Andres Faus, the driving force of Faus Group credited with bringing a pioneering spirit to laminate flooring, died yesterday in Gandia, Valencia, Spain due to complications from cancer. He was 68.

Faus started what would become a worldwide laminate flooring manufacturer in a humble carpenter's workshop in 1953, in Valencia, Spain. Under Faus' leadership, the company would evolve into an organization renowned for its industry innovations. The Faus Group became the first manufacturer in the industry to apply a special melamine coating to its laminate flooring, a move designed to give the flooring a more realistic look. During Andres Faus' tenure as chairman of the board, the laminate maker pioneered several important technologies that reverberated throughout the industry: including Embossed-In-Register texturing and Microbevel technologies.

"Mr. Faus was a pioneer in the industry and in many different manufacturing areas," said Juan Flores, president of Calhoun, Ga.-based Faus Group Inc., the U.S. arm of Faus Group. "It was through all his hard work, honesty and integrity that Faus Group grew to become an internationally recognized name in the world of woodworking and laminate flooring."

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