Difficulties for US flooring firm
Bad news in the flooring market is certainly not confined to the UK industry as American firms are also hitting the news as they struggle to achieve targets.
The US flooring manufacturer Armstrong Flooring has had to make redundancies at one of their factories with more than a sixth of their staff being laid off.
Armstrong produce ceiling and cabinet products in addition to their well-known wood flooring line for the domestic market.
The flooring sector is the area which has been affected most harshly by the current economic climate and more than one hundred staff members have lost their jobs.
Plans to build a new manufacturing base will continue as it will be used for the company’s ceiling tile production which has not suffered in the same way as the flooring market.
This follows recent news about several UK flooring firms suffering from declining sales and low profits, with stores closing, redundancies and even big names going in to administration.
Speculation suggests that the flooring industry has been hit particularly hard because it is inevitably connected to the new homes market.
Fortunately there is still the renovations market to capitalise on and, although many flooring manufacturers and suppliers are facing difficulties, others continue to be successful.
