Company type | Public |
---|---|
Nasdaq: TILE S&P 600 component | |
Industry | Textile industry |
Founded | 1973LaGrange, Georgia, U.S. | , in
Founder | Ray C. Anderson |
Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
Area served | Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific |
Key people | Daniel T. Hendrix (chairman, president, CEO) [1] |
Products |
|
Revenue | US$ 1.2 billion (2018) [2] |
US$ 76 million (2018) [2] | |
US$ 50 million (2018) [2] | |
Total assets | US$ 1.3 billion (2018) [2] |
Total equity | US$ 354.77 million (2018) [2] |
Number of employees | 4,094 (2018) [3] |
Subsidiaries | FLOR, nora |
Website | interface |
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. [4]
Interface, Inc. and its subsidiaries sells modular carpet tiles, luxury vinyl tile and Nora brand rubber flooring.
Its founder, Ray Anderson, was featured in the documentary film The Corporation discussing environmental sustainability in modern business. Interface was founded in 1973 by Ray Anderson, whose decade and a half in the carpet trade had led him to create one of the first U.S. manufacturers of carpet tiles, also known as modular carpet or carpet squares. Carpet tiles, which originated in Europe, became highly popular during the 1980s as an alternative to broadloom carpet, especially in office environments that at the time were switching to flexible, “open” plans that required easy access to wiring and infrastructure beneath floors. Interface grew to become the largest carpet-tile maker on the planet. [5]
Then, starting in 1994, Interface focused on environmental sustainability, especially in reducing the use of petroleum. [6] At this time, the company announced a program called Mission Zero with a goal of eliminating any negative impact the company may have on the environment by 2020. [5] Since 1996, Interface chose to adopt an innovation-based green strategy. [7] In a short period, it managed to reduce its impact on the environment by one third. [6] Each year, the company releases its annual EcoMetrics, demonstrating the company’s environmental impact and progress.
In 2016, Interface announced its new mission, Climate Take Back, which aimed to reverse global warming. [5] In 2018, Interface announced that all of its products, including all carpet tile and luxury vinyl tile (LVT), are carbon neutral across the entire product lifecycle through its Carbon Neutral Floors program. [8] in 2019, 90% of Interface’s energy came from renewables. [9]
Interface was recognized as Recyclers of the Year by the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE). [10] In 2006 and 2016, Interface was voted number one in Globescan's survey of environmentally sustainable businesses. [11] They are also the recipient of The Queen's Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development (Environmental Achievement) (2008). Consumer advocate Ralph Nader has heralded Ray Anderson and Interface for their sincere commitment to sustainability and protecting the planet's natural resources. [12]
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.
Green building refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires close cooperation of the contractor, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages. The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Green building also refers to saving resources to the maximum extent, including energy saving, land saving, water saving, material saving, etc., during the whole life cycle of the building, protecting the environment and reducing pollution, providing people with healthy, comfortable and efficient use of space, and being in harmony with nature. Buildings that live in harmony; green building technology focuses on low consumption, high efficiency, economy, environmental protection, integration and optimization.’
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.
Green computing, green IT, or ICT sustainability, is the study and practice of environmentally sustainable computing or IT.
Ray C. Anderson was founder and chairman of Interface Inc., one of the world's largest manufacturers of modular carpet for commercial and residential applications and a leading producer of commercial broadloom and commercial fabrics. He was known in environmental circles for his advanced and progressive stance on industrial ecology and sustainability.
Empire Today, LLC is an American home improvement and home furnishing company based in Chicago, Illinois, specializing in installed carpet and flooring. The company operates in more than 75 metropolitan areas within the United States, and is most well-known for TV ads featuring a distinctive jingle that recites the company's phone number and name. The company's name comes from the slogan on some of its commercials, "Empire today, carpeting tomorrow". Empire Today claims that it is the largest in-home sales flooring company in the United States.
Business action on climate change includes a range of activities relating to climate change, and to influencing political decisions on climate change-related regulation, such as the Kyoto Protocol. Major multinationals have played and to some extent continue to play a significant role in the politics of climate change, especially in the United States, through lobbying of government and funding of climate change deniers. Business also plays a key role in the mitigation of climate change, through decisions to invest in researching and implementing new energy technologies and energy efficiency measures.
OMNOVA Solutions Inc., is a global manufacturer of laminates, performance films and coated fabrics. OMNOVA was founded in 1999 when GenCorp spun off its Decorative & Building Products and Performance Chemicals businesses into a separate, publicly traded company. OMNOVA's world headquarters is located in Beachwood, Ohio; with additional sales, manufacturing and distribution locations throughout Europe and Asia.
Floor cleaning is a major occupation throughout the world. The main job of most cleaners is to clean floors.
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.
Green building on college campuses is the purposeful construction of buildings on college campuses that decreases resource usage in both the building process and also the future use of the building. The goal is to reduce CO2 emissions, energy use, and water use, while creating an atmosphere where students can be healthy and learn.
Environmentally sustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability and also aimed at improving the health and comfort of occupants in a building. Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, the health and well-being of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objectives of sustainability are to reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources, minimize waste, and create healthy, productive environments.
Florida Tile is a U.S.-based manufacturer of porcelain and ceramic tile. It is one of the United States' largest producers of glazed and unglazed porcelain wall, floor tile and ceramic wall tile. It is also an importer and distributor of ceramic and porcelain wall and floor tile, natural stone, glass and metal tiles.
LL Flooring is an American retailer of hard-surface flooring including hardwood flooring, laminate flooring, vinyl plank flooring, tile flooring, bamboo flooring and cork flooring, as well as flooring tools and accessories.
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.
Mannington Mills is a fifth generation family owned international flooring manufacturer with corporate headquarters in Salem, New Jersey. The company was founded in Salem by John Boston Campbell and his sons Neil and Kenneth in 1915.
Fireclay Tile is a North American architectural tile company. Founded in 1986 by Paul Burns, Jeff Alvord, Martin Zepeda, and Albert Batista. Fireclay is known for designing and hand-making tile in Northern California, while actively incorporating environmentally sustainable practices.
Balsan is a French textile flooring company and market leader in its sector. With roots dating back to 1751 in Châteauroux, its origins are linked to the Royal Manufacture Château du Parc. The company is the fourth largest employer in the department of l’Indre.
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.