QuietWalk from MP Global.
It’s no secret that MP Global offers up some of the top-selling flooring underlayments on the market. But what might not be as widely known is the fact that those products are both sustainably and locally made.
“In a world that is becoming increasingly more aware of recycled materials, we were doing this long before anyone cared or thought it was cool,” explained Deanna Summers, marketing director. “Our model is as old as we are (27 years). Take the unwanted scraps from some other manufacturing life cycle and repurpose them—using our patented process—into high-performance flooring products.”
Moreover, MP Global sources all raw fibrous materials from the U.S. for this stateside manufacturing process. As Summers explained: “So not only do we manufacture our products [stateside], but we also source our materials here as well, which is hard to determine these days in a world with components sourced and then assembled from all over the world—we truly are made in the USA.”
More importantly, the recycled products are not made from resin-based materials so there is no off-gassing or VOCs. They are also Greenguard Gold certified. MP Global Products diverts almost 2 million pounds of materials from landfills each month.
Product highlights
MP Global offers a plethora of product lines designed to suit various needs. Most recently the company unveiled QuietBoard, a recycled fiber sheet underlayment that provides improved support for multiple flooring types with great acoustic and waterproof benefits—and an added bonus to correct flooring gaps and imperfections. The underlayment’s recycled fibers absorb sound and keep it from traveling to other rooms, providing a solid sound underfoot. What’s more, it is proven to reduce stress underfoot. Combined with MP Global’s exclusive Eco-Wick System, the underlayment is designed to hold up to 5x its weight in moisture, allowing the board to maintain its structural integrity, shape and functionality.
Then there are those products the industry has known and loved for years, like the hundreds of millions of square feet of QuietWalk sold over two and a half decades. The line is now available in three collections: QuietWalk, QuietWalk LV and QuietWalk Plus. Each are suitable for use under hard surface flooring: laminate and hardwood, LVT/P and floated/glued hard surface. Each provide proven sound reduction, water protection and thermal insulation.
Partners pipe up
MP Global has been in business for nearly three decades and has partners in retail and distribution that span that length of time. The company also has new partners that freely sing the company’s praises.
The Belknap White Group (now known as UCX), for example, has been a MP Global partner for more than 20 years. The industry’s top distributor attests to the competitive advantages of a stateside—and sustainable—supplier. “Managing customers’ expectations of availability and performance is imperative,” said Dan Doyle, vice president, branch sales and operations. “Made in USA puts me at ease knowing they have control of their supply chain and in turn their production capabilities. When a consumer makes a purchase of a Made in USA product, they are aware they are supporting local commerce and labor.”
Al Attard, co-owner of San Francisco-based Attard Distributing Inc., agreed, noting, “The fact that MP Global is in the U.S. and most of their product line is produced in the U.S. is important for our company. It’s nice to know their products can be shipped out quickly and received quickly. Also, the fact that we can trust that the material being produced meets all the standards that are required for our industry. This is important especially in terms of underlayment.”
MP Global’s partners also find value in its sustainability story. “As consumers, we are all far more educated in the recycling process and its cumulative benefits,” Doyle added. “MP Global’s eco-aware approach to using recycled materials in many of their products is a value-add in the decision-making process and resonates well with the end-user.”
Attard agreed, also noting the performance aspects of the company’s recycled materials. “It’s nice to know that the flooring industry has really focused on being green in recent years,” he said. “MP Global has implemented many ways of using post-consumer materials. One being how they recycle synthetic fibers, which are recycled primarily from the carpet industry, to use on most of their underlayment lines and fiberboards. Not only is it good for the environment but it’s also beneficial to the consumer because these recycled fibers are ideal for their thermal and acoustical properties when used to produce their underlayment and fiberboard, making for a much quieter floor.”
While MP Global’s Made-in-USA and sustainability story uniquely position the company within the market, its products are also tried and tested, having proved themselves for nearly three decades.
“We have been in the distribution business for 34 years and have worked with many suppliers and manufacturers,” Attard noted. “Only a few have proven to us that they can be responsible, reliable, transparent and trustworthy, and MP Global has proven themselves to us. I tend to think of those companies as partners rather than just our suppliers. Though we’ve only worked with MP Global for a relatively short period of time (18 months), we as a company couldn’t be happier.”
Doyle agreed, noting the company carries MP Global’s complete lineup. “Key items that are always in high demand are their fiber-based products that include the QuietWalk collection, QuietBoard and their Moisture Block product. They have a product that meets nearly every application and product configuration. They are an innovative group as well, working alongside finished good manufacturers to develop, test and bring to market the highest performing products.”
The post MP Global offers U.S. production, sustainability appeared first on Floor Covering News.