Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Surfaces ’26: Resilient intros push boundaries of realism

At The International Surface Event (TISE) 2026, resilient flooring once again proved it remains one of the industry’s most dynamic categories, with suppliers introducing a wave of new products across multiple constructions. From next-generation rigid core platforms engineered for enhanced performance to refreshed glue-down options that marry affordability with design appeal and hybrid constructions that blend the best attributes of each format, the show floor showcased resilient’s breadth.

Glue down/loose lay

resilientGlue-down resilient flooring is gaining traction in the residential market as more homeowners and installers recognize its balance of performance, cost and design flexibility. At TISE 2026, several new glue-down introductions highlighted this momentum.

Happy Feet is no newbie when it comes to glue down, having been in the category for 12 years. The company has seen the subcategory’s growth firsthand and is not surprised, given its advantages. “America is the land of interesting subfloors,” CJ Johnson, co-founder, told FCNews. “And some of these thinner products and these clicks are a little dangerous for what we’re dealing with in the real world. So people are pushing back. And you can say laminate or a beefier WPC, but glue down—that’s the best answer for any of these subfloors. It’s going to just work with it.”

New this year from Happy Feet is a 5mm, 28-mil, embossed-in-register line with colors that coordinate with its hardwood. “That’s the concept— if you want to put hardwood upstairs and then you have wet areas, you can put a vinyl plank down and continue your color scheme,” Johnson explained.

LX Hausys unveiled its Crafted Connections lineup of glue-down LVP. The line features broad 9 x 60 plank sizes in CraftedWood options, an ultra-realistic wood visual, complete with rich graining and subtle textures, in various colors; and CraftedClay, a stone-inspired option featuring soft veining and textures, available in a 24 x 24 tile format. It is available in 2.5mm and 5mm thicknesses.

The styles also feature the company’s TrueMatte technology to provide an ultra-matte surface that minimizes glare and reflections and provides head-turning visuals. “It gives it a much more natural design aesthetic,” said Brian Rhee, director of decorative and materials – flooring business and development, of TrueMatte. “In addition to that, it also helps hide wear and tear over time—better than your typical LVT options that are out there. We’re really excited about Crafted Connection. It’s been a long time coming.”

Titan Surfaces, while just a few years old, broke into the industry with deep experience in resilient flooring via its leadership team. Steeped in WPC know-how, the company has focused much of its efforts in that category but has since expanded beyond it as well. Case in point is its entry into the glue-down category with the launch of Revival, a 2.5mm, 20-mil product available in six colors and positioned for success at retail.

“I think as an industry we oversold SPC and we kind of made it bulletproof,” said Jason Smith, vice president. “Our industry tends to do that sometimes. So in Titan’s early days we were a little more well versed on [its shortcomings and the needs of the dealer]. And when you look at a glue down, installation and cost are much easier to deal with. So we feel that the glue down will give us an option to capture some of that [SPC] business with a better product.”

Infinity Floor is still new to the resilient flooring market—this show marked its second year—but it came to Las Vegas with purpose. “Last year, for anybody, big or small, was not easy,” said Tyler Geren, CEO. “And for us to start in a slower time was tough. But our best months were the back half of the year, and January has been great so far. We’re still here and we’re growing.”

Part of that growth is the expansion of its resilient flooring lineup. Of its four new products three landed in the glue-down category. “Look, glue down can sell residentially just as much as commercially,” Geren said. “Put the right product in the right places—and that’s what the industry doesn’t do so well. They just say, ‘Hey, this is resilient. Put it wherever you want.’ But SPC has its place just like wood and carpet, but glue down is more universal. It can be used in residential— and used well.”

One of the more unique offerings from Infinity Floor is a 5mm product with an attached pad, “which you don’t see very often,” Geren said. “And it also has a really deep painted bevel.”

Loose lay, too, has experienced a resurgence. Cali, for example, made its entry into the loose-lay market with the aptly named Hang Loose. “It’s a growth opportunity for Cali,” said Mike Belprez, director of product innovation. “As our builder division grows, as our multifamily division grows, so grows the product offering. And this is a classic multifamily/builder, new home construction, residential replacement-type of a product. So we took that cue from the market, from the growth that our company is experiencing, and we made it Cali.”

What that means is Cali stepped away from traditional loose-lay design to add its own touch—while keeping budgets in line. First, the line draws inspiration from its already best-selling SKUs, providing not only market-driven offerings but coordination across product lines. Then it upped the ante. The line is 5mm with a 22-mil wear layer, broader specs than traditional loose lay. It also features premium wood-grain embossing.

Lions Floor also made its debut into the loose-lay market with the launch of FormaLay, a waterproof construction ideal for quick renovations or high-traffic spaces. The line is a 5mm, 20-mil 9 x 60 plank featuring a micro-bevel and wood-grain embossing. Its 10 colors come from some of the company’s most popular SKUs. “We’re keeping it simple—keeping it easy on the price points for the customers,” said Jerry Guo, CEO. “We want them to recognize and engage with it.”

SPC

resilientSPC is once again strengthening its foothold in the residential market after getting a bit of a black eye from cheap imports flooding the market. Suppliers say the construction still provides superior durability and visual appeal in everyday living spaces. At TISE 2026, several new SPC suppliers underscored that belief, with enhanced products designed to squash any residual bad tastes showcased on the show floor.

Ado Floor is a SPC-only manufacturer in Turkey that stayed true to its roots at this year’s show, highlighting its support of the bruised resilient subcategory. “There were bad examples of SPC manufacturers,” said Volkan Yazici, director of U.S. operations of Ado Floor/Europine. “They went subpar in quality. They put a bad name to the product even though it’s an amazing product. We refused to produce anything thinner than 5mm—even when the

market was demanding 3.2mm-3.4mm. We have a 3,000-square-foot lab, and we test everything ourselves. We knew those didn’t pass the tests. Now our customers understand our value.”

The company’s latest innovation is the Excimer Super Matte Technology, which significantly reduces gloss levels for superior realism and provides a soft-to-the-touch feel.

Mohawk came to the show with a plethora of new product updates, including those within its SolidTech lineup. Take Augusta Acres, for example. The line is a 5mm SPC with a mixed-species visual. “This is my favorite introduction,” said Sarah Duncan, senior product manager, resilient. “We needed a rustic refresh in the Select lineup, and this design actually has oak, elm and hickory in it.”

Duncan noted that after the “gray days,” consumers are ready for something else. “Everyone went so sterile, so clean for so long. We got the monotone colors; we went gray, gray, gray. People want more warmth, more movement in their homes. I think mixed species offers you a lot of those options.”

The Dixie Group took a minimalist approach with its TRUCOR line, opting for a more curated, concise collection. TRUCOR Tru-Tile, for example, is an SPC with six colors in dimensions of 12 x 24. “We’re in the happy medium space,” said Doug Helmstaedter, regional vice president, Mountain West region. Boardwalk, a 5.5mm SPC, comes in a 9 x 50 format with 10 colors.

Pelican Creations was back at TISE highlighting its Comfort Core technology, which features an innovative and patented layer that blends optimal ratios of vinyl, EVA pad and SPC thickness to help deliver a comfortable and quiet floor without sacrificing any of the benefits of standard vinyl flooring.

“I find that new technologies are slow to be adopted—it takes four to five years, so Comfort Core is finally gaining momentum,” Yuni Choi, vice president, told FCNews. “We have a more manufacturers that have signed up for the license, so we’re happy with that. And we’re excited about expanding the breadth of products. It began with an SPC core, but now we’re doing it in a WPC and also a laminate. We’re really excited to offer that.”

Lions Floor expanded its SPC offering with the launch of Bevel Mark. “Consumers want to focus on anything that’s thicker—more than 6.5mm thick,” Guo said. “So we wanted to give them that, but we also wanted to make something special for the market to recognize Lions Floor is not only following demand but able to come up with premium features that actually empower the dealer.”

Bevel Mark is Lions Floor latest SPC and features 8mm, 9 x 72-inch planks with a 20-mil wear layer, a pressed bevel, EIR, a 30-plank repeat and premium acoustic padding. It also features a matte finish to provide even greater realism in the design.

SLCC came to the show with new launches across a variety of product categories—including SPC. It’s new Quiet Cloud line features Comfort Core, which provides better cushion underfoot as well as sound absorption.

“We’re positioning this toward the multifamily market,” Rachel Rodriguez, director of marketing, told FCNews. “Often with SPC you need an additional underlay for the sound or you have issues with the click system. By adding the Comfort Core you can avoid that. And we’re already surpassing IIC ratings, too. This has a 72IIC rating. It’s geared toward multifamily and also nursing homes, child development centers, etc.”

Engineered Floors also showcased several SPC products within its PureGrain Flex loose- lay collection, including Paradise Heights (7 x 48), Meadow Woods (9 x 60) and Athena (18 x 36). All three are 5mm loose-lay products with painted bevels.

Also within SPC, the company showed the newest iteration of Colonnade, a 6mm product with an integrated grout and marble looks. “Colonnade has been very well received,” said Ben Wood, hard surface category buyer for Engineered Floors. “It truly looks like stone. We had some customers say they couldn’t tell the difference.”

(This resilient flooring story will continue in the March 9 edition of FCNews.)

The post Surfaces ’26: Resilient intros push boundaries of realism appeared first on Floor Covering News.


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