpet for hospitality and niche commercial applications.

“The acquisition of Lexmark will position Tarkett as one of the leaders in the hospitality segment for carpets in North America,” explained Glen Morrison, CEO, Tarkett. “We will be able to further strengthen Lexmark’s offering in this segment as they will have access to Tarkett’s broader product portfolio. We will also leverage Tarkett’s global presence to enhance Lexmark’s positioning with key accounts worldwide.”

“We are very excited to join Tarkett with whom we share the same vision and entrepreneurial values, as well as a strong commitment to servicing customers with solutions designed to meet a wide range of needs,” comments Paul Cleary, CEO of Lexmark. “Within the Tarkett group, we will be able to offer a larger choice of products to our customers and partners and provide an even stronger offering.”

While the acquisition will be immediately accretive to Group EBITDA margin, Tarkett has also identified sales and supply chain synergies with its North America carpet activities.

The transaction will be financed with an existing credit facility. After the acquisition, Tarkett expects its net consolidated debt leverage ratio to be around 2.5x EBITDA (proforma) at the end of the year.

The transaction is expected to be concluded before the end of this year, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

Posted August 28, 2018

Source: Tarkett

ACWORTH, Ga. — August 27, 2018 — Americo is pleased to announce the acquisition of the strategic assets of U.S. Cocoa Mat (USCOA), a century old manufacturer of personalized Cocoa fiber door mats sold into the retail market.

“As a longtime customer, Americo’s PromoMatting Division is familiar with the quality product manufactured by USCOA.” stated PromoMatting President David Rones. “We are excited to continue the legacy of the DeCoir product line as we enter into the hardware market with USCOA’s experience in this arena.”

Del Hawkins, vice president of Sales for U.S. Cocoa Mat and a 22 year veteran of the company, has worked with customers across all lines of trade including hardware, mass merchandise, warehouse clubs, Internet resellers, and specialty retail stores.

“U.S. Cocoa Mat has been a great company to work for as we prided ourselves on quality and service,” Hawkins said. “Our reputation has always been providing the highest quality Cocoa Mat in the industry.”

Hawkins has since joined Americo’s Matting Division and will be heading up its newly created Hardware/Retail business segment.

“Coming from a company with considerable legacy, I am very excited to be joining Americo, a company with their own remarkable heritage, who embraces the same values of quality, integrity, partnership and family,” Hawkins added “I look forward to working with Americo’s large array of matting products to expand the offering to USCOA’s existing customer base.”

Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional products to clients in over 70 countries worldwide, Chief Executive Officer of Americo Manufacturing Company, Lenny Shutzberg, reflected on the significance of their most recent asset purchase: “We are looking forward to the expansion of our customer base and the expertise of Del Hawkins who has been highly regarded within the hardware and retail industries for a very long time. This strategic asset acquisition allows Americo to expand its product line and market penetration, combining the best of both companies, in offering our clients the broadest range of floor mats in the industry. Americo has the working capital to invest in the future and plans on deploying those resources in making more strategic acquisitions in the future.”

Posted August 28, 2018

Source: Americo

DALTON, Ga. — August 28, 2018 — Shaw Industries Group Inc. has introduced an innovative, patent-pending tool to showcase the impact ceiling and floor construction, as well as flooring and underlayment selection, have on room acoustics. Known as Sound Advisor, the web-based tool helps users make more informed design and interior product selection decisions.

The tool can be accessed via the following branded sites with additional sites under development:

• Patcraft — https://patcraft.soundadvisor.com/;
• Philadelphia Commercial — https://philadelphia.soundadvisor.com/;
• Shaw Contract — https://shawcontract.soundadvisor.com/; and
• Shaw Floors – Multifamily — https://multifamily.soundadvisor.com/.

Shaw has also developed an hour-long continuing education unit (CEU) that qualifies for one credit from IDCEC as well as AIA. The CEU is also available via sales representatives from all Shaw brands, and Shaw will present a GBCI-approved session at this year’s Greenbuild conference.

Research shows that the constant sounds of everyday life — the hum of an appliance, co-workers talking, music in the background — have a powerful impact on people’s wellbeing. Too much noise can lead to stress, fatigue, lack of focus, anxiety and lengthier healing times. From student apartments and hotels to offices and hospitals, sound can make or break the effectiveness of a building.

The human health impact can have a negative business including loss in productivity or decreased revenue as a result of apartment turnover or fewer hotel night stays.

Building certifications now take acoustics into account when evaluating a space’s impact on human health and the environment. The U.S. Green Building Council LEED v4 includes a focus on airborne sound and in-room sound for commercial buildings, schools and healthcare facilities. The International WELL Building Institute has set benchmarks for the numerous ways a building and its systems can support human health and wellness, including sound abatement.

Even without such certifications, owners, managers, housing directors and contractors recognize the value in noise abatement when creating a superior, competitive building.

“Floor covering and other products are labeled with an impact insulation class (IIC) rating; however, IIC ratings on a product are not enough. They don’t tell the whole story,” noted Jay Henry, director of innovation at Shaw Industries.

“Recognizing this gap in the marketplace, we’ve conducted extensive testing to provide an estimated IIC rating based on specific floor and ceiling construction, paired with flooring types and installation methods where underlayment is and isn’t used. This testing produced not only an IIC number but a sound file that allows a user to actually hear the difference,” Henry added.

Shaw’s efforts stand to bring more science-based decision-making to building design, room design and product selection. The company’s research-centric approach will shape how its teams advise designers and facility managers through product selection and how Shaw develops innovative products in the future.

Posted August 28, 2018

Source: Shaw Industries Group, Inc.

HONG KONG — August 27, 2018 — Cinte Techtextil China opens its doors next week, with around 480 exhibitors from 22 countries and regions preparing for another successful showcase of the world’s leading textile innovations. Leading international and domestic brands will feature in halls N1 – N3 at Shanghai New International Expo Centre from September 4-6, making Cinte Techtextil the ideal place to make connections and gain insight into Chinese and Asian market trends.

The technical textile industry in the Asia region, and China in particular, has been growing steadily and is predicted to continue doing so. China’s total output of technical textiles and nonwoven products is estimated to account for 30 percent of global production by 2020, and double that of 2013. This high potential for growth, achieved through investments worth billions of dollars, has drawn attention from European exhibitors, who are set to travel to the region for Cinte Techtextil.

This year’s European Zone will feature around 30 exhibitors from countries including Austria, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, while further exhibitors can be found in national pavilions from Belgium, Germany and Italy. In addition to this, the Czech Republic will present its debut pavilion, showcasing exhibitors with solutions for technical yarn, fabric processing and nonwoven fabrics.

In addition to this, exhibitors from 12 more countries and regions will present their latest innovations to the market. These include domestic and international exhibitors from China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the US.

Belt and Road: a success story for Buildtech

Following higher regulations and quality standards that aim to exceed Western levels, demand is high in China for production machinery. What’s more, with the national nonwovens market displaying particularly fast growth, Cinte Techtextil has attracted some of the world’s leading nonwoven and weaving machinery brands.

The fair will showcase leading global exhibitors across 12 application areas. Two areas to watch out for include Buildtech and Mobiltech, which are both performing well in Asia and specifically in China. The Belt and Road initiative brings Buildtech a great deal of benefits through China’s enormous investments in global infrastructure. Adding to this, China’s automobile production has been increasing 3 percent year-on-year, with particularly high growth seen in new-energy vehicles, SUVs and commercial vehicles. China has become the world’s largest auto producer, and this has been boosting progress in the Mobiltech category.

Cinte Techtextil fringe program a hub of industry insight

A comprehensive fringe programme will keep Cinte Techtextil fairgoers up to date with industry news, with standout events including the 7th China International Nonwovens Conference. Focusing on the global nonwovens industry, topic highlights include the latest innovations in China’s nonwovens industry, an insight into the North American nonwovens market, future trends in the global hygiene product market, and more. The conference will also discuss innovations and developments in filter materials and the wipe industry.

The first day of the fringe programme will see a panel discussion in hall N1, moderated by the Taiwan Technical Textiles Association (TTTA), with confirmed panellists including DuPont, IBENA Textilwerke and SGS-CSTC Standards Technical Services. The panel will focus on current trends, developments and standards in the protective textile industry.

Other fringe programme events will include seminars and product presentations led by industry leaders on the latest global technologies and market trends, and an Innovation Showcase Area in a variety of application categories.

Cinte Techtextil China is organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and the China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association (CNITA).

Posted August 28, 2018

Source: Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd.