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Novalis
Displaying “Barrel Oak - Henley” from the Novalis Maybree Collection
AS EASY AS LVT
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Novalis Makes Great Strides on it’s Flooring Products
By Jerry Rabushka
Vendor Focus
A lot of folks remember when Barbara Mandrell sang, “I was country when country wasn’t cool,” but in our case, we’ve got some folks that were LVT when LVT wasn’t cool. Novalis® Innovative Flooring is a secondgeneration family owned company that started making this flooring material in 1984, a year before Mandrell’s plaintive cry about what was cool and what wasn’t. Company founded Z.L. Wu immediately got to work improving the process. “We have been in the LVT business for over 30 years and were the first to ship a container of LVT from China to the US,” said Kimberly Hill, the company’s director of marketing and creative design. Things are different now; LVP has become quite cool, rad, and even awesome. You’ll find products from this Toronto, Ontario-based company in over 50 countries on six continents, in a lot of award-winning commercial spaces and homes.
They’ve gotten cooler by the year; Hill notes that the company’s NovaFloor® brand offers both residential and commercial products in all constructions of LVT: Rigid Core, Loose Lay and Glue Down. Along with its innovative product offerings, the company is developing programs to encourage you to get more involved, but one question you most likely have about any new product is “where can I put yet another display?” Hill notes that you don’t need a lot of floor space for this floor display. “Our display unit, the Flooring Design Center, is exceptional,” she said. “It uses a small footprint to house 102 SKUs, with room to grow.”
Recently, Novalis partnered with E.J. Welch to further its reach and make it easier for you to bring its floors to your aisles. “We are very pleased to be represented by E.J. Welch throughout America’s heartland,” said Steve Ehrlich, VP of Sales and Marketing for Novalis.
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“Whenever you talk about LVT, the one brand that keeps coming up is Novalis,” observed Michael Welch, President of E.J. Welch Company. “We like their quality and the range of LVT they have, from flexible to rigid core. This gives our dealers lots to work with in terms of LVT sales growth.”
WALK EASY, BREATHE EASY
Much of Wu’s mission was to create flooring that was environmentally sustainable. “At that time, vinyl flooring was mostly being manufactured in other countries for the DIY home center markets,” said his son John Wu, president and CEO of Novalis. “My father saw an opportunity to make vinyl flooring more cost effectively in China and put out a better product.” When John and his sister CC took over the company after their father Dr. Z.L. Wu retired, they worked to expand the company into a worldwide presence and go even further in the direction of sustainability. They opened offices in Toronto, Ontario; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Bonn, Germany and spearheaded many of the advancements that are taken for granted today.
Along with the ease of bringing the product to market, you can assure your customers that they can breathe easy as well, as NovaFloor as has made – and keeps making – changes to keep its product as environmentally friendly as possible. Novalis makes its flooring in compliance to the strictest standards established through FloorScore® testing and GREENGUARD Gold compliance. The factory itself works towards sustainability and manufactures its products in a zero-landfill manufacturing system where all waste is recycled. In fact, you might be selling “factory waste” as we speak – 100% of its production waste is granulated to become part of new flooring in a closed-loop recycling process. The company is also working towards sourcing 100% of its materials from within 500 miles [800 km] of the factory. Also, once the flooring wears out, it can be recycled into new flooring. Another issue with LVT has been the use of phthalates, which are used to make PVC products flexible – they’re found in toys, wallpaper, lubricating oils, cosmetics, and much more, but repeated exposure to phthalates carries potential hazards for the kidneys, liver, and lungs. In 2014, Novalis stopped using phthalates and developed the use of a
Displaying “Washed Concrete - Axel” from the Novalis Maybree Collection
Keith Throm, E.J. Welch Vice President of Sales, and Erik Landry, NovaFloor Regional Sales Manager
bio-based plasticizer as a safe alternative in its flooring. All Novalis Innovative Flooring products are Eco+ 100% phthalates-free.
FLOOR FANS
While this flooring has millions of fans worldwide, you’ll still find many customers new to the concept. Being more eco-friendly is becoming more and more important to the consumer. Especially, to the current generation of environmentally-conscious millennials. Along with being environmentally responsible – which no one cares about if the products don’t work – you can show them how easy the Glue Down and Loose Lay are easy to install, clean and maintain. Plus they’re durable: they have to be walked on and danced on, have soda, grape juice, and ketchup spilled on them, and look good as new the day after.
There are still some maintenance tips to make sure your customers bear in mind; it’s a good idea to protect the flooring when moving or sliding heavy objects, for example. While you don’t need floor polishes to make it look great, advise your customers against using scrubbing brushes, tools, or vacuum cleaners with a beater brush during cleaning.
NovaFloor names E.J. Welch Distributor of the Year
NovaFloor honored its distribution partners at a dinner and awards ceremony during the Surfaces Show in Las Vegas this January. There, NovaFloor announced E.J. Welch as the recipient of its 2019 Distributor of the Year Award. This award of distinction recognizes NovaFloor’s top distribution partner for continued partnership, with the best overall sales performance and excellence in 2019.
NovaFloor Director of Strategic Accounts Nate Hohenstein and Regional Sales Manager Erik Landry presented the award to E.J. Welch executive members Mitch Jolley, CEO, and Keith Throm, Vice President of Sales, who were both in attendance at the dinner.
“E.J. Welch is an ally that has shown continued commitment to our business. 2019 was a step in a new direction for NovaFloor and we’re excited to present this award to E.J. Welch for their partnership in driving NovaFloor forward” said Hohenstein.
Actually it’s much easier than that, the company recommends to just use a damp micro-fiber mop and water. About the best thing you can do for long-term maintenance is to encourage your customer to read the directions!
NovaFloor also offers choice – we all know it’s not wood, but it can look like many types of wood – the company’s Serenbe™ collection, for example, comes with the look of a dozen styles of woods including oaks, pines, and walnut.
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Weatherproof Rigid Core versions of the product can be safely installed in kitchens and bathrooms, and all versions of Serenbe have the enhanced protection of NovaShield against scratches, scuffs, stains, abrasions, and fading as well as antimicrobial protection.
The Rigid Core construction has some advantages over other types of LVP, for example it hides most common subfloor imperfections, making installation easier and ensuring a smoother finished appearance after installation. Rigid Core LVT is a floating floor that’s installed with a locking system – no adhesive needed. It also allows for the pre-attachment of an underlayment on some styles that helps soften sound and creates a cushion underfoot. Also, there’s less subfloor prep than with a flexible LVT.
Pictured above: NovaFloor Flooring Design Center
In 2018, Nova launched its Elite Dealer Program which has grown to over 300 participants. To qualify, you must display the complete NovaFloor LVT line which includes the Abberly™, Davidson™, Birkdale™, NovaCore™, Lyndon™ and Serenbe collections. The program is expanding as time goes on; Novalis has recently rolled out several Elite Dealer initiatives, including special pricing, display support, digital promotion support, preferred designation on the NovaFloor.us website dealer locator, and continues to add benefits to the program.
Whether you’re Elite or not, a dealer who carries the product line gets the following benefits:
1. Glue down, loose lay and groutable installations for tiles, rectangles and planks
2. Stateside inventory for fast service and delivery
3. North American-based sales, marketing, technical and accounting services
4. NovaFloor® accessory package available including coordinating grouts, branded adhesives, and matching trims.
A product like this not only lets you be cool, but you can walk in luxury and do a good turn for the environment all at the same time. Nashville might not be churning out hit songs about LVT – not yet at least – but if you’ve got some boots made for walking, you can be sure the floor will hold up. Success is right underfoot.
