When it comes to the flooring industry, which relies on products made around the globe, the overall quality of a given product from a certain region doesn’t automatically equate to high performance or visual standards. However, there’s definitely something to be said about the reputation that quality-driven hardwood flooring suppliers based north of the U.S. border have rightly earned over the decades. This has provided Canadian hardwood suppliers with a tremendous opportunity to leverage their respective strengths in the market as a means to grow sales and gain market share in the process.
“We are experts in hardwood, and we cover most product needs for any installation, in any looks or price point from unfinished solid to our prefinished Tru-Balance wide engineered floors,” said Jean-Pierre Thabet, director of special projects, Mirage. “We are proudly North American and we are focused on selling in North America. We have invested in additional engineered capacity to follow the market needs in volume and also offer different thicknesses, width and lengths.”
Mirage, which continues to earn numerous industry of awards that set the benchmark for product quality, has utilized its strengths to help its customers remain profitable. “We provide a wider offering of looks, prices and platforms to cover most of our customers’ needs,” Thabet added. “We also provide a variety of customized options that fall outside our regular product offering.”
The ability to customize products to suit the needs of a particular client is also one of the main reasons why customers buy from Wickham Hardwood. “That’s our strength—made-to-order products,” said Derick Roy, director sales, U.S. and Canada. “You can plug and play any color, any finish, on any of the species that we offer. Plus, having a perfect mix of customization along with our automation, our mass manufacturing process and the balance between both of those elements, allows us to really stand out in a crowd.”
Other major Canadian hardwood suppliers are also leveraging their strengths accordingly. Mercier, for example, is capitalizing on its expertise in the area of prefinished hardwood flooring to satisfy customers and seize share at the same time.
“At Mercier our strength has always been centered around being the best prefinished product on the market from a quality and innovation standpoint,” said Wade Bondrowski, director of sales, USA. “This commitment is what has maintained Mercier’s longevity in the marketplace for 45 years. Mercier is also proud to be one of few Canadian mills that are vertically integrated, controlling our process from log to box to ensure the highest possible standards.”
The most recent example of Mercier’s prefinishing prowess, according to Bondrowski, is its new Generations+ finish. The innovation provides 10X more scratch resistance compared to the previous version of the inaugural Mercier Generations finish. On top of that, it’s also easier to clean and reduces the adherence of dirt, residues and smudges. Despite the tougher finish, the natural attributes of the wood characteristics still shine through, the company said.
While some Canadian hardwood suppliers emphasize their finishing capabilities, others focus on different aspects of their sourcing and manufacturing strategies. “At Lauzon, our complete vertical integration is our major strength,” said David Lauzon, Jr., vice president of sales and customer service. “Having one of the biggest Canadian sawmills and controlling the materials down to the timber rights, gives our customers stability in supply, consistency in quality and stability in pricing.”
How does this benefit Lauzon’s retailer and distributor partners? “Our customers want a headache-free solution,” Lauzon Jr. added. “No headaches when opening a box of wood, ease of installation and no callbacks.”
Another area where Canadian hardwood suppliers continue to excel is in the field of automation. Computerized processes and robotics not only help manufacturers address the challenge of finding skilled labor to work at the plants, but automation also helps provide greater consistency when it comes to quality controls, proponents say.
“Five years ago we switched over to automation and optimization in our factories,” said Julien Dufresne, vice president of sales and marketing at Preverco. “We now have more than 25 robots installed at the factory. As a result, we’ve been able to reduce a lot of the direct labor we were using while at the same time increase output.”
Preverco primarily utilizes the robots—which entailed a significant investment estimated to be in the millions of dollars—in various manufacturing functions of the plant, including product handling and distribution within the facility. But these are not just your run-of-the-mill automated systems. “All the expertise has been developed internally at Preverco with our IT team,” Dufresne explained. “In fact, there are others in the market reaching out to us to buy our technology.”
Beyond automation, Preverco also leverages its capabilities in other areas, namely its ability to change product formats quickly to meet customer demands. In particular, Dufresne cited the company’s signature Flex technology, which enables the creation of multiple thicknesses on a 2-ply structure. “There are very few companies that offer a similar technology—and those that have it are very limited in terms of the widths and thicknesses they can offer,” he explained. “Flex is our flagship of product that helps us differentiate our products.”
Preverco also prides itself on its ability to control virtually every facet of its operation, from start to finish. “We produce everything throughout the process,” Dufresne said. “We don’t rely on anybody else or buy materials from other manufacturers.”
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