The observations and forecasts provided by the individual country representatives at a FEP meeting in Brussels last month confirm the April impressions: 2012 will prove another challenging year for the European parquet producers.

As witnessed for months and even years now, important variations remain present at country level, according to FEP. “Even the better performing markets seem to lose some of their momentum but should however close the year with a small increase in consumption. Considering the unfavourable picture on the construction market, which weighs heavily upon our sector, this polarized picture is unfortunately still bound to continue.”

A brief per country recap:

Austria
2012 started with an estimated sales increase of 3%. The second half of the year is expected to show a stable picture. This situation should lead to a small growth in consumption by the end of the year.

Belgium
The parquet market remains weak and registered a double digit loss in S1-2012. The construction market as well as the consumers’ confidence went down.

Denmark
Parquet consumption registered a decline of 3 to 4% in S1-2012. Project sales remained stable.

Finland
The Finnish market remains at the same level as in 2011 but the latest developments tend towards a negative evolution during the second quarter of 2012.

France
The general economic situation is not overly bright in France. As far as the parquet sales are concerned, the first quarter was not bad, the second was already weaker and the third quarter seems to slow down even more. Overall, in S1-2012, parquet sales are estimated between -5 and 0%. The reasons for this negative evolution are mainly political ones, with increasing taxes and the inability to reduce the State’s costs. Expectations are not better for 2013.

Germany
The sales figures of S1-2012 show a positive tendency of 3%, with a better first quarter. September was however more modest, which altogether should lead to a slightly positive balance by the end of the year. The number of building permits for apartments increased on a year to year basis.

Italy
The parquet market continued its negative trend at an even faster pace. Parquet sales registered a drop of 15%. Although the market for new constructions stopped, the renovation sector still performs. Competition is fierce on the national market.

Netherlands
The market contracted by around 12% in the first semester and more clouds remain on the horizon. The construction sector remains particularly weak, with a spectacular drop in the number of permits. The VAT was moreover brought from 19 to 21%

Norway
Parquet sales have slightly decreased in Q2-2012 but remain stable on year to year basis. By the end of the year it is expected that the picture will show a stable or slightly positive tendency. Building permits went up by 5% in S1-2012.

Spain
The situation in Spain remains really difficult with a further loss of 15% in parquet sales in the first semester. The general economic situation is not favourable: imports decreased by 15-20%, the prices for apartments went down by 30% with huge stocks, etc.

Sweden
After a sound progress last year and a fairly flat situation in the first quarter, parquet sales showed red figures in Q2-2012.

Switzerland
The first six month of 2012 ended with an increase of ± 2% in parquet sales. The Swiss construction sector also remained in the green zone, and is improving. The country also faces a strong pressure on the prices and at the currency level.

GFA/FEP, November 2012
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Several European flooring producers gathered in Munich last month to launch a new association: the MMFA – Multilayer Modular Flooring Association. The final trigger, they stated, were the increasing sales volumes of multilayer floorings with various surfaces such as LVT, cork, PU or PET – or a bit more objective under the standard name ‘multilayer semi-rigid floorcoverings’.

Seven flooring producers launched the MMFA in Munich on October 26 (l. to. r.): Volkmar Halbe (Parador), Ludger Schindler (MeisterWerke Schulte), Chairman of the board Matthias Windmöller (Witex Flooring Products), Sebastian Wendel (akzenta Paneele + Profile), Volker Kettler (MeisterWerke Schulte), Edwin Lingg (Li & Co), Dr. Peter Hamberger (Hamberger Flooring), Nicola De Menis (Skema).

MMFA: “All multilayer products which have not found a home yet with the existing associations, will now get the opportunity to have their interests represented under the new MMFA umbrella.” The MMFA will advocate technical features such as product standardization and nomenclature, but also product information and promotion. Last but not least it will promote the idea of sustainability in the sector. The sphere of activities will cover all of Europe. The stimulus for the launch came from the sector itself. “More and more often flooring products are developed and introduced to the market, which are multilayer products by construction and composition and therefore do not fall into the existing categories of either laminate or elastic flooring. That is why the producers saw the need for launching a proper European association in order to represent their specific interests,” according to the new association.

GFA/MMFA, November 2012
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The Technical Steering Committee of the VDP, the organization that unites the German parquet industry, has announced it is just before completion of a project that should lead to an EPD for the association.

EPD stands for Environmental Product Declaration. Therefore, a joint EPD for the VDP members will be available amply before the deadline of 1 July 2013 as stated in the European Construction Products Directive. “The upcoming association-EPD offers parquet flooring installers, traders, architects and planners all relevant information on the environmental performance of the natural product parquet,” says spokesman Dirk-Uwe Klaas on behalf of the VDP, which represents around 90 percent of the German parquet production. This will soon add a new ‘building block’ to the ecological assessment of buildings, says Klaas. The drafting of an association-EPD for single-layer and multilayer parquet flooring is in the last phase, according to the association.

GFA/VDP, October 2012
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‘Flooring Deluxe’ will be a new highlight at Domotex 2013 in Hannover, from 12 to 15 January. “In short, Domotex 2013 will be putting a sharp focus on products which excel in terms of design, quality and originality,” as Jochen Köckler, member of the Managing Board at Deutsche Messe, explains.

The showcase will feature two dedicated sections, with textile floor coverings to be addressed in Hall 6 and parquet and laminate flooring in Hall 9. Köckler explains the concept behind Flooring Deluxe: “The themes covered by Flooring Deluxe will be emphasized throughout all of Domotex, providing trade visitors with added inspiration and orientation.” Individual stands by leading vendors will be grouped around a special display at the heart of Flooring Deluxe. Areas will also be set aside for live presentations, so called ‘visionary’ product installations and a lecture program. Concept Rooms are at the heart of Flooring Deluxe. The idea behind the displays is to convey the special effects produced by flooring in various contexts. The next Wood Flooring Summit at Domotex is to be held in 2014.

GFA/Deutsche Messe, September 2012
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The European Federation of Parquet Importers (EFPI) welcomes the recent Commission decision to refer Germany to the European Court of Justice for failing to respect EU rules governing the harmonisation of the marketing of construction products.

The parquet importers are of the opinion that Germany’s decision to impose a national mark (Ü-Mark) has created additional and unnecessary testing requirements for construction products, despite the fact that these products already have a CE–mark. The Ü-Mark clearly constitute a barrier to entry and is against the principle of the free movement of goods which is key for the development of the Internal Market, according to EFPI in a press release dated July 5th. Importers clearly see this regulation as a protectionist measure which is not in line with the newly adopted Construction Product Regulation.

EFPI therefore urges the Court of Justice to take a clear decision on this case which will bring legal certainty in a market that has already been significantly affected from the current economic crisis and which needs to be re-built on stable and clear rules. “In this difficult context, national protectionist measures should be strongly forbidden and the European Union should ensure that the free movement of goods is fully respected by all its Member States in the different sectors,” said EFPI president Nigel Gibbs. “The construction product sector suffered a lot in the recent years as a result of the on-going economic crisis. It is therefore essential that all means are deployed to allow this sector to recover and actively participate to the European growth,” he added.

GFA/EFPI, July 2012
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Imports of parquet flooring in the European Union increased again last year. In 2011 imports increased with more than 9 percent to 24.667 million square meters.

A year before, imports already increased nearly 6 percent, however after substantial declines in the two prior years 2009 and 2008, according to a news item from Euwid based on statistical data from Eurostat. Deliveries of wood flooring from countries outside the EU however can not match the actual volume of imports in 2007 of 30.336 million square meters. Last year, imports of wood flooring from Asia were dominant again, as evidenced by a volume of 21.816 million square meters.

GFA/Euwid, July 2012
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Data provided by member companies and affiliated national associations of the FEP (European Federation of the Parquet Industry) point towards more or less stable consumption and production levels in 2011 in comparison with the previous year.

The general picture is however not uniform with considerable variations from country to country and even from quarter to quarter. Compared to 2010, the total production in 2011 increased by 0.58%, whereas the overall consumption figures point to a slight decline of 1.65%. FEP: “The 2011 results therefore confirm the stabilisation trend already initiated in 2010, which came after two difficult years during which the parquet industry faced challenging times which lead to a downfall both in consumption and production.”The figure of the total production in FEP territory has moreover to be interpreted in light of the ‘strategic choices’ made by several producing companies, which decided to relocate their production in European countries outside the FEP territory. Without this shift of production location, FEP estimates that the 2011 production would have increased by an additional 2 to 3%.

Production and consumption in FEP territory 2011/2010

The total production in FEP territory rose to a volume of 70,713,000 m2. Important increases in Switzerland, Hungary, The Netherlands and in the Nordic countries balanced the ‘sensitive’ situation in Spain and contributed to the stabilisation of the sector, according to FEP. The 2011 total parquet production per type remains similar to the picture already presented in 2010, whereby multilayer comes in first with 78% being followed by solid (including lamparquet) with 20% and mosaic at 2% of the total cake. In absolute production figures by country, Poland is maintaining its top position with 17.61%, Germany still ranks second at 14.63% and Sweden completes the ‘usual podium’ with 13.26%. The usage of wood species in 2011 indicates that oak is advancing to 2/3 of the total (66.7%), tropical wood species are stabilising at a mere 7.4%. Ash and beech are the two other most common chosen species with 6.5% and 6.1% respectively.

Consumption in the FEP area declined by 1.65%, to a level of 91,475,000 m2, despite substantial increases in Sweden and Austria and the, according to FEP, ‘excellent’ performance of Germany and Switzerland. In terms of consumption per country, Germany consolidated its first position with 22.59% (an increase of close to 2% compared to 2010) and is still followed by France which is losing some ground to 12.37%. Italy was able to regain its third position with 10.49% to the detriment of Spain which is now just under the 10% threshold (9.62%). The per capita parquet consumption remains the highest in Austria (0.87 m2) and Switzerland (0.74), now closely followed by Sweden at 0.72 m2. In the total FEP area, the consumption per inhabitant remained at 0.23m2 in 2011.

FEP concludes by saying that it “hopes that the second semester of 2012 as well as 2013 will bring a positive upswing for the European Parquet Industry as a whole, though it is regretfully not realistic to envisage a harmonious picture in the global FEP member area. One can only hope that the comparatively polarized internal situation between certain countries will not drag along and that the apparent gap can be bridged in the shortest possible delay.”

FEP/GFA, June 2012
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The Association of European Producers of Laminate Flooring EPLF has elected a new board at its annual members’ meeting in Mainz (Germany) at the end of May. Ludger Schindler (MeisterWerke) remains 1st chairman of the board, Max von Tippelskirch (Kronotex) was appointed his deputy. The two representatives of the EPLF Working Groups also remain on the board: Dr. Theo Smet (Unilin) and Volkmar Halbe (Parador). Georg Kruse (WPT) took on the position of EPLF annual accounts auditor.

The new EPLF board (from left to right): Volkmar Halbe (Parador), Ludger Schindler (MeisterWerke), Max von Tippelskirch (Kronotex), Dr. Theo Smet (Unilin).

An important topic for the association meeting was the economic situation with regard to the European laminate flooring industry which, according to EPLF, is developing ‘well’ at present. The European debt crisis is putting pressure on the markets and slowing down global growth. Despite this the laminate flooring market in western Europe remains stable, while eastern Europe has managed to fair even better, says EPLF. Turkey is one of the most important growth markets for the association and France is also displaying stable trends. Most of the North American market is served by local producers and is therefore no longer of relevance to the European export trade. Bulk business on the Asian market is also covered by local producers, but there are still good sales opportunities for European producers at the high end of the market, especially in China, EPLF continues. The South American market is displaying a continuous upwards trend – headed up by Chile and Mexico. “EPLF member companies have their own production plants, joint ventures or sales offices all round the globe,” says Ludger Schindler. The association represents around 50 percent of the global market.

Furthermore, the EPLF Technical Committee is working on an important project of active involvement at EU level in the revision of EN 14041. Their aim is to include ecological parameters, such as limit values for VOC emissions in the standard and to make the standard accessible to end users. The group has enjoyed ‘great success’, EPLF claims, with the ISO standard for laminate flooring which is about to be adopted following eight years of intensive work by the EPLF and ISO committees. This gives the international laminate flooring industry its first global standard on the testing and assessment of laminate flooring. Volkmar Halbe, representative of the Market and Image Committee, again underlined to the meeting the success of the Woodflooring Summit event at Domotex 2012 and informed members that Deutsche Messe AG is also planning a Woodflooring Summit for 2014.

GFA/EPLF, June 2012
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The information provided by the individual country representatives of the European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP) indicates that 2012 will be a challenging year for the European parquet producers - with important variations at country level.

This situation was already visible in recent years and seems to be further amplified by the persisting economic downturn in certain regions, FEP explains. The Board of Directors of FEP met in Brussels on 13 April 2012 and discussed both the parquet situation and recent indicators on the European market. Though it is yet too early to give a reliable forecast for the current year, FEP says that it is generally an increasingly polarized picture that now emerges, with some Central European and Nordic countries performing predominantly well versus a more disquieting current that has seemingly settled under Southern skies.

A brief per country recap:

Austria
2011 was a good year and 2012 started in a stable way. The country remains with a very low unemployment rate and the private sector performs well. Government debt is problematic, with little money for investments.
Belgium
No spectacular changes on the parquet market at start 2012. General economic picture improving on account of growing GDP, slightly decreasing unemployment rate and declining budget deficit.
Denmark
The market remained flat to slightly down.
Finland
Slightly positive market.
France
The first quarter of 2012 showed a flat picture. Many companies face uncertainties. New buildings are decreasing, 80% of the market is in renovation. People are predominantly uncertain and show a lack of confidence.
Germany
Parquet sales in Q1 2012 rose slightly, especially wide planks. The economy in the first quarter of 2012 was positive. The construction sector performs well with an increase in building and flat permits of 20% in 2011. Overall, customers and wholesalers show some confidence.
Italy
The parquet market was more or less stable in 2011, however the tendency in Q4 2011 and Q1 2012 is clearly negative. The economic situation is pretty difficult, probably the worst period since the beginning of the crisis. Many companies face or envisage permanent closures and/or stiff cuts in their working force. The financial situation does not improve, difficulties to lend money. Psychological problems and lack of confidence impede economic activity.
Netherlands
The market is going down and remains uncertain. Activities and exports are following the same negative trend. Overall, the economy is not in a good shape.
Norway
The parquet market growing in excess of 10%. Building market going up by 19% in January and February. New houses: 28,000 in 2011, 31,000 expected in 2012.
Spain
The situation in Spain is really difficult. The parquet market went down in the first quarter of 2012. Parquet consumption remains uncertain but is in any case lower than last year.
Sweden
The market remained fairly flat in the first quarter after a sound progress last year. Competition is picking up, especially in retail as a result of a well functioning market. The Swedish Crown remains strong.

GFA/FEP, May 2012
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From September 2012 on, the brand of Domotex will be opened up in Russia and neighbouring countries. As a yearly event Domotex Russia in Moscow will be a platform for manufacturers of floor coverings to tap the Russian market.

Domotex Russia will address distributors, retailers, builders, real estate brokers or architects and interior designers as visitors. The show will be next to Heimtextil Russia and R+T Russia.

Organisers Deutsche Messe recently also announced that Domotex Middle East is on the move. The trade fair for carpets and floor coverings in the MENA Region (Middle East/North Africa) relocates to Istanbul in Turkey.
After six years in Dubai, the fair will now be staged at the CNR EXPO Center in Istanbul from 2012 on. Domotex Middle East 2012 runs from 8 to 11 November.

Furthermore, Domotex Hannover has a new logo: a purple square with the name of the show in white letters. “The new purple brand color and the new-look logo give Domotex a modern and dynamic corporate image,” says Susanne Klaproth, Project Manager at Deutsche Messe.

GFA/Deutsche Messe, March 2012
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The European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP) estimates that global parquet consumption in 2011 on the European market remained stable in comparison with the previous year.

The general picture, however, is not uniform and the market performance varies considerably from country to country. First indications point towards a similar situation as regards parquet production, though complete data are not yet available to FEP at this stage. FEP wishes to underscore that this is a first prognosis and that variations still cannot be excluded at the present time. The data received by FEP suggest that the total parquet consumption in the EU/EFTA area has stabilized at around 95 million m2, with growth especially on the German, Austrian, Swiss and Swedish markets. Some other important countries are still facing difficulties, though there are first indications of a slow but gradual unbending of the protracted strain in Spain.

According to FEP, the preliminary result is in line with expectations and developments witnessed in the course of the past year and reflects the impact of the prolonged economic and financial crisis dragging on for an excessive period of time, and certainly longer than the industry and all other echelons of society had hoped for. “Under the circumstances, the overall performance of our industry is certainly commendable. Parquet is very much alive and one can only hope that the promising results attained by certain countries will gradually spread to other regions as well thereby contributing to the much desired uniformity in the FEP territory,” commented FEP President Lars Gunnar Andersen. “Raw material availability and related cost evolution, as well as the persisting fierce competition with products from Asian countries remain the main concerns for our European parquet producers and are both an obstacle and a challenge for developing sound and lasting future business strategies.” Full and definitive data will be diffused at the federations General Assembly in early June.<

GFA/FEP, January 2012
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In 2011, the 22 ordinary member companies of EPLF – producers of laminate floors – were able to achieve global sales of 468 million m2 of laminate flooring produced in Europe (previous year: 487 million m2). This marks a 4 % drop in the global sales of EPLF member companies.

The Western European core markets of the European laminate flooring industry have shown an overall stable performance in 2011. A slight decrease of 1 % could be recorded. In absolute figures, sales have dropped from 302 million m2 in 2010 to 299 million m2 in 2011. Germany remains the largest single European market, with sales of 80 million m2 (previous year: 83 million m2). Turkey lies in second place with 54 million m2 (54 million m2 in the previous year). This positive result was caused by the Turkish EPLF member companies, as well as the positive economic growth in this country. Sales in France, which takes third place, have remained stable with 41 million m2 (previous year: 41 million m2). Coming in fourth, Great Britain is able to record its first plus in years with 30 million m2 (previous year: 29 million m2), while the Netherlands take fifth place with 21 million m2 (previous year: 21 million m2).

In 2011, the European producers of laminate flooring sold 103 million m2 (previous year: 109 million m2) in Eastern Europe. This represents a decrease of 5.5 %, compared to the previous year. Poland is at the helm of the sales ranking with 26 million m2 (previous year: 29 million m2). Russia is the runner-up; with 25 million sold m2 (previous year: 25 million m2), it is the second largest Eastern European market. Romania lies in third place with 9 million m2 (previous year: 13 million m2). While sales have decreased in Romania, Ukraine has fought its way up to fourth place with 8 million m2 (previous year: 6 million m2). Hungary remains in fifth place with 6 million m2 (previous year: 6 million m2).

In 2011, a drastic decline on the North American market could be observed: sales decreased from annual sales figures of 41 million m2 in 2010 to 27 million m2. As expected, the US market accounts for the lion’s share. In 2010, sales figures of 24 million m2 were recorded here, but only 13 million m2 in 2011. According to EPLF, this is caused by the difficult economic situation in the USA. However, there has also been a decrease on the Canadian market with 13 million m2, compared to with 17 million m2 in the previous year. In Asia, European manufacturers sold roughly 11 million m2, which marks a slight increase in sales. This can be attributed to markets such as Israel and Iran. The Chinese market also records a slight growth, due to exports of the European producers in the high-quality segment. South America remains stable at 16 million m2, with sales largely distributed to two markets: the Chilean and the Mexican. However, the Argentinian market is also performing well, EPLF concludes.

GFA/EPLF, January 2012
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