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Change
of name Karelia Corporation
Karelia Corporation recently decided to merge its wholly owned daughter
company FinnWoodFloors Oy and Karelia Corporation in order to simplify
the administration as well as increase efficiency in other operations.
The new name of the company will be Karelia-Upofloor Oy. Markku Rönkkö,
managing director Karelia Corporation: “The arrangements will also
aim at organizing the activities of our future Eastern European production
units which will benefit our partners and customers in the form of increased
production capacity and a more extensive product range of hard wood floorings.
The merger and change of name will take effect as of 31st December 2006
and they will not affect the activities of the company Upofloor Oy (resilient
floorings).”
Euparal/Karelia Corporation, September 2006
IC
Consulting: ‘Floor covering market Europe stabilised’
In Europe’s main regions (the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain
and Benelux), the quantity of floor coverings decreased by 1,4% to 1.635
million m2 in the past year. Nevertheless, the market slightly increased
0,3% value-wise. The trends within the product groups and the regional
development tendencies are very different however, according to the latest
study conducted by InterConnection Consulting Group.
The market for floor coverings finally reached its low point. Market value
increased by 0,9% two years ago and in 2005 by 0,3%, meaning that the
turnover increased to 11,6 billion Euros. Only a slight decrease in quantity
with 1,4% to 1.635 million m2 could be observed. In the near future, InterConnection
Consulting Group forecasts a slight growth. “Even though many companies
within the floor covering market suffered heavy losses in the last years,
the sentiment in the branch is positive again.” The upcoming years
are brighter for some countries than others. The Benelux States will develop
the most: the InterConnection Consulting Group forecasts a growth in quantity
of 8,5% from 2005 to 2008. In second place, Germany is forecasted to increase
3,4% within the same period of time. On the opposite end of the spectrum,
the three countries that will decrease the most are France, Great Britain
and Italy – they will decrease up to 9% in quantity from 2005 to
2008.
Looking regionally, the market in Great Britain had a huge downturn in
2005 with a decline in quantity of 5,6%. This means that the market in
Great Britain was developing even more unfavourably than the market in
Germany, which only decreased by 1,4%, despite the rough times within
the building industry. The winners last year were France and Spain, as
they both showed positive growth rates (0,7% and 0,5% respectively). Comparing
the value of floor coverings sold within the last two years, the two countries
even increased by 2,3% (France) and 3,4% (Spain). The positive outcomes
in France and Spain are therefore partly responsible for the stabilisation
of the market in 2005.
Among the manufacturers of the investigated product groups (wood, laminates,
textile and elastic floor coverings), some were barely effected by the
crises within the industry. The producers of laminate floor coverings
are the most obvious example, increasing their turnover despite the overall
sluggish market. It was therefore possible to achieve 3,6% more sales
in 2005 than in 2004. Due to the increasing amount of manufacturers in
the market for laminates and a weak product distinction, the branch had
to fight against a dramatic drop in prices for a long time, so that the
turnover decreased more than the quantity. Now, growing specialisation
in certain usage areas and new and unusual designs are causing this pricing
pressure to level off – it will completely disappear in the years
to come, predicts IC Consulting in ‘IC Market Tracking Floor Coverings
in Western Europe 2006’.
Euparal/IC Consulting, September 2006
FEP
initiates ‘living on wood’ project
“Increase the demand for wood floors – grow the cake. Make consumers
aware of what they buy – real wood floors. Create a positive image
for wood floors. Create a concept to promote use of real wood floors by
differentiating real wood floors from other floors.”
The FEP General Assembly and participants in the European Parquet Congress
recently held in Wiesbaden unanimously supported the proposals from the
FEP marketing committee and Board for a FEP action following these aims.
This action will be based on the cornerstones of a consumer website, a
product recognition system, a ‘real wood floor’ label, one simple
core message, and several PR activities. The consumer oriented and inspirational
website aims at educating the consumers about real wood and real wood
products. The site will be combined with a product recognition system,
a logo, that will show the consumer which products are made from real
wood (have at least a top layer from genuine wood). Companies entering
this scheme would be required to put the logo on samples, packaging and
on their website, to establish a link to the general information site.
Euparal/FEP, July 2006
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ITC
building (Washington, DC)
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On July 3rd 2006, administrative law judge Paul Luckern of the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a favourable initial determination in the case called ‘In the matter of certain laminated floor panels’ brought by the Unilin group against 32 respondents, according to the Belgium based laminate flooring producer.
The decision affirms the validity of Unilin US patents US 6,490,836 and US 6,874,292 and recommends the issuance of a General Exclusion Order that would prohibit infringing products from being imported into the US, says Unilin. “The administrative law judge has found that all of the respondents have imported one or more products that infringe Unilin’s US ‘836’ patent. The judge has further found all respondents in violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The judge has recommended that because of the nature of respondents actions and the likelihood that others could also seek to import similarly infringing products, that the ITC issue a General Exclusion Order. The General Exclusion Order would prohibit any person, not limited to the named respondents, from importing into the United States infringing laminated floor panels,” according to Unilin.
Unilin initiated the ITC court case on July 1st 2005 against 32 defendants based on the accusation of alleging infringement of Unilin US patents US 6,490,836, US 6,874,292 and US 6,928,779. The validity of U.S. Patent 6,928,779 (or ‘779 patent’) was therefore not affirmed, so it seems. The ITC is an independent federal agency determining import injury to U.S. industries in antidumping, countervailing duty, and global and China safeguard investigations.
Euparal/Unilin, July 2006
top
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Exhibition
gate Domotex
Middle East |
In view of the show’s successful premiere, Domotex Middle East will definitely be staged as an annual event from now on. From 36 countries 241 exhibitors showcased their products at the international trade fair for Carpets and Floor Coverings in Dubai, 28 to 30 May 2006.
5,200 visitors used the opportunity offered by the three-day event to get a close look at the many products and innovations on display. Domotex Middle East is the first trade fair in the region to focus exclusively on floor coverings of all types. “Our concept is paying off. This exhibition proves that there is a keen market for specialized trade fairs like Domotex Middle East,” commented Stephan Ph. Kühne, Member of the Board at Deutsche Messe AG. The largest display category focused on hand-woven and machine-made rugs and carpets, with both classic and modern designs being on show. Other large exhibitor groups included producers of textile floor coverings.
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Dubai
International Convention
and Exhibition Centre |
Euparal/Deutsche Messe, July 2006
FEP:
stable growth tendency confirmed
Parquet remains a popular flooring product throughout Europe, according
to the recent survey made by the European Federation of the Parquet Industry,
FEP. Compared to 2004, both production and consumption grew soundly.
Production in the ‘traditional’ FEP area increased by 6.2% reaching
a record volume of 79.2 million m2. Total production in all countries
has reached a volume of 96 million m2, an increase of 4.9% overall. Key
to this positive result were the production increases in Austria, Germany
and the Nordic countries, according to a press release by the FEP. As
regards Austria, the full impact of the capacities installed over the
past years has now become clearly visible in the statistics too (+30.9%).
The share of multilayer parquet in the production of parquet is now 82%,
with tendency increasing, lamparquet 3%, solid 14% and mosaic just 1%.
Consumption in the FEP area is calculated to have increased to just below
the 100 million m2 mark. This means that consumption has actually doubled
from 1990 to 2005. In the ‘traditional’ markets, consumption
has risen by 4.2%. In the FEP area in total by 3.4%, “not quite attaining
the 5% increase forecasted by the federation at the beginning of the year.”
The developments have been differing strongly from country to country.
Whereas Austria and Norway/Finland/Denmark could report impressive growth
rates, other markets grew more moderately, or even recorded a decline.
This applies in particular to Germany, still the most important parquet
market in Europe and also to Hungary and Poland. Consumption development
2005/2004 in Austria was +25.39%, Belgium +1,71%, Switzerland +4.81%,
Germany -3.28%, Spain +4.48%, France +3.00%, Italy +0.76%, Netherlands
+2.36%, Slovakia +10.47%, Norway/Finland/Denmark +15.56% and Sweden +3.33%.
Adding non-FEP member states, it can be assumed that the total market
for parquet flooring in the European Union and EFTA amounts to at least
110 million m2, says FEP. The federation believes the actual market share
of parquet is now well above 5% in Europe.
FEP concludes by stating that “despite positive market developments
and increases in production, the parquet manufacturers are facing some
major challenges affecting their competitiveness. Prices for wood, glues,
lacquers, energy and transport are on the rise and impact the profitability
of the companies, which may be obliged to take adequate measures.”
FEP/Euparal, June 2006
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The
EPLF Management Team (left to right): Ludger Schindler, Martin Prager,
Dr. Theo Smet and Ralf Eisermann.
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EPLF
re-elects management team
Ludger Schindler (MeisterWerke), Martin Prager (Kronotex), Ralf Eisermann
(joint venture Sonae/Tarkett) and Dr. Theo Smet (Unilin) were all unanimously
re-elected for a further two years at the EPLF’s General Members’
Conference, recently hosted in Wales by Alveo.
At its meeting in Wales, the Marketing Working Group re-named itself and
is now known as the Market + Image Working Group. The Market + Image Working
Group is planning a whole range of new projects centered on communications
with end users, as well as giving attention to interfacing with architects
and designers. A proposal for the EPLF to be represented at the “contractworld
2007” show during Domotex is currently under consideration. Furthermore,
“an assessment of the EPLF’s internal sales figures across the
Association for the first two quarters of 2006 provided a positive indicator
for results over the whole of the current fiscal year, with member companies
expressing their extreme satisfaction with the results from the first
half of the year.” The Technology Working Group also announced at
the Wales conference that the CE mark for EN 14041-compliant laminate
floorings would come into force from January 1, 2007.
EPLF/Euparal, June 2006
Updates
Pfleiderer, Tarkett, Egger
German woodworking company Pfleiderer recently announced plans “to
buy a major laminate flooring producer” within the next 12 months.
General
manager Hans Overdiek wants Pfleiderer to become a dominant force on the
laminate markets of Europe and North America. Last year Pfleiderer recorded
sales of 830 million euro, expressing ambitions to reach 2 billion euro
in 2008.
Egger says it will combine the commercial activities of Egger Floor Products
and Egger DIY Products into a new division called Egger Retail.
Wood
panels producer Sonae Indústria said this month the European Commission
has approved its joint venture in Germany with flooring producer Tarkett.
Sonae expects the factory in Eiweiler to start production in october 2006.
The joint venture will produce and sell laminate flooring in Western Europe,
Africa, Asia and Oceania. Sonae and Tarkett both own 50% of the joint
venture.
Euparal/Egger/BWD, June 2006
Varga
takes over from De Jaeger
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Endre
Varga
(picture: CEI-Bois) |
As
from mid 2006 Endre Varga will take over the secretariat general of FEP
from Filip De Jaeger.
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Filip
De Jaeger
(picture: CEI-Bois) |
De
Jaeger has been active in this function for the past ten years and will
now focus more on the general management of the European Confederation
of Woodworking Industries, CEI-Bois. Varga has been working as an adviser
to FEP as an employee of CEI-Bois and secretary general of EBIA (European
Bedding Industries’ Association) since 2002. FEP Chairman Dieter
Betz described the change as “logical, seen the recent developments
within the parquet business, matching Mr Varga’s competences and
considering the responsbilities held by Mr De Jaeger as secretary general
of CEI-Bois.”
FEP/Euparal, June 2006
Tarkett:
financial results 2005
For the business year 2005, Tarkett AG recorded a turnover of 1,622 million
euro compared to 1,436,8 million in the reference period 2004. This corresponds
to an increase of 12.9% at current exchange rates.
Wood reports a plus of 2.2%. Once again, Laminate was able to continue
its strong growth trend and came in with a “disproportionate”
increase of 51.6%. Sales in the Resilient Flooring segment increased by
9.7%. West Europe showed an increase of 7.7%. Once again, the turnover
in East Europe, including Russia, continued its strong growth – this
time by 25.4% and mainly in the Residential segment. Sales in North America
grew by 17.4%. The Group’s EBITA for 2005 amounted to 93.8 million
euro compared to 97.3 million reported for 2004. This development is mainly
attributable to the continued high raw material prices for resilient products,
according to Tarkett. Tarkett also announced that 250 jobs will be created
in Eiweiler (Germany). The new laminate flooring factory for the West
European market (a Tarkett-Sonae joint venture) will be located there.
Euparal/Tarkett, May 2006
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Wicanders
on Europarket 2006
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Visitor
statistics Europarket 2006
Europarket 2006, the leading Benelux event specialized in solid wood and
veneer parquet flooring, laminate & cork flooring, attracted 6.059
trade visitors to Maastricht (Netherlands), on 23, 24 and 25 April 2006.
Compared with the 2004 event in Kortrijk/Courtrai (Belgium), the number
of visitors declined by about 2%. The number of professionals from Holland
and Belgium was 12% lower than in 2004. Attendance from outside the Benelux
countries (1.434 people) was up 55% however. The location for the 2008
edition has not been decided yet.
Euparal/Kortrijk XPO, May 2006
Flooring Industries grants licenses
Flooring Industries, the intellectual property company within the Unilin Group, granted a license to Jilin Forest King Wood Co., Ltd. (Hunchun, China) in May 2006. Through this agreement, Jilin Forest King is allowed to manufacture and sell its engineered wood flooring products with Unilin’s patented, glueless click technology.
Also in May, BuildDirect, one of Canada’s largest online wholesalers of building materials, entered into a license agreement with Flooring Industries. Last April, Flooring Industries and Puriplast, a laminate flooring manufacturer based in Chivas, Spain, concluded a license agreement with regard to Unilin’s click technology, covering Puriplast’s past and future laminate flooring sales. Also in April, Flooring Industries announced that it has reached a settlement and a license agreement with Fujian Yongan Forestry (Group) Joint Stock Co Ltd. for the manufacture and worldwide sales of laminate flooring products with Unilin’s patented technology. Trinity Summit International 2005 Inc. will be the distributor of the licensed products manufactured by Fujian Yongan in North America.
Euparal/Flooring Industries, April-May 2006
China
gaining ground in wood flooring
Leading
Chinese laminate and wood flooring producer, Power Dekor, plans to double
its output of multi-layer parquet under the Swedish brand of Kährs
to 3 million square metres by the end of the year, according to the China
Daily.
“We will build another factory within the next two years, which can
further increase the output to 6 million square metres,” said Guo
Hui, vice-president of Power Dekor. In March 2005, the two companies signed
a 10-year agreement. Power Dekor won the exclusive right to produce and
sell products under the Kährs brand. The Swedish company provides
support in production, purchasing, logistics, sales and marketing. Power
Dekor has established more than 60 boutiques and 200 ‘shop-in-shops’
nationwide in China which sell Kährs flooring.
Recently, ITTO’s Tropical Timber Market Report reported that “a
Chinese company” is seeking Indonesia’s approval to set up a
timber processing factory worth 1 billion dollars in Papua province. The
company would process merbau logs in Papua and then ship them to China
as processed timber, mostly as hardwood flooring. China needs the products
for the construction of sports facilities for the 2008 Olympic Games.
According to the Indonesian authorities China needs 800,000 m3 of merbau
for the Games. The new company would have to implement sustainable forestry
management measures and establish its own timber plantations.
China’s solid flooring industry saw the number of companies and production
capacity declining 25% last year due to increasing raw material costs.
However, the average retail price for solid flooring rose 30 yuan per
m2 in 2005, up 15% from 2004, according to ITTO’s Tropical Timber
Market Report, quoted by Fordaq. China’s solid flooring industry
is expected to develop stably over the next ten years in line with international
demand for flooring blanks. Only 500 solid flooring companies are expected
to remain by 2010 with a sales volume of over 100 million m2. Presently,
there are 6,000 solid-wood flooring manufacturers in China with an estimated
total output of 85 million m2, says ITTO. China’s solid flooring
exports are projected to grow steadily over the next five years and the
proportion of its exports will rise from 15% to 30%. High quality service
will be one of the new competition strategies. Furthermore, brands will
serve as consumers’ main guidance when choosing solid flooring.
Euparal/China Daily/ITTO/Fordaq, April-May 2006
DomotexAsia/ChinaFloor Attendance Up
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DomotexAsia:
‘biggest flooring show in Asia’ |
DomotexAsia/ChinaFloor,
“the biggest flooring show in Asia”, attracted a total of 32,424
visitors from all over the world to Shanghai, 28-30 March 2006.
Compared with 25.300 professionals in 2005, the interest in DomotexAsia/ChinaFloor
increased significantly with 28%. The number of foreign visitors was 4,315
(+34.8%) from 83 countries. The main growth came from Australia and North
America. The number of exhibitors grew by 41% to reach a total of 833
(2005: 588). The amount of display space sold reached a new high of 73,000
square meters (2005: 46,000). According to the organizers, the 2006 event
saw a big jump in the range of laminated coverings, solid wood and engineered
floors: whereas in 2005 two halls were enough to cover the demand, this
time the organizers needed three and a half. The dates of the 9th edition
will be March 29-31, 2007, again in Shanghai New International Expo Centre.
Euparal/VNU Exhibitions Asia, April 2006
European
Patent Office limits validity Uniclic patent
On the 22nd of March 2006 the Technical Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office has confirmed the validity of Unilin’s European patent EP 0 843 763. Not without certain modifications, however. This decision can not be appealed.
Unilin
explains: “EP 0 843 763 now protects glueless systems that are free
of play and made in a wood-composite core, that have a longer lower lip
with inclined contact surfaces, where the lower lip is not longer than
one time the thickness of the panel and that can be snapped together.”
This patent is the cornerstone of Unilin’s patent family. It is Unilin’s
first European Patent and it protects specifically the so-called Uniclic-system.
It is together with Unilin’s EP 1 024 234 (the ‘snap patent’),
EP 1 026 341 (the ‘pretension patent’), EP 1 223 267 ( the ‘clearances
patent’) and the 103 other granted members of this patent family
the basis for Unilin’s patent protection, according to the Belgian
producer. The pending cases based on this patent EP 763 against Berry
Floor in Belgium and against Akzenta in Germany will now be reactivated.
Välinge commented it was “pleased that it is now finally decided
that the scope of this patent is limited to such an extent that the Välinge
technology and the locking systems used by Välinge licensees are
outside the frame of this patent.”
Furthermore, on the 24th of March 2006 the same Board postponed the hearing
on the validity of Unilin’s European ‘snap’ patent EP 1
024 234. The hearing will not resume before the Enlarged Board of Appeal
of the EPO has issued a decision on legal question regarding the practices
of the EPO examination division on how to deal with added subject matter
in the application as filed.
Euparal/Unilin/Välingeo, March 2006
Europarket 2006: leading Benelux event
Europarket 2006, the 4th international trade fair for solid wood and veneer parquet flooring, laminate & cork flooring and accessories, will this year be held for the first time in Maastricht (Netherlands), on 23, 24 and 25 April 2006.
Since its inauguration in 1999, Europarket claims to have established itself as the leading trade event in the Benelux for wooden flooring, etc. In addition to this strong Benelux profile, after three events, the European impact of Europarket is also emerging clearly. The growing European dimension of the event is strengthened by the alternation every two years between Belgium (Kortrijk/Courtrai) and the Netherlands. "This is the ideal way to make contact with a specific Euroregion each time round," the organizers Kortrijk Xpo say. "From Maastricht we have a very direct link to Luxembourg and Rhineland/Westphalia in Germany, and from Kortrijk to Northern France and Southern England." End of march, the trade fair reported that 220 exhibitors had already registered to participate. About 9000 visitors are expected to come to Maastricht.
Euparal/Kortrijk Xpo, March 2006
New
licence agreement Unilin and Egger
Egger and Unilin have signed a further licence agreement for glueless installation systems and bevelled laminate floorings.
Egger
Floor Products and Unilin group have been able to extend their cooperation
with regards to glueless installation systems for laminate floorings by
a further licence agreement. The new agreement includes both clic systems
currently produced and sold by Egger Floor Products (JUST clic! and PRO
clic!) as well as bevelled edge laminate flooring products. It comes in
addition to the already existing agreement for certain clic profiles for
laminate floorings, which was signed already in 2003. "With the extension
of this cooperation we bring further legal security to our business partners
and their customers, which is a major factor for our future oriented growth
strategy," according to Egger Floor Products' managing directors
Johann Heitzinger and Stefan Pletzer.
Euparal/EFP, March 2006
China imposes consumption tax on wooden floors
China announced plans to impose a consumption tax on disposable wooden chopsticks, wooden floor panels, yachts, luxury watches and more oil based products as of April 1 of this year.
China will impose a 5 percent tax on wooden floor panels to discourage the consumption of timber resources. The Chinese government will also collect a 5 percent consumption tax on disposable wooden chopsticks in a bid to discourage their use as they are a waste of timber resources. The production of 15 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks uses up China's forests at a rate of 1.3 million cubic meters of timber or 2 million cubic meters of wood each year, the Ministry of Finance said, as reported by news agency Xinhua.
Euparal/Xinhua, March 2006
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'Amish
Hand-Scraped Distressed Flooring'
(photo: Homerwood) |
Armstrong invests in hardwood flooring
Armstrong World Industries recently announced investments that will increase manufacturing capacity and broaden the product portfolio of its hardwood flooring business.
The investments include the acquisition of Capella Engineered Wood LLC and of HomerWood. A manufacturing joint venture in China will also increase manufacturing capacity for engineered wood. "These transactions are part of our program to grow Armstrong's flooring business in North America. The investments will reduce our product cost, increase our manufacturing capacity in engineered wood, and significantly expand our portfolio of premium solid wood products," commented President and CEO of Armstrong Flooring Products Americas, Frank Ready.
Euparal/Armstrong, March 2006
'We feel it's the right move at the right time'
Shaw,
the world's largest carpet producer, has announced plans to convert a
former yarn plant in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee, into a manufacturing
facility for hardwood. The plant, which has been idle for about three
years, will be fitted to manufacture pre-finished, engineered hardwood
flooring.
Significant capital investments are being made in preparation for operations to begin in early summer. "The pre-finished engineered category is the fastest-growing segment of the hardwood market," says David Wilkerson, vice president of Shaw Hard Surfaces. Jeff Williams, Shaw's director of hard surface manufacturing, notes that the move will position Shaw as a true manufacturer and distributor of hardwood flooring. "We feel it's the right move at the right time," Williams says.
Just
before Shaw's announcement, Beaulieu Canada, the main producer of textile
floorcoverings in Canada, said it had decided to start production and
sales of laminate and wood flooring, utilising the Välinge Innovation
technology for gluefree installation systems. Beaulieu Canada will use
its rights to produce and sell gluefree laminate and wooden flooring under
the basic license that the Beaulieu International Group signed back in
2000 (through Berry Finance) with Välinge Innovation. At the same
time, Beaulieu Canada will enter into a distribution agreement for the
distribution in Canada and a part of the USA (New England) of laminate
flooring produced by Berry Floor of Belgium, member of the Beaulieu International
Group since July 2005.
Euparal/Shaw/Berry, February-March 2006
EPLF:
laminate flooring sales continue to increase
According to the EPLF (European Producers of Laminate Flooring), its member companies can be reasonably satisfied with their annual sales figures for laminate flooring in 2005 in spite of weaknesses earlier in the year.
Although a slump in the laminate flooring market was evident in the first third of 2005, sales stabilized in the second and third quarters and were consolidated through to the end of the year, said EPLF. Worldwide in 2005, the 21 member companies of the EPLF achieved sales of 465 million m2 of laminate flooring with the 'Made in Europe' stamp (p.y. 437 million m2). This corresponds to an increase in worldwide sales of just 6.5 percent. The market share held by EPLF member companies in the world market is estimated by the association at around 60 percent. Notwithstanding the positive developments in Eastern Europe and also North America, it's the Western European markets which in 2005 remained the most important European sales markets for EPLF's member companies.
With 88 million m2, the German market increased about 5 per cent compared to the previous year (84 million m2) and continues to represent the biggest single European market. Great Britain has decreased with 41 million m2 (p.y. 49 million m2), while France has improved with 37 million m2 (p.y. 36 million m2). The Dutch market remained at the previous year's sales level (20 million m2) and occupies fourth place. Turkey, which was registered to the Western European markets in EPLF sales statistics since 2004, is with 19 million m2 in fifth place.
Earlier this year, EPLF president Ludger Schindler stated that the downward trend of laminate flooring prices had come to an end. "We hope that the end consumer price of 2.99 euro/m2 is now history," said Schindler during the Domotex fair in Hannover, according to website IHB.de. His prognosis is that the low price 6mm segment stabilises in the 4 to 7 euro/m2 price range. Looking at the rest of the market, Schindler commented that the price category between 10 and 20 euro/m2 is disappearing while the top range category (20 to 30 euro/m2) is confirming its place in the market.
Euparal/IHB/EPLF, January-March 2006
'Combiloc' Utility Model of Välinge Innovation upheld
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R&D
center Välinge Innovation
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The German Patent Court judged on February 23rd that Välinges Utility Model DE 299 24 259 was new and inventive over the prior art, and decided to maintain the Utility Model. The decision can be appealed.
Unilin, Meisterleisten and Parador failed in their attempt to have the Utility Model revoked, according to Berry Finance (now part of Beaulieu International Group). This decision contradicts the revocation of the corresponding European patent on February 22nd by the European Patent Office. This last decision will be appealed by Välinge as the reasons for the revocation of the corresponding European patent are "not convincing" and therefore Välinge expects that this decision "will be overturned" in appeal. Berry Finance will reactivate its pending court cases in Germany against Meisterleisten and Parador on the basis of this Utility Model.
Euparal/Berry, February 2006
Pergo year-end report 2005
Pergo's net sales were SEK 3,015 million last year (2004: 2,780), a 6% increase compared to the previous year excluding currency effects.
Sales
in local currency increased by 10% in the North American operations. This
accounted for approximately 61% of the Company's sales. Q4 sales in the
North American market were particularly strong, with year over year growth
in local currency of 12%. Net sales in Europe for the year amounted to
SEK 1,064 million (1,037). Net sales during Q4 in Europe reached SEK 292
million (270), an increase of 3% in local currency on a year over year
basis. Pergo's European sales increase for the fourth quarter was driven
primarily by new product launches coupled with increased promotional activities.
While Pergo's first quarter sales in Europe declined, the subsequent quarters
showed a steady increase in sales, culminating with strong sales growth
in the fourth quarter. "It was a year of significant progress with
major capital projects and plant consolidations completed. The company
also made significant organization changes and implemented profit improvement
programs throughout the company," CEO Tony Sturrus comments. "We
expect consolidated net sales in 2006 to increase by 9% - 11% and operating
profits to grow at a higher rate." The operating profit for the year,
excluding items affecting comparability was SEK 81 million, a 31% increase
over the SEK 62 million the company achieved in 2004.
Euparal/Pergo, February 2006
CELQ:
more than 30 quality labels
Introduced at the start of 2005, CELQ (Certified European Laminate Quality) gives the industry's laminate flooring manufacturers a new Europe-wide seal of quality for laminate flooring.
So far, the following companies have obtained the CELQ label: Alloc AS (Lyngdal/Norway), Kaindl Flooring GmbH (Wals/Austria), Kronospan AG (Menznau/Switzerland), MeisterWerke Schulte (Rüthen-Meiste/Germany), Parador GmbH & Co. KG (Coesfeld/Germany), Pergo AB (Trelleborg/Sweden) and Witex AG (Augustdorf/Germany). More products from other member companies are currently in the assessment phase. Laminate flooring manufacturers can only become members of CELQ if they are also members of the EPLF. The CELQ label is not awarded for individual laminate flooring products, but covers whole construction groups.
Euparal/CELQ, February 2006
Surfaces
and Domotex break records
Surfaces 2006 in Las Vegas attracted a recordbreaking 40,588 retailers, manufacturers, distributors, architects, designers, builders and installers from around the world - a 6 percent increase over 2005.
Exhibitors were also out in record numbers - 1,070 companies, an increase from the recordsetting 1,054 in 2005. Over 300 new companies participated in this year's show. The next Surfaces will be held February 7-9, 2007.
Domotex
Hannover 2006 attracted more visitors than ever before as well. Over 50,000
professionals came to the world's largest trade fair for carpets and floor
coverings. This represented a 14 percent increase on last year's total
of 43,855. Also, exhibitor participation broke all records, leaping from
last year's 1,244 to 1,362 this year. More than 75 percent of exhibitors
came from abroad. On the visitor side, the organizers managed to raise
the 
share
of international attendance to 56.5 percent, with a total of 28,200 trade
visitors coming from abroad. Around 60 percent of them came from other
European countries. The second largest contingent was from Asia, at 27
percent, followed by the Americas, at more than eight percent. The organizers
recorded a net 20 percent increase in the number of visitors from South
and North America, who totaled 2,400. The next Domotex Hannover will be
staged from Saturday, 13 January to Tuesday, 16 January 2007.
Euparal/Surfaces/Domotex, January-February 2006
FEP:
positive tendency continues
The European Federation of the Parquet Industry, FEP, estimates that the total volume of parquet sold in Europe in the course of 2005 has grown by close to 5%.
The estimation implies a rise in volumes for the third consecutive year. FEP expects a continuation of the positive trend through 2006 as well. Complete data on the developments within the European parquet sector in 2005 will be presented at the festive 50th FEP General Assembly in Wiesbaden, next May. "It seems safe to state that the total parquet consumption in the EU and EFTA-states has now exceeded the 100 million m2 mark quite substantially," claims FEP.
FEP: "As regards parquet production, the overall picture is not everywhere uniformly bright. Mosaic and solid parquet producers are still confronting difficult hurdles, induced by fierce competition from outside the EU, changing consumer preferences and the fluctuating EUR/USD ratio. Multi-layer production has continued its forward march, fuelled by the ever-increasing variety of attractive glue-free installation systems, though competition in this segment is steadily increasing as well and is putting a heavy burden on the future prosperity of the manufacturers involved. In addition to rising energy and transportation costs, producers are also facing strong increases in the costs for raw material wood, as well as supply products such as glues and lacquers."
Following recent decisions by the European authorities, CE-marking for parquet and wood flooring will become possible as from the 1st of March 2006. As from one year later, 1st March 2007, it will be mandatory for all parquet and wood flooring to be sold within the European Union. The CE-mark will indicate that the product in question complies with the legal requirements as defined by the European construction products directive. Harmonized European Standard EN 14342: "Wood flooring - Characteristics, evaluation of conformity and marking" and the relevant product standards govern its application.
Euparal/FEP, January 2006
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