1 2 1 Tatiane Batache: “Sometimes there is a very narrow margin between soft and hard floor coverings” (Image: 4m Europe) 2 (Image: Moduleo)
Round table Flexible floors “The individual aspect is becoming ever more important” The market of flexible floor coverings is on the move. More than in most other areas of interior decoration, this is a sector in which the technology evolves at lightning speed. But how does this market deal with other trends, such as the increasing individualization of the interior? And what about the ecology? We spoke to seven professionals from this sector. Let us start by giving an overview of the participants. Tatiana Batache is Sales & Technical Manager at 4m Europe, a company specialized in the installation of epoxy resin and cast floors. Christ Taveirne is product manager at Moduleo, which imports modular design floors and tiles and recently built a plant in Avelgem (Belgium, West Flanders). Moduleo mainly targets interior designers and architects for residential and commercial applications. mFlor is represented by sales manager Tom De Rydt. mFlor distributes innovative design floors, to be used in both the project and the residential markets. Next to Tom De Rydt sits Jean-François de Meester, sales manager at Tarkett Benelux, which offers vinyl, laminate floors and parquet floors for the residential market. Finally, the Balta group is represented by Geert Vanden Bossche, Philippe Van Hecke and Christian Ysenbaert. Balta Broadloom operates in the wider carpet sector, going from wall-to-wall carpet to woven rugs and residential tiles. Flexible floors First of all, the subject must be clearly defined. What do our guest speakers consider to be ‘soft floor coverings’? “A good question”, reacts Tom De Rydt. “Not everywhere does this term refer to the same thing. At mFlor, for example, we don’t refer to the LVT floors as soft floor coverings. “With us it’s different”, says Jean-François De Meester. “The consumer often compares vinyl to laminate flooring. In the DIY shops LVT is to be found in the decoration department, but we wonder why this cannot be offered along with laminate floors?” According to Tatiane Batache as well there is a very narrow margin between soft and hard floor coverings. “You can hardly call an epoxy carpet soft. It is hard as rock. Polyurethane on the contrary is a soft material. The distinction is sometimes difficult to make.” Philippe Van Hecke draws a clear line: “Vinyl and textiles belong in the category of soft floors, all the rest we refer to as hard.” His colleague Geert Vanden Bossche differentiates a little. “Maybe the better term to use would be ‘flexible floors’.” Transforming a room What does our panel consider to be the advantages of ‘their’ variations of ‘soft’ floors? Geert Vanden Bossche: “In the UK, we recently ran an advertising campaign by Balta Broadloom under the slogan ‘Carpet transforms a room’. This is spot-on. Carpet is a cheap way to create a different atmosphere inside a room. It moreover has acoustic advantages, it is soft and it is comfortable. Despite the preconceived opinions, carpet is also easy to maintain.” “Epoxy resin floors are extremely handy for renovations in both residential and commercial environments”, thinks Christ Taveirne. “This has a lot to do with the minimal thickness of the material.” Tatiana Batache agrees with Christ Taveirne. “The same goes for polyurethane cast floors. Polyurethane cast floors weigh very little, as a result they can also be used in the attic or in apartments. The aesthetic story also plays its role: any colour is possible, we can insert drawings into the floor and even imitate wood or concrete.” “The same goes for vinyl”, says Jean- François de Meester. “These floors are available in an ever increasing amount of beautiful colours. The installation is easy, the maintenance simple, and unlike laminate floors vinyl provides an excellent acoustic barrier.” “Vinyl is a product that is suited for different kinds of projects”, judges Tom De Rydt. “The technical side of the story is right and the floors generally look very good. But it remains a fact that every product has its own characteristics and that an architect must choose which kind of floor best meets his requirements. I notice a certain increasing fluidity in the market of soft floor coverings. Laminate flooring, for example, became popular in a very short period of time.” Seamless cast floors Jean-François de Meester already talked about the installation, a subject that is of particular importance in a 11 11
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