Technology

Kährs’ Sustainable Success

Monday, April 15, 2024

Frosted Oak Plank comes with a stylish and sustainable story.

[Altamonte Springs, Fla.] With almost 170 years of experience and a keen focus on sustainability, Kährs International — with U.S. headquarters located here — is one of the oldest manufacturers producing wood flooring today. In fact, according to director of marketing Renee Tester, Kährs is the inventor of modern day engineered wood flooring.

“When you hear of a company that has been in operation for over 167 years, it is quite impressive,” she said, noting, Kährs has been able to do that through one key factor — creating a quality product. “When you purchase a floor made by Kährs this is not a goal, this is an expectation. Quality, combined with a forward-thinking mindset, allows us to provide not only a floor that will truly last a lifetime but provides an innovative, fashionable option as well.”

Kährs Frosted Oak Strip product offers visual variety.

Along with its storied history, there are several differentiators separating Kährs from its competitors: sustainability, quality and service, to name a few.

“The Kährs approach towards sustainability and the importance of this practice in every aspect of the business is quite incredible. This mindset touches every aspect of our business from how we utilize every piece of a log to how we utilize environmentally friendly manufacturing processes, and even down to how we are transporting logs to and from our facilities,” Tester explained. “It is inspiring to see how passionate our organization is towards these efforts — and what an impact this is making environmentally.”

Indeed, educating end users on its sustainability initiatives is an important focus for the company this year. “Kährs has been engrained in sustainability since our factory was born in 1857. One focus is to continue to educate consumers about our efforts and their true impact on the environment and what this means to them,” said Tester.

Another initiative this year, one specifically aimed at growing its footprint, is targeting areas it has little to no distribution in and growing its direct sales team.

“We have already expanded our territories in Texas and Georgia to help continue the growth of Kährs’ U.S. business — our operations in the U.S. are going on more than 40 years strong!” Tester shared. “We are also strengthening our partnerships with industry associations and regional trade shows as well as buying groups.”

Kährs is honing in on its collections and this includes a newly launched “mix and match” campaign which focuses on ways to create a cohesive flooring install while being mindful of budgets. Explained Tester, “Our higher price point plank products have matching mid-price point products in a strip option. This allows the consumer to place the plank products in certain areas of the home and the strip in other areas, like the bedroom, office, etc.”

And while the company is full steam ahead with its plans to grow this year, it is also being mindful of potential challenges and disruptions.

“As we go into any election year, this presents a level of uncertainty and buying patterns typically change. While we are still seeing significant movement, we know this can slow down at any point,” Tester said. “However, we are not letting these challenges slow down the growth of our North American business. We are continuing to invest in our team by expanding our footprint. In addition, we have several new programs and products on the horizon that meet current trends and meet new price points.”