EPLF forges ahead with international innovation drive
“European laminate is considered high-end because it is high-tech,” stated EPLF President Ludger Schindler at the Domotex 2017 Press Conference in Hanover. “The great strength of European laminate flooring producers and their suppliers lies in their consistent use of leading design ideas and innovative technology for the development of extremely attractive and better quality products. In 2017, Europe will once again be setting the trends for the laminate flooring sector.” EPLF members are entering 2017 full of confidence and with positive expectations. Their outlook is backed up by rising global sales figures and the progress made by the Association in its technical and standardisation work.
At Domotex, Mr Schindler also presented the EPLF’s new ‘Innovation Drive’ and announced a corresponding Association Manifesto for the Members’ Meeting in May. In connection with this, he clearly underlined the European laminate industry’s claim to leadership: “The EPLF operates as an association of innovators, leading the way towards the innovations of tomorrow, and we provide the ideal platform for implementing the necessary quality standards for improved laminate around the world.”
EPLF experts are working together on this and expanding their technological expertise. The most recent example of their success is the EU-supported research project “Deeply-textured Surfaces”. The findings from this joint project with the IHD (the Wood Technology Institute in Dresden) has led to new test methods appropriate for standardisation for testing abrasion resistance, impact strength and polishing characteristics of laminate flooring with either deep or flat surface textures. They also provide a valuable foundation for enhancing production technologies specifically for textured laminate surfaces.
The EPLF has now started work on a new EU-funded Association project, the “Castor chair test”. Once again in collaboration with the IHD, a test method is to be developed by the summer of 2019 that uses an appropriate test device suitable for both loose-laid floor coverings with a variety of locking profiles and glued floor coverings. Eberhard Herrmann, Chairman of the EPLF Technical Group, says: “The continued success of laminate is founded on continuous innovation – and international quality and test standards must keep pace with this. We are actively leading the way with our research and are committed to developing up-to-date, practical solutions. Ultimately, we want future consumers to be reassured that they will only get products with reliably tested characteristics.”
A look at current sales figures suggests that such commitment to the Eastern European market will pay off in the long term; growth rates in the double-digit range make this region (alongside the growth markets North America and Asia) increasingly attractive for EPLF members. The continuing development of countries such as Iran, Egypt and India is being monitored by the EPLF with interest. “The opportunities and challenges on the international flooring markets demand a common quality strategy by the European laminate flooring industry,” explains Max von Tippelskirch, Chairman of the Markets & Image Working Group. “Faced with the steadily expanding range of products available worldwide and the associated risk of variations in product quality, the goals of our Association concerning standardisation, product safety and market transparency will continue to be our top priority.”
When the EPLF re-launched its website in 2016, it took regional market development into account by focusing on offering more language versions of its online content. In addition to the three languages available previously (German, English and French), it now also features Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Turkish, making a total of nine.
More than ever, the EPLF views itself internally as a communications centre, and in 2016 it launched its new, compact meeting format “Laminate 2020 – Forum of Innovations”. Its premiere centred around digital printing, a vast subject which the Association will continue to focus closely on in future. The second round of the forum will be held at the Meeting of Members at the beginning of May 2017. EPLF Executive Committee Member Paul De Cock says: “We will only be successful in the long term if we provide users with laminate that is not only better, but also more innovative. At our EPLF Innovation Forum we give targeted information on topics relevant to the future of the industry. Our members (suppliers as well as producers) are leading experts in their fields and we can make use of their valuable knowledge within our network for the benefit of all participants. This will enable European laminate products to maintain their leading position on the world markets.”
EPLF: Laminate flooring market shows positive trend for 2016
In 2016, producers belonging to the EPLF reported worldwide sales of 476 million m2 of laminate flooring manufactured in Europe (2015: 452 million m2). This equates to an increase of 5.6% when compared to the same period in the previous year. The EPLF’s “home market” of Western Europe remained broadly stable during 2016. Both North America and Asia once again registered significant, double-digit growth rates in 2016, and in Eastern Europe, impressive increases were predominantly seen in the relatively large markets such as Russia, Poland and Rumania. EPLF laminate flooring sales in South America remained broadly stable in 2016.
Sales in Western Europe (including Turkey) in 2016 reached the figure of 249 million m2 (2015: 254 million m²), which represents a slight decrease of 1.5% compared to the previous year. With 63 million m² sold (2015: 66 million m²), a decrease of 3.6%, Germany remains by far the most important single market in Central Europe.
France remained stable in 2016 with 37 million m² (previous year: 37 million m²) and continues to occupy second place in Europe. The United Kingdom continued its positive upward trend for EPLF members: in 2016, it registered sales of 33 million m² (prev. year 31 million m²), an increase of nearly 8%. This puts it in third place ahead of Turkey, where turnover for Association members slumped again in 2016: laminate sales fell there by approx. 15% down to 26 million m² (previous year: 31 million m²). The Netherlands can lay claim to fifth place with over 19.3 million m² (previous year 19.1 million m²). Spain follows on behind with nearly 17 million m² (prev. year 15 million m²), an increase of 8.7%.
Once again, considerably more EPLF laminate was sold in Eastern Europe in 2016 than in the previous year – at 126 million m² (prev. year 111 million m²), European laminate floor producers in that area achieved an increase of 13.4%. Since 2015, the Association has been aware of approx. 20 million m² of products made by our EPLF members in Russia that have not, for various reasons, been captured in the statistics. In 2016, Russian members of the EPLF reported sales of nearly 34 million m² (prev. year 29 million m²), which means they achieve a growth rate of 16.7%. Poland registered nearly 31 million m² in 2016 (previous year: 28 million m²), a rise of 8.6%. An equally positive trend was seen in Romania with 13.6 million m² (prev. year 11.1 million m²). Subsequent places in the ranking are occupied by Ukraine with 6.2 million m² (previous year 4.7 million m²) together with Hungary and Bulgaria at 5 million m² each.
In North America, the EPLF’s series of successes in European laminate flooring continues for the fourth year in a row: with 47 million m² in 2016 (prev. year: 39 million m²), this region once again managed to increase its growth rate, with 22.6% more sales than in the previous year. The USA demonstrated an increase of 18% in 2016 with 29 million m² (previous year 25 million m²) and, during the same period, Canada achieved an increase of 30% with 18 million m² (prev. year: 14 million m²).
The situation looks similarly positive in Asia-Pacific, where EPLF producers reached total sales of around 27 million m² for 2016 (prev. year 17 million m²), thereby gaining an increase over the previous year of around 54%. However, it is necessary here to take into account the effect of statistical analysis, because the EPLF country list has been extended, which means that some countries that previously fell in the category “Other Countries” have been identified during the reporting year 2016 and have been allocated to Asia – Kazakhstan, for example (with 2.8 million m²), Uzbekistan (with 0.8 million m²), Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan (each with 0.7 million m²). The largest growth in Asia in 2016 was accounted for by the Chinese market including Hong Kong; sales there came to 8.6 million m² (prev. year 5.6 million m²), which equates to a rise of 53% compared to the previous year. Israel reached 2.4 million m² (prev. year 2.5 million m2), the figure for Saudi Arabia was 2.7 million m² (prev. year 2.8 million m2) and for Taiwan it was 1.6 million m2 (prev. year 1.5 million m2).
Latin America remained broadly stable in 2016 with 17 million m² (prev. year: 17 million m²). The sales figures in the largest single market of Chile rose by 7.5% in comparison with the previous year at 7.3 million m² (prev. year 6.8 million m²). Mexico recorded 4.3 million m² (prev. year: 4.5 million m²), Columbia registered 1.5 million m² (prev. year: 2 million m²) and Argentina’s figures went down to 1.4 million m² (prev. year: 1.8 million m²).