Features

Technology Transforms Hardwood

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

By Angelique Dorcely

Technology has played a leading role in elevating hardwood’s performance and even visual aesthetics. MSI’s John McElroy, merchant, explained, “Technology plays a huge role in the success of hardwood flooring in today’s market.”

But, cautioned Mohawk’s David Moore, senior product director of wood/laminate, while technology can enhance hardwood’s performance, be cautious of altering its intrinsic beauty. “If you make the statement that hardwood is delivering on a promise of beauty — natural variation, never repeating, every plank is different, high beauty and high style — then, as you try to add technologies to increase performance, you have to be careful that you don’t ruin the initial promise the product is trying to deliver on. The balance of [beauty and performance] is what manufacturers really have to figure out, so they don’t have to compromise on either.”

Technology allows hardwood to expand its reach into regions and parts of the home it wasn’t historically viable for.

For instance, “Improved engineered constructions allow hardwood in spaces and climates where it previously would have been a challenge. Layered planks are stronger, with better dimensional stability, so there’s less natural expansion and contraction with the changing seasons,” reported CALI’s president, Doug Jackson.

“Engineered wood is also more eco-friendly than solid planks because it uses less of the premium timber, with more rapidly renewable wood like eucalyptus, poplar and acacia in its core,” he added.

Upping the Innovation

Technology indeed allows for innovation in wood product offerings. For example, Bjelin’s hardened wood floors are produced using the innovative Woodura process. “A thin sheet of wood is fused onto a moisture-resistant wood fiber core through a unique powder mix layer,” described Zach Adams, general manager at Bjelin North America.

Refined scratch resistance and water protection is available because of advancements in finishes, stated Shaw Floors’ Kyle McAllister, director of hardwood. He added, “Improvements in surface protection are a huge opportunity for the wood category.”

Mark Casper, vice president of sales and marketing at Hallmark Floors believes that technology is critical to success. “We use the ‘3 F’s’ to [succeed] — Fit, Finish and Free. We make sure of a perfect fit with our locking systems or T&G. Second, we created our Glaze Tek finish that gives commercial wearability with the look of a fine furniture finish. Lastly, our floors are worry-free with our waterproof engineering and the use of marine grade glues in our ply.”

Also keeping an eye on the latest technology, Mannington’s “ScratchResist gives consumers peace of mind when it comes to micro scratch resistance,” said John Hammel, senior director, wood and laminate.

Bjelin's hardened oak Steninge floor in Misty White is available in a pro-matte finish.

Keeping on Trend

The latest technology offers superior scuff and scratch resistance without impacting the inherent natural beauty of hardwood, said Shaw’s McAllister.

AHF Product’s Brian Parker, vice president of product management, revealed current category trends. “The visuals [for] solid [hardwood] have generally been more traditional. The best-selling colors are your natural gunstock and butterscotch. It has moved recently to be more of an on-trend look as you see with engineered wood — very light, muted stains that are almost transparent, highlighting the grain of the wood and de-emphasizing the staining.”

In solid wood, he added, “You have the challenge of [having a] limited amount of white oak. White oak gives you a white canvas to work on and allows you to do lighter colors. If you do light colors in red oak, it [produces] a pink hue/pink cast. We developed technology with our coating manufacturer that suppresses that pink hue/ pink cast, making red oak look like white oak. It also allows us to create on-trend looks that you have in engineered wood in solid wood [offerings].”

MSI is also using technology to create in-demand looks. For its W hardwood collection, according to McElroy, “The core of the product is constructed through cross-graining technology, where the grains of the wood are combined in alternating directions to increase the dimensional stability and durability of the product. This allows for much wider and longer sizes—W achieves up to 9.5 inches wide by 86 inches long planks.”

Furthermore, technology is believed to serve the role of enhancing the natural beauty of wood, remarked Dan Natkin, chief commercial officer at Boen and Somerset Hardwood Flooring. “We use a number of different technologies to enhance the natural characteristics, such as wire brushing, layered staining and state of the art finishes designed to last longer.”