By Megan Salzano
Flooring visuals have recently upped the ante in design with the help of advancing technologies like HD imaging, but what’s a perfect flooring installation without the proper accessories to complete the scene? To stay competitive in an ever changing market, manufacturers of trim and molding are investing in technologies to match their flooring counterparts and make the selection process easier for consumers.
“Our customers are becoming always more demanding and don’t want to make any compromises as far as lead times and color matching are concerned. They want the perfect match for their floors and solution for their projects in quick turn around times,” said Carmela Amico, chief sales and marketing officer of the Pedross Group and CEO of Pedross America. “The use of our digital printing technology in the production of flooring accessories opens up new possibilities for interior design.”
Pedross is the first manufacturer of moldings who prints not only on foil but also on veneer, Amico said. Through extensive testing procedures, the company has the ability to print on veneer in a realizable high-resolution. “We can recreate any type of wood flooring which will be printed, stained and covered over the profile. So we can reproduce the structure and the grain of any wood perfectly. As a result those who are viewing the final product will have difficulties to differentiate them from the original floor.”
According to Amico the company’s digital print profiles are extremely versatile — the only thing needed is a file of a high resolution or a full size plank of the floor to scan and print the designs. This enables maximum production flexibility.
Pedross also utilizes finger joint technology, which guarantees the lowest bowing with no imperfections such as splits, knots and cracks.
“Our engineered moldings are made out of high quality hardwood core material and wrapped with a layer of real wood veneer. We are using the best parts of the wood, which are cut out during the production process and are finger jointed together,” Amico said.
She added that among the 100 available wood species, the customers can choose their genuine counterpart for their floor — matching the flooring range not only in color but also in species. They are also delivered as a fixed length, which is ideal for shipping and stocking.
“Furthermore, our in house research and development department is constantly working on new and technological solutions. This enables our customers and partners to stay one step ahead of the competition,” Amico added. “We are supporting our customers with experience, knowledge and the love to develop new solutions with them. We are able to respond quickly to customer needs, demands and find the ideal solution for each project.”
Versatrim has recognized the growing demand for luxury vinyl tile (LVT) trims and custom match programs. With this in mind it is expanding options to accommodate these needs.
“LVT trims are designed to work with all LVT applications. It comes prepackaged with a track and shim to accommodate any height difference up to 6mm or you can purchase it with our dowel trees (plastic pegs) that will allow you to work with any height up to ¾ inch,” said Tina Keeton Emery, sales manager at Versatrim.
In order to achieve these looks, the company utilizes state of the art wood working equipment and digital printing. According to Emery, this digital printing technology allows for custom matching to almost any laminate or LVT flooring. “Versatrim is always expanding the color and profiles options to accommodate the changing market. We are working with several distributors and manufacturers to offer laminate/LVT trims for their various flooring lines,” she added.
For MoldingsOnline.com, Bill Treiber, sales and account development, said the company has re-engineered its finishing equipment to insure that its stains and topcoats are applied to all areas of the profile. According to Treiber this method and process thoroughly covers the entire profile from all angles, thereby increasing durability and quality.
The company has also expanded online ordering to be 24/7 at moldingsonline.com. “Our innovative keyword search function allows you to easily search accessories by color name, flooring line name, flooring manufacturer name, etc. The faster you can find it, the faster you can order it,” Treiber said.
The company also introduced a new part numbering system that is more descriptive and intuitive rather than being strictly numeric with no logic. “This new system makes it easier for the customer to verify orders as well as order the correct part number. The new system enables MoldingsOnline.com to provide improved customer service, increased shipping accuracy, as well as the ability to introduce new products at a more efficient rate,” Treiber said.
Treiber added that a new data color system was also implemented that works well with transparent stains. It provides speed in stain matching and blending, better quality control and efficiencies in identifying formulas. “We can now manufacture our moldings, treads, risers and vents with the help of high-tech photo eyes,” Treiber said.
Pedross' digital prints