“European laminate has been setting benchmarks around the world for 40 years. In the past and to this day, our product offering has been an expression of the leadership in innovation held by European manufacturers. It offers conclusive value-added benefits which users around the world can benefit from,” as Max von Tippelskirch, Vice President of the EPLF (European Producers of Laminate Flooring), explained. The EPLF Innovation Manifesto is the association’s response to trends in the flooring market and forms the cornerstone of a long-term quality campaign led by the European laminate industry and its suppliers.
“The aim of our Association is to stake a strong claim for European laminate. We want to create momentum for the European laminate of tomorrow. The EPLF Innovation Manifesto is a new strategy paper that formulates how the EPLF perceives itself and defines the guiding principles for our future association work,” Tippelskirch continued, deputising for EPLF President Ludger Schindler who was unfortunately unwell.
The message from the Association of European Laminate Producers is clear: “Quality and Innovation made in Europe”. Thanks to the commitment of its members and the activities of the organisation itself, significant international milestones have already been laid for the development of laminate. Everyone in the EPLF is committed to carrying this forward, not least via this manifesto, and are firmly focused on this in their work for the association. “Quality and Innovation made in Europe” is more than just a slogan – it is a global promise to provide flooring with unique properties.
This is where the EPLF, as a European network, comes into play. Since 1994, the work of the association has been defined by continuous standardisation work and a quality policy offensive for European products. The joint aim is to ensure that sustainable product quality, future-proofed design and innovative technologies win through in all markets in the long term.
It has to be said that laminate flooring has reinvented itself time after time over 40 years. In their role as worldwide leaders, European laminate producers have never stood still; without the commitment of the European laminate industry and its suppliers, there would be no silent laminate flooring, no click systems, no synchronous pore printing and no digital printing. According to von Tippelskirch: “Our current products reflect Europe’s leadership in innovation. Constant innovation is manifested in tangible advantages for our customers, and from these we can gain development potential for our laminate flooring, thereby securing our leadership claim for the future. Our innovative spirit and a consistent focus on benefits to customers have always been the drivers for developing more and more new and improved laminate products manufactured in Europe.”
So not only does laminate have a remarkable development history, its future is equally exciting. Final consumers now focus less on familiar product categories when choosing a type of flooring and more on simply finding the best flooring for their needs. As a result, categories have become a discussion topic amongst industry specialists only – but what counts for consumers is good quality and performance characteristics, arguments that have traditionally favoured European laminate.
However, the market position of European laminate products must be constantly reinforced as the pressure of international competition increases. Not because there are so many products in the rest of the world of the same quality as in Europe, but because many retailers and consumers are not clear about how to reliably measure the quality of flooring: What are the genuinely recognised quality labels? Where is production carried out under truly sustainable social and ecological conditions? Which flooring offers peace of mind in terms of a healthy living environment? Which flooring will consumers be able to enjoy for a long time? And which flooring is easy to install?
In this digital era, markets are becoming more transparent. But is the flood of information on the internet really a reliable guide for the consumer? This is where advice must be actively given to help them separate the wheat from the chaff and make the distinction between cut-price products and sustainably produced quality flooring. This is one of the main challenges facing European manufacturers, not only in Asia and new sales regions, but to the same extent in local markets. There is more to laminate than meets the eye – this is the core message for success into the future.
The EPLF Innovation Manifesto sets out ten propositions, from which it derives its future strategies.
- European laminate producers have experience.
- European laminate producers have courage.
- European laminate producers are close to their markets.
- European laminate producers foster competition.
- European laminate producers support qualification.
- European laminate producers promote dialogue.
- European laminate producers guarantee standards.
- European laminate producers create market presence.
- European laminate producers have team spirit.
- European laminate producers guarantee sustainability.
Mr von Tippelskirch concluded: “The high standards we set for ourselves and our products are a determining factor in the significant lead we have acquired over our non-European competitors. By taking these ten points seriously and working hard every day to put them into practice, European laminate will remain what it justifiably is today: flooring that is fit for the future – and the best laminate in the world.”