Advantages of Residential Luxury Vinyl Plank

Market observers estimate that domestic LVT consumption in the United States reached US$1.185 billion in 2015, an increase of nearly 8% from 2014, accounting for 12% of total US flooring sales, surpassing laminate flooring (less than US$1.1 billion). USD), also surpassing sheet vinyl (USD 860 million). Now, LVT's share is less than half that of hardwood flooring and ceramic tiles, but its growth is the fastest.

"Floor Covering News" (a well-known American flooring industry information website) previously reported that resilient vinyl flooring will continue its brilliant trend in 2016 in 2017, and LVT, WPC, and SPC series resilient vinyl floors will show a positive growth trend. Analysts also attribute this significant growth to LVT, while manufacturers believe that the rising subcategories of LVT: WPC (Wood Plastic Composite) and SPC (Stone Plastic Composite) are the main reasons for the sales growth. In addition, LVT is especially used in commercial applications. The field has opened up the market, allowing the visual effects of wood to appear in places where it had not appeared before, such as hospitals. LVT can also have a stone appearance, but its price and performance advantages are beyond the reach of traditional stone or even porcelain.

Luxury Vinyl Plank has important advantages for a variety of floor materials

Compared with ceramic tiles: they are comparable in terms of color, texture, resolution, and simulation effects, but LVT is lighter, more elastic, warmer, more comfortable underfoot, lower in price, and easier to install. .

Compared with hardwood flooring: the visual effect is the same, but LVT has much better performance, is easy to maintain, is not easy to be smashed and scratched, and is low in price, especially compared with imported high-priced wood.

Compared with VCT: VCT's upfront cost is much lower, but its maintenance requirements are much higher and its design is much worse. Therefore, in the commercial field, VCT's dilemma is mainly caused by the rise of LVT flooring. In the household field, LVT's growing market share mainly comes from floor leather, because the simulation effect of LVT is unmatched by floor leather.

Compared with laminate flooring: the two have many similarities. They are both deliberately imitating natural materials, mainly wood, with similar dimensions and specifications, and can be installed without glue. Laminate flooring is less expensive and more scratch-resistant. However, the core layer of laminate flooring is fiberboard, which is relatively sensitive to humidity changes, and if no sound insulation is provided, the sound will be crisp when you walk on it. LVT does not have these problems. So LVT has been accepted by the commercial market, while laminate flooring has not yet gained a foothold there.
New generation LVT flooring

Two years ago, USFloor Company used the waterproof wood-plastic composite material WPC used for terraces in China as the core layer of LVT and named it "Coretec". It obtained a US patent last year, and some companies have followed suit. "Coretec's" rugged construction and waterproof performance strongly appeal to consumers and retailers. This technology takes LVT to a new level, expands its application scope and strengthens its competitive advantage. Armstrong Company developed "Vivero LVT" in a new production line in the United States. The company said that this new product uses a diamond 10-infused wear-resistant layer, which is four times as hard as the aluminum oxide wear-resistant layer, and conducted a live demonstration. These new technologies represent the first wave of LVT development, with more innovations to follow. Domestic producers are keen to use this to differentiate their products from Asian imports. When LVT further enters the commercial field, the pressure on environmental sustainability will increase, which will also be a driving force for its technological progress.