Inspiring sustainable flooring solutions Tarkett

INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE FLOORING SOLUTIONS

Tarkett is a global leader in the development and manufacture of sustainable flooring and sports surface products. Today the company’s focus is very much on the manufacture of sustainable flooring that is designed to enhance every customer’s quality of life. Philip Yorke looks at a company that dominates the world stage in its sector and continues to grow through its inspired products and strategic acquisitions.

Tarkett was founded in 1880 in by two young entrepreneurs, Joseph Allibert and Francois Sommer, whose early success set the stage for the future growth of the company. Today the same entrepreneurial spirit flourishes at Tarkett’s new headquarters in La Defence, Paris.

A combination of continuous improvement and innovation has been largely responsible for its remarkable, on-going success. Today the company serves customers in over 100 countries and employs around 12,000 people worldwide. In 2014 Tarkett recorded sales of over €2.4 billion. The Tarkett Group sells more than 1.4 million square metres of flooring every single day, manufactured in-house by its 34 production sites spread across four continents.

Tarkett’s extensive range of products can be found in schools, hospitals, hotels, offices, retail stores and sports fields in wood and laminate, carpet and rubber as well as in synthetic turf and athletics track. For over a decade, Tarkett has been listed on the Euronext Stock Exchange in Paris.

Expanding global reach

Tarkett has one of the broadest global reaches of any company in its field and also has unparalleled experience of local cultures, trends, technical requirements and building regulations. Strategic acquisitions have played a major role in the company’s global expansion programme, with 14 companies being integrated into the Tarkett group in the last five years alone. Today Tarkett operates modern manufacturing plants in Canada, USA, Brazil, Russia and the Ukraine, as well as owning 14 production facilities throughout the EU. The company’s global operations are divided into three regions: North America, EMEA and eastern Europe.

Significant acquisitions over the past decade include many of the world’s brand leaders including FieldTurf, Marley Floors, Johnsonite and Tandus, the leading US commercial carpet company. However, the company’s most recent ‘jewel in its crown’ is Desso, a global leader in carpets and sports field solutions. Desso is a well-established global brand that produces high-end and innovative carpet flooring mainly for commercial applications and also serves the sports market with artificial turf and a unique, reinforced natural grass system known as ‘GrassMaster®’.

“Through the acquisition of Desso, we have strengthened our product portfolio, adding high-end carpets and carpet tiles for our European clients. The operation enables us to reinforce our geographical presence in EMEA and allows Tarkett to provide commercial carpet solutions to all customers worldwide, leveraging on the successful acquisition of Tandus in North America in 2012. Desso is a recognised brand for high quality and innovative products and is strongly committed to sustainability. We are very pleased that as of today, Desso is part of Tarkett, and we warmly welcome all employees joining our group,” said Michael Gianuzzi, CEO of Tarkett.

Gaining ground in Asia

The Tarkett Group has been operating in China for many years selling its vinyl flooring solutions, as well as being responsible for the production and sales of its Tandus carpet tiles. However, the company recently further strengthened its commercial and industrial activities in China through a number of strategic transactions. These included the acquisition of a 30 per cent minority interest in Tarkett’s subsidiary, currently dedicated to the distribution of Tarket products in China, which has now become a fully-owned subsidiary. In addition, the company acquired the assets for vinyl flooring production, located near Beijing, which is now fully operational and producing a wide range of Tarkett flooring products.

This acquisition will enable Tarkett to capitalise on the fast growing demand in China for high-performance vinyl flooring solutions, in particular in the commercial segments of health and education.

“By strengthening its flooring industrial and commercial footprint in China, Tarkett improves its positions in this fast growing region. These investments in China will allow us to deliver improved service and valueadded flooring solutions for our local customers. It will also enhance our balanced and global footprint,” commented Giannuzzi.

Focus on sustainability

Tarkett sees sustainability as ‘the backbone’ of its strategy for growth and believes that driving forward on a daily basis for greater sustainability is the best way to assure long-term growth and ecorespect for the planet. A good example of the direction that the company is heading, in terms of sustainability is its launch in the EMEA region of a unique, modular vinyl solution known as ‘iD Click’. Made in Germany the LVT iD Click is a high-quality modular vinyl flooring

TWE Group

TWE Group with its twelve international production sites in Europe, USA and Asia is one of the top ten players in the global nonwoven market and for more than 10 years a reliable partner of Tarkett. We develop, manufacture and sell high quality raw materials and advanced production technologies extensive innovative nonwoven solutions for almost any application. Total revenue currently stands at over 360 million euro. Well-known customers are in the areas of hygiene, medical, automotive, filtration, household cleaning, clothing and building materials.

that offers an ideal solution for commercial working spaces. Thanks to its unique fold-down click system, the installation becomes much faster than those with traditional glue-down products.

As part of Tarkett’s commitment to greater sustainability and ecoinnovation, this new range of phthalate-free, 100 per cent recyclable products contributes to people’s well-being, as well as providing optimal indoor air quality with very low TVOC emissions. n

For further information about Tarkett’s innovative, sustainable flooring products visit: www.tarkett.com