Dear Colleagues,

Despite the continued up and down economic news, we are cautiously optimistic about the recovery in the second half of 2011 and what it means for the commercial flooring industry this year and into 2012.

In 2010 and into 2011, we are seeing almost every segment increase in activity and planning. CBC Flooring finished last year very strong with double-digit revenue growth. We attribute the growth to a combination of initiatives we have taken since early 2009, including strategic sales and marketing efforts and new product development.

We are experiencing movement in the healthcare and education markets and there are early indications of movement in hospitality and retail as well. As a result, we are noticing a new trend for 2011: the education market and its designers are driving design decisions with more use of color and style. That, coupled with our strong green story, has given us a boost in the education segment.

It is no secret that luxury vinyl tile (LVT) is the fastest growing sector of the resilient flooring market due to its exceptional value and its ease of installation, performance and superior sound absorption.

The demand for LVT has been an important driver of CBC Flooring’s growth strategy. In mid 2010, we added Halo Floors to our existing lineup of LVT brands. Halo has the category covered with options that simply aren’t available anywhere else. The design and quality created by Mary Docker at Halo has been a great boost to our efforts in all market segments.

Since its introduction over 20 years ago, our TOLI brand has been the standard in luxury vinyl tile for years with many healthcare facilities. This premium LVT offers the very best visual due to its uniquely layered print film.  Mature sheet remains the leader in quality, design, and performance and is considered by many designers to be the best visual that exists in print film woodgrains.

Along with exceptional color and style, these days many designers and architects are also looking for sustainable materials, and we believe that trend is here to stay. I feel our industry has worked diligently and been creative in finding ways to improve our environment and long-term sustainability. We will continue to search for the best methods to provide a sustainable advantage with our products.

We are focused on adding critically researched green products – the core of our growth strategy – and those sourced without regard to geographic boundaries to meet the demand for sustainable products.

CBC has strategically assembled a collection of brands that represents a comprehensive breadth and scope of commercial materials from a single supplier, to meet the changing demands of customers. We now source products from countries including Finland, Japan, Argentina, Portugal, Mexico and the U.S., and partner with the best manufacturers worldwide.

As an industry, all signs indicate we are headed in the right direction and recent economic setbacks are temporary. We look forward to meeting the needs of the commercial specifier in 2011 and beyond.


Sincerely,

Jeffrey L. Collum
Director, CBC Flooring