A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the expected load.
Flooring is the general term for a permanent covering of a floor, or for the work of installing such a floor covering. Floor covering is a term to generically describe any finish material applied over a floor structure to provide a walking surface. Both terms are used interchangeably but floor covering refers more to loose-laid materials.
A mat is a hard floor covering that generally is placed on a floor or other flat surface. Mats serve a range of purposes including:
Linoleum is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), pine resin, ground cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a burlap or canvas backing. Pigments are often added to the materials to create the desired colour finish. Commercially, the material has been largely replaced by sheet vinyl flooring, although in the UK and Australia this is often still referred to as "lino".
Laminate flooring is a multi-layer synthetic flooring product fused together with a lamination process. Laminate flooring simulates wood with a photographic appliqué layer under a clear protective layer. The inner core layer is usually composed of melamine resin and fiber board materials. There is a European Standard No. EN 13329:2000 specifying laminate floor covering requirements and testing methods.
Underlay may refer to flooring or roofing materials, bed padding, or a musical notation.
Vinyl composition tile (VCT) is a finished flooring material used primarily in commercial and institutional applications. Modern vinyl floor tiles and sheet flooring and versions of those products sold since the early 1980s are composed of colored polyvinyl chloride (PVC) chips formed into solid sheets of varying thicknesses by heat and pressure. Floor tiles are cut into modular shapes such 12-by-12-inch squares or 12-by-24-inch rectangles. In installation the floor tiles or sheet flooring are applied to a smooth, leveled sub-floor using a specially formulated vinyl adhesive or tile mastic that remains pliable. In commercial applications some tiles are typically waxed and buffed using special materials and equipment.
Interface, Inc. is a global manufacturer of commercial flooring with an integrated collection of carpet tiles and resilient flooring, including luxury vinyl tiles (LVT) and nora brand rubber flooring.
Headlam Group plc is a British based company which distributes floor coverings throughout Europe. It specializes in carpet, residential vinyl, wood, laminate, luxury vinyl tile, and commercial flooring. Headlam Group is currently listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange
Dunlop is a brand of tyre originally produced by the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company from the end of the 19th century, taking its name from John Boyd Dunlop. The brand is used for many other products made from rubber or with rubber components and some with a looser connection to rubber.
Sustainable flooring is produced from sustainable materials that reduces demands on ecosystems during its life-cycle. This includes harvest, production, use and disposal. It is thought that sustainable flooring creates safer and healthier buildings and guarantees a future for traditional producers of renewable resources that many communities depend on. Several initiatives have led the charge to bring awareness of sustainable flooring as well as healthy buildings. Below are examples of available, though sometimes less well-known, eco-friendly flooring options. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America recommends those with allergies to dust or other particulates choose flooring with smooth surfaces – such as hardwood, vinyl, linoleum tile or slate.
The Interroll Worldwide Group is a manufacturer of products for unit-load handling systems, internal logistics and automation.
Events in the year 1919 in Germany.
The Forbo Siegling Group's headquarters are located in Hanover, Germany. The company is an international manufacturer of conveyor and power transmission belts made of synthetic materials. The group has eight production facilities in Europe, Asia and America, as well as warehouses and workshops in over 50 countries. There are Forbo Siegling service points in more than 300 places all over the world.
Mohawk Industries is an American flooring manufacturer based in Calhoun, Georgia, United States. Mohawk produces floor covering products for residential and commercial applications in North America and residential applications in Europe. The company manufacturing portfolio consists of soft flooring products, hard flooring products, laminate flooring, sheet vinyl and luxury vinyl tile, natural stone and quartz countertops. In Europe, the company also produces and sells insulation, panels and mezzanine flooring. The company employs 43,000 people in operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia and the United States. A Fortune 500 company, Mohawk is the worlds largest flooring manufacturer.
Botanol is a synthetic material, typically used as a floor covering, made from approximately 90% renewable raw materials including canola oil, castor oil and chalk. Botanol was formulated as an eco-friendly alternative to polyurethane.
RiteRug Flooring, formerly Rite Rug, is a flooring retailer headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. RiteRug Flooring's current headquarters, distribution center, wholesale and outlet showroom are located in a 150,000 space in the Whitehall area of the city. They sell floor coverings in the Columbus area. The company had $425 million in revenue in 2021.
Tarkett S.A., known until 2008 as Sommer-Allibert S.A., is a French multinational corporation specialising in the production of floor and wall coverings. Headquartered in La Défense, near Paris, the present company was formed in October 1997 by the merging of two others: French Sommer-Allibert and German Tarkett AG. These companies were in turn formed by the combination of various smaller companies in Sweden, Germany and France. The name Tarkett came from a product developed by a Swedish predecessor.
Adval Tech Holding is a Swiss company based in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. As of December 2020, it is trading with a ticker symbol "ADVN:SW". It functions primarily in the machinery industry for high-volume components manufactured using metal and plastic, primarily for the automotive industry. The company covers the entire value chain, including product, prototype, mold, tool development, and component production and assembly. The firm specializes in the production of tools, punching, forming processes, injection molding, assembly line systems, and serial parts.
Sheet vinyl flooring is vinyl flooring that comes in large, continuous, flexible sheets. A vinyl sheet floor is completely impermeable to water, unlike vinyl floor tile, which comes in stiff tiles, and vinyl planks, which come in interlocking strips. It is sometimes called linoleum after a visually similar product of different chemical composition.
