Forbo Flooring Systems is going from strength-to-strength, with a versatile range of floorcoverings to meet contractor’s needs, says Craig Thornhill, technical service manager at Forbo
Tell me a little about the history of your company.
Forbo Flooring Systems has a deep-rooted history in the flooring industry. It began in 1928, with the integration of three linoleum manufacturers from Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, under the name Continentale Linoleum Union. Following diversification into the vinyl and carpet tile markets across the ‘60s and ‘70s, the Continentale Linoleum Union was renamed to Forbo to reflect its wider portfolio of products.
Throughout the late ‘70s and into the ‘90s, Forbo began to establish worldwide operations, with activity across five continents and the acquisition of the Scottish Nairn linoleum manufacturing site in Kirkcaldy (the last remaining of its kind in the region). Over the next two decades, Forbo continued to expand its portfolio, developing a reputation for high quality, durable and sustainable floorcoverings. The company now boasts major manufacturing sites throughout mainland Europe, as well as locations in the US, supporting both continents. We’re perhaps best known for our market-leading Marmoleum product, Forbo’s own interpretation of linoleum, as well as the wide range of textile and vinyl products.
When and why did you join the company?
I actually started back in 2005 as an office junior, straight from school. Over the years, I’ve worked on an MOD Contract, in the Nuway customer services team and as technical coordinator. I’ve always been interested in the more technical side of the products and installation, which led me to my current role as technical services manager.
Why are your company’s products different than your competitors’ products?
Forbo has established itself as one of the most sustainable manufacturers in the industry, with considerable investment into the incorporation of recycled content and reduced embodied carbon across its entire product portfolio. Sustainability is a key pillar of the strategy as a business. Everything the company does takes the environment into consideration, whether that’s the materials used within its products, the way they’re installed or the manner in which they’re transported to sites.
In addition to this, Forbo is one of the only floorcovering providers that offers an acoustic, looselay, luxury vinyl tile (LVT): Allura Decibel. It combines 19 dB impact sound reduction performance with excellent functional technical properties, such as exceptional indentation resistance and structural stability. While most solutions require an acoustic underlay, Allura Decibel achieves stand-out acoustic performance as a standalone solution, with no underlay meaning less labour, fewer materials needed and quicker job completions.
What innovation can your clients expect from you in the future?
Allura Decibel b+ is a fantastic example! For projects seeking an even more sustainable finish, Allura Decibel is now available as our Allura Decibel b+ option produced using bio-based PVC, plus a plasticiser from recycled origin. Allura Decibel b+ is made with 31% recycled content, which includes recovered post-production material and installation waste from PVC flooring, as well as recycled filler. It also incorporates a recycled plasticiser sourced in part from items like reclaimed PET bottles – making this feature unique to Allura Decibel b+. In addition, a bio-based PVC replaces traditional fossil-based PVC, increasing the share of renewable materials and further reducing environmental impact. A mass balance approach is applied to both the recycled plasticiser and the bio-based PVC to ensure transparent and responsible material accounting.
What flooring trends are you seeing at the moment, and how do these influence your product development?
Herringbone is definitely a trend that is here to stay! Our updated Allura Decibel collection will see the addition of nine colours and designs in the on-trend 50×12.5cm planks size, perfect for creating herringbone designs in smaller spaces, such as student accommodation and residential applications.
Flooring that emulates natural materials also continues to be popular, helping to bring the outside in while also being easy to maintain. Again, we work hard to ensure our portfolio reflects this. New range deigns include Urban Concrete, the perfect balance between stone and concrete, Gravelstone, a mix of modern concrete and a terrazzo look and feel, and Twill, offer a woven textile aesthetic.
What is your major selling point with contractors? What do your products offer them that others don’t?
In the built environment, specifiers, contractors and building owners are having to be more aware of the materials going into their buildings, ensuring they contribute to the relevant building legislation and standards. For example, Approved Document E – which provides official guidance on resisting the passage of sound in buildings – can often result in contractors needing to find flooring products that deliver the required acoustic performance. To reduce impact or in-room sound, an acoustic underlay is traditionally used. However, as well as taking longer to fit, this can also require more materials like adhesive – in turn, resulting in more waste.
That’s why we developed our Allura Decibel collection, a unique offering on the market, fulfilling both the acoustic and vinyl requirements of a flooring system. With a wide range of realistic wood and material designs available, the collection meets all the aesthetic requirements of luxury vinyl tiles with ease. Thanks to advanced embossing techniques, there is a true to nature match between each individual pattern and the different plank sizes, providing a versatile product for installers to work with.
We also offer a range of fully adhesive-free options, allowing contractors to suggest a more sustainable and circular solution to customers. Adhesive-free flooring is an area we’re placing a lot of emphasis on, with the ability to easily reuse or recycle flooring perfectly complementing our company ethos around material circularity.
Where do you see the company in five years? What’s to come from Forbo?
Reliability, consistency and trust are all vitally important when it comes to business. We believe in our products and our people, and in five years’ time we expect to continue to be a major UK manufacturer, supplier and exporter because of those three pillars.
www.forbo-flooring.co.uk/alluradecibel
CAPTION: Allura Decibel
