Top 5 Resilient Vinyl Flooring Innovation Products in 2023 – A Recap from Domotex Asia Chinafloor Expo
A Quick Recap from Domotex Asia
Domotex Asia Chinafloor Expo is the 2nd largest floor covering trade show globally. As it is the first tradeshow that has been open for international visitors, this year’s Domotex tradeshow 2023 has been considered the most unique event since the Covid-19 pandemic started.
With the market expecting to improve with more open and accessible market and supply chains, we do observe there is quite a lot of innovations from both material applications and pattern designs across the flooring industry.
In this article, we look at some of the most interesting resilient vinyl flooring innovation products in the show.
RESILIENT VINYL FLOORING INNOVATION PRODUCTS LAUNCH
- Rigid Core PP-SPC Flooring
- Carbon Core SPC Flooring
- Wood Veneer SPC Flooring
- IMO complied Luxury Marine Vinyl Flooring
- Low Density SPC Flooring
Rigid Core SPC Floorings with New Material Applied
From the Domotex Asia observation, there is many new product developments each focus in different areas, however one direction noticeably significant is the trend towards vinyl-free materials. This new development direction is emphasized with the interest to phase out PVC use in building materials.
The other interesting developments is the carbon core vinyl floorings which has a specialized feature to absorb formaldehyde. Wood veneer SPC is also a very interesting product which has combined both the features of rigid core vinyl floorings with hardwood surface.
Other innovations has focus in lower density in SPC (which was a major concern during the pandemic time), and improved fire resistance performance for application settings such as cruise ships.
Added Comments:
Vinyl Free LVT/SPC will be the mega trend for the flooring industry, according to our expert partner, more than half of the flooring brands that participated the Cologne Expo in Germany has displayed vinyl-free floorings as their featured products. Conventional PVC based vinyl floorings are losing its spotlight in Europe.
1. Vinyl Free LVT/SPC Flooring
As the name suggest, this vinyl free LVT does not contain any PVC. From the very top layer to print film and base layer are all made of Polypropylene (PP) polymers.
PP polymers are a more environmentally friendly material as it does not contain any toxic substance. In addition, it use less energy in production, having less carbon footprint and are more easily recyclable.
It also has a higher dimensional stability as PP polymers has higher melting point than PVC.
| Advantage of PP Flooring | Disadvantage of PP Flooring |
|---|---|
| 1.Superior Dimensional Stability 2.No contain of chloride nor dioxin 3.During flaming, it produce white smoke instead of black smoke (no toxic) 4.Are easily recyclable by physical method | 1.PP naturally are more flammable. It needed anti-flame additive to improve its fire rating. (hence higher cost associated with). 2.PP flooring yellowing is also a concern noted by PET flooring developers. 3.Cost of PP-SPC is about 50% higher compared to standard SPC |
Read about the Latest Vinyl Free Flooring by COREtec
Learn about the benefit of Vinyl-Free SPC Flooring
2. Carbon Core SPC Flooring
Bamboo carbon composite are used in the making of Carbon core SPC. It is a light weighted SPC with the property to absorb formaldehyde.
In addition, it also release negative oxygen ion which further improves the air quality in the space. However, as it is light weight (lower density) with less rigidity, it has a minimum quickness of 6.7mm. The locking groove has also been observed to be more easily fracture compared to standard SPC planks.
The cost of Carbon Core Flooring are 2 times higher than standard SPC with similar specifications.
3. Luxury Marine Tiles with Compliance to IMO
Luxury Marine Tiles is an upgrade to the existing PVC based Luxury Vinyl Tiles. With the material composite being modified to deliver improved performance in fire resistance and smoke density. As it is specifically designed to use in cruise ships, the flooring have to comply with standards set out by the International Maritime Organization.
The cost of Luxury Marine Tiles is about 2.5 times the cost of standard PVC-SPC material.
4. Wood Veneer SPC Flooring
The Veneer SPC flooring is an advanced SPC that applied both wood veneer and magnesium composite materials. With the top layer veneer, this SPC has the appearance of real hardwoods while being fire-proof and water-proof.
The price range for veneer SPC flooring is dependent on the wood species, veneer grade and veneer thickness.
Explore Wood Veneer SPC at Sreelance
5. Low Density SPC Flooring
Low density SPC or Light SPC planks are manufactured with foaming techniques in the base core of SPC. The foaming process allows the rigid core to obtain lower density with reduction in raw material use.
The density can go as low as 1.2 kg/m³ where standard PVC SPC plank has 2.6 kg/m³. The cost of Low Density SPC is almost equivalent to standard SPC.
Conclusion on Resilient Vinyl Flooring Innovation Products
From the observation in Domotex Asia Trade Show, it is distinct that the majority of the innovations still fall into better and environmental friendly products. From improving recycling and plastic as well as improving air quality are both important directions which the industry is moving into. Noticeable, we also observed that as the potential agenda towards phasing out PVC across the building material industry, major brands and suppliers are already working on the substitute materials to replace PVC.
The Vinyl-Free movement is considered the most important resilient vinyl flooring innovation throughout the show, and is also an opportunity which flooring businesses and wholesale distributors should follow up.
