Charlotte, N.C.—The 40th anniversary convention of the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) kicked off in grand style here earlier this year as scores of attendees and some of the most influential figures in the hardwood flooring arena came out to market the historic occasion. But there was also a significant focus on new products, advancements in wood flooring finishing and manufacturing, as well as product and technique demos.
Following are some of the product highlights from the show.
AHF Products, the hardwood flooring market leader by volume, chose to put the spotlight on a new line of unfinished products vs. prefinished offerings this year. It was a calculated move that reflected the preferences of the majority of NWFA attendees—professional hardwood flooring contractors who often coat their products on site.
“NWFA is like the Super Bowl of unfinished flooring, and that’s why we wanted to lead with it here and really get the word out that we’re in the unfinished business,” said Kevin Whaley, vice president, AHF Products. “We were in the unfinished business decades ago through our Bruce brand, but the way that our pre-finished products get manufactured, it made it more and more difficult for us to be in the unfinished business. So in the last two years, we’ve made a lot of upgrades to our factories in West Plains, Mo., and Beverly, West Va.”
That’s not the only product AHF Products showcased at NWFA. Given the propensity of many professional floor covering contractors to specialize in custom work, the company previewed its capabilities to make patterned flooring products entailing different shapes. These included custom-cut pieces that could be assembled to form hexagonal patterns.
“Our designers in our Cambodia plant came up with a way to repurpose short boards,” Whaley explained. “So they came up with this pinwheel pattern; when you look closely it’s a trapezoid. There are no rights and lefts, but as you place them together, they create triangles. And as you place those triangles together, you get an interesting hexagon pattern. Given the growing popularity of classic designs such as herringbones and chevrons, we think patterns are really going to take off.”
AHF Products wasn’t the only company showcasing their capabilities in the pattern arena. Kährs, long regarded as a pioneer in the engineered hardwood category, showed off new parquet looks via its Renaissance series, which is based on a traditional Dutch parquet pattern. “We’re really putting more emphasis on some of our pattern products— emphasizing the fact that you can get this beautiful parquet-type product,” explained Renee Tester, director of marketing. “It’s based on our wood lock locking system, which allows contractors to easily install 5 square feet at a time.”
The new rollouts didn’t end there. Kährs also featured an array of trendy new looks in wide/long plank formats and everything in between. This included expansions to its signature Estate collection, which debuted at NWFA 2024. “That line features eight oak SKUs, and it’s been going very well,” Tester said.
Across the show floor, manufacturers showcased their strengths in product development and styling. This was readily evident at the Mirage booth, which put the spotlight on its 2025 lineup. Standouts included the Blanc Collection, which features refined white oak visuals; Alice, a new addition to the popular Muse collection; Sleepover, from the Lively collection; Hiking, from the rich, warm Autumn collection; and Elora, a new col- or in the Escape collection.
Each new collection features a palette of six to eight carefully selected shades highlighting a particular species, texture and finish. What’s more, each collection is available in Mirage’s Exclusive and Character grades. “Innovation is the driving force behind our new Mirage product offerings for 2025,” said Jérôme Goulet, vice president of marketing. “This reinvented lineup is conceived with care and streamlined to meet the increasingly diverse expectations of consumers. These new offerings deliver an intuitive quality experience that customers appreciate.”
Advancements in installation systems for wood flooring were also on hand at the show. Case in point is Bjelin, which unveiled its new Slate Collection, a high-tech wood flooring solution that renders non-wood looks. The line features deep textures and natural color variations. Measuring 11 x 23, the tile format aims to add a bold sense of character, seamlessly blending form and function.
“We developed this collection with sustainable materials and engineered it to ensure superior scratch and stain resistance, as well as effortless maintenance,” said Fredrik Alfredsson, Bjelin’s global head of sales. “The Slate Collection reflects our commitment to quality craftsmanship and forward-thinking design.”
Slate Collection features Nadura technology, developed by Välinge Innovation, Bjelin sister company. The innovation aims to provide a high level of wear and impact resistance superior to traditional wood floors. “At Bjelin, we believe in making better use of materials, and the patented Nadura technology embodies this vision,” Alfredsson noted. “The innovative process helps reduce waste and supports a circular product lifecycle.”
Innovation was in ample supply at NWFA. At the Mercier booth, for example, the focus was on the company’s latest advancements in prefinished hard- wood—the new Mercier Generations + finish. “We wanted to develop a recipe that could not only be created in a lab, but we also had to make it stable on our finishing line,” said Jean-Phillippe Dumas, sales and marketing director. “We had to make sure the result would be the same appearance to our existing finishes on all our products.”
In a nutshell, that meant markedly improving the performance and durability of the finish without sacrificing the visual and clarity that customers have come to expect from Mercier. The end result, according to Mercier, was a finish that exceled in virtually every metric in how wood flooring is measured: durability, clarity and ease of maintenance. Internal testing shows the new Generations+ finish provides 10x greater scratch resistance compared to the previous Generations series. The new Generations Plus finish allows for improved clarity despite its increased durability.
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