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Blanchon Group ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCEMENT : GUILLAUME CLEMENT APPOINTED CEO BLANCHON GROUP

Futura Floors

Louis Reynaud and Guillaume Clément

"I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Guillaume Clement as CEO of Blanchon Group with effect from May 12, 2020" Abenex Partner Jérôme Vandermarcq and president of supervisory board said.

Guillaume Clement, graduated from EM Lyon Business School, worked over a 10-year period for Tarkett, a market leader in flooring surface solutions. It included roles in financial controlling, international business development and sales & marketing in Europe and in the USA. He joined Arjowiggins in 2007, a global leader in specialty papers, to lead two global specialty business units. Seven years ago, he joined Flint Group, a specialty ink and varnish chemical company, and became president of a global division with a full P&L responsibility. In his new role, Guillaume Clement will succeed Louis Reynaud who has decided to retire.

"Blanchon Group is well positioned to take advantage of the growth opportunities in the technical varnishes and specialty paints markets. Guillaume’s international and leadership experiences will ensure that we further develop Blanchon Group market positions and implement the strategic agenda”, Louis Reynaud stated.

"I would like to thank Louis for his very strong contribution to Blanchon Group and his continuous personal engagement during his long career", Jérôme Vandermarcq added. "As CEO, he has developed a great product range, and very robust operations that are solid foundations for the future. Louis was instrumental in building state-ofthe-art innovation centers and accelerating the international business expansion. We do thank him for his contribution and wish him well for his well-deserved retirement as soon as the transition period with Guillaume will be completed".

"I am delighted to join Blanchon Group”Guillaume Clement commented. "This is a very attractive company with strong roots, experienced teams and solid business positions in France and in Europe. I look forward to transitioning with Louis and to working with the Blanchon Group team to continue the successful development of this business".

Imagine personalising the dream floor for your home. Whatever your dreams – Futura can provide the answers to create a magical home for you Futura Floors gives you the unique opportunity to express your own fantasies in creating a perfect home environemnt. As client you can choose your own colour and floor design from our wide variety of choices. In addition, Futura follows modern ideas by constantly studying and offering the most sought-after trends. From the different shades of dark, expresive colours to lighter and natural shades, customers find a wide range of colour palettes to create their own combinations. Our experts advise you on all your needs and introduce you to new possibilities.

Ideas for 2020/2021: ∫ Favourites which stand out include a modern combination of coldgrey and warm-beige tones providing a unique experience called „greige“ shades. To balance living space, use our greige colours which combine the comfort of beige with the freshness and modern-day feel of grey tones. ∫ To make spaces visually larger, check out our newest light colours of wood flooring to create this effect. These olis are ideal for smaller rooms and rooms with low lighting. ∫ Dark shades blend into large and well-lit spaces and give a real sense of security and warmth. Whether you choose dynamic dark, elegant white or mild greige shades – Futura helps you find the exact combinations of flooring to design a home filled with cosiness and luxury.

Dennis Bordin, CEO Progress Profiles “Progress Profiles was among the first companies in the Veneto region to implement all the precautionary measures in order to carry on its activities, in total safety, as early as the end of February. New organizational and technological structures have been adopted to effectively deal with the new phases: for example, methods and timing of interaction with the distribution network and sales points have been

rethought; but also, clients, architects, designers and suppliers had the chance to attend trainings and updating courses online. During a series of webinars, indeed, specific issues interesting for the attendees have bene explored, as the high-performance membranes, systems for a perfect and simply tiles’ laying or new patented solutions for outdoor floating floors. Further, the beginning of the crisis forced the company to considerably reduce travel, business trips and meetings on site and any visits by outsiders and we do hope to be able to travel again all over the world, starting next July. We are proud of the trust that our customers gave us by continuing to choose our products and we are confident that, together, we will make it through this moment by coming out stronger.”

ESTAPARKET ESTAPARKET factory is operating as usual. We have not stopped work during the time of pandemic because of COVID-19, but extra safety measurements were taken. We now try to help our customers to recover after the many showrooms were forced to stop their work. Special collection of stock items with immediate dispatch possibility has been announced. This will help our partners to boom their sales without need for investing into stock items. We can see that many people are more likely to invest into comfort of their homes and change their floors after staying isolated for a while. We also focus on online marketing tools to help our brand representatives with additional selling inctruments. It will soon be possible to try out how ESTAPRKET will fit your home with a simple click.

NOVOWOOD: COVID UPDATE The actual global situation is affecting billions of people and all our families around the world. As a company and a big family, we are facing this critic period by supporting people around us and by setting us up in order to improve our internal procedures and client support. Since the latest nationwide updates about the Covid-19 we are glad to inform that our team and company are taking all necessary measures to deal with this emergency and ensure continuity in our services. Our production, our logistic department and our technical support are working regularly and they are available, as always, to assist our customers. We would like to take this opportunity to wish the best to all the players of the market, hoping a soon restart of all activities and our normal lifestyle.

Soudal

Soudal's ecological parquet box - premium usability and sustainability. Soudal launched its new ecological packaging of their hybrid parquet portfolio. You can rely on the same product quality and help to carry out a green mindset. The boxes are more easy to stack, take up less space, have a more ergonomic handling and are easy to recycle.

Osmo Polyx®-Oil: optimally suited for skate park surfaces Osmo products are versatile in use. For the Swedish Skateboarding Championships held in Halmstad in September 2019, this skate bowl in Sweden was built and newly renovated. The Birch wood is treated with Osmo Wood Wax Finish 3119 Silk and 3130 Dusty Grey RAL colour 7037. In an interview, John Magnusson of the Bryggeriet Skateboard Organization in Malmö, Sweden explains their choice for Osmo. “We have been using Osmo wax for a few years now and it makes the skateboard ramps last way longer. With all different colours available, you can make it look very nice and dirt does not stick to the plywood so it is easier to keep your skate park clean. It also gives the ramps good grip and speed.”

Cover New Ground! New Keynote Theme for DOMOTEX 2021

The team of DOMOTEX, the world's leading trade show for floor coverings, is optimistic in these challenging times, working full steam to provide the industry with a first-class, safe and secure platform to facilitate a significant upswing in business: DOMOTEX 2021 will take place from 15 – 18 January 2021. Innovative techniques for the skilled trades, modern approaches to retailing, new inspiration for commercial contracting, plus exciting new materials and forward-looking trends – all of this and, above all, a change of perspective will be in the spotlight at the next DOMOTEX, running from 15 to 18 January 2021 in Hannover, Germany. New challenges, new orientation, the new normal: Now, more than ever, society and the economy are being called upon to rethink every facet of life. Every crisis brings forth its own opportunity – the opportunity to discover and travel down new paths. The makers of DOMOTEX have taken up this challenge. With the new Keynote theme of "Cover New Ground!", their aim is to motivate people to go beyond previous strategies, visions and experiences in flooring design and applications and look to the future. "We need new perspectives, and DOMOTEX 2021 is dedicated to providing incentives for our industry," reports Sonia Wedell-Castellano, Global Director of DOMOTEX. "The Global Flooring Alliance, i.e. the association of international flooring wholesalers, has reported a positive run in the first quarter of 2020, despite the corona crisis. Some exhibitors have even reported generating unexpected growth as a result of an acceleration of public projects. And so we, too, are optimistic in these challenging times and will ensure that in January 2021 we can offer the flooring industry a first-class platform and a clearly perceptible upswing for their businesses. Of course, we also guarantee the safety of our guests by implementing the hygiene and distance concepts specified by the Robert Koch Institute." Read more on www.floor-forum.com/en/news

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