As an acknowledged global industry leader for over five decades, Amtico International prides itself on the design and production of innovative flooring solutions that have also witnessed increasing demand across the Asia region in hotels, educational and healthcare institutions, offices and retail outlets, as architects and designers increasingly seek stylish solutions to compliment state-of-the-art interiors.
The pioneering manufacturer of the Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT), Amtico representatives recently gathered in Hong Kong for the annual Amtico International regional conference, which also saw the launch of the new Signature Collection, completely redefining Amtico as cutting edge and design driven.
2013 Amtico International regional conference
“Attending the Amtico conference here in Hong Kong were our distributors from different countries, including Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong and Japan,” stated Amtico International Regional Sales Director APAC, Wilson Wong.
“Amtico has been in the flooring solutions business here in Asia for more than 20 years and as the acknowledged global market leader of LVT products, we pride ourselves on innovative design and products quality.”
“It is therefore imperative that in this increasingly important and rapidly developing region that our distributors are fully informed on the continuing evolution of our product range. Asian customers also recognise how they can benefit in relation to their specific project by providing unlimited flexibility on any design concept.”
Company evolution
“In 2011, Amtico International was acquired by Mannington Mills, a primarily US-based company with a very broad range of flooring products,” states Amtico International Marketing and Design Director, Simon Mills.
“Amtico is a global operator, well established throughout Europe and with burgeoning businesses in Middle East and Asia and is a specialist in premium design flooring. This merging of companies gives the combined business a number of interesting opportunities, including products from the Mannington portfolio and plans are currently underway to launch new categories in 2013 and beyond.”
“Customer reaction to these changes has been extremely positive with many commenting that the logo looks clean and modern and will work well across the extended product portfolio,” continues Mills. “This also happily coincides with the largest product launch in the company’s history which will reposition its premium design tile range, now designated The Signature Collection.”
Mills also explains that as a result of new brand positioning and innovative product design, Amtico has also just won the latest in a string of design awards for its Fragment range, one of its latest product introductions.
“Product design is not the only area where Amtico is aiming to lead the market, states Mills. “It has also committed itself to excelling in quality, service and sustainability. The quality of its products is widely recognised in industry surveys, where the company is consistently rated as number one. This is borne out by customer experience by increasing numbers in Asia.”
“In Europe, Amtico has introduced a “100% availability, 100% of the time” commitment on its core ranges and it is now examining ways that a similar service promise could be launched in Asia. The company also continues its long term commitment to environmental issues.”
“Established in 2011, the Hong Kong based regional team has achieved strong growth in China and Hong Kong and is now targeting Japan, Korea, Thailand and Taiwan,” says Mills. “Strategic commitment to the region comes from the very top of the company. With this corporate backing, the strength of our Asian distributor network and the unique Amtico product range, 2013 promises to be a year when we can expect continued success and growth for Amtico International.”
The Signature Collection
“The Signature Collection launch completely redefines Amtico as cutting edge and design led, evolving the collection further than ever before to create this new range,” states Amtico International Product Design Manager, Karen Quarterman.
“This new collection comprises 78 products, each with a high quality aesthetic and design approach that makes each one uniquely, unmistakably Amtico. Our approach is to challenge the conventional and push flooring trends and we do this in several ways, such as following the Amtico philosophy of creating designs that have a natural feel and appearance without conveying the look and feel of wood or stone, and applying contemporary twists to naturals, as well as utilising our in-house innovation to create truly unique effects”.
“The new products have been designed to expand the variety of colours, patterns and grains, and is a real shake-up regarding texture and to grow the collection to 188 products offering designers and architects an extensive palette of finishes that can be combined in infinite possibilities to create their unique design solution. And with an Abstract collection of less than 5 years old, we continue evolving this collection rapidly to stay on trend.”
Hero Products of The Signature Collection include:
Fragment – this new effect truly demonstrates Amtico’s in-house innovation at its very best. Layers of natural mica are fused and suspended within to create stunning depth and texture. By mixing together different mica particles Amtico has created a look that alludes to the feel of real stone, but is a completely unique product in itself.
Cirrus – inspired by multi-directional textures in natural wood and a trend for contour formation patterns, this new design wood epitomises Amtico’s approach. It is a product with the feel of a natural material, yet has the versatility of an abstract design and commercial colour palette, inspiring designers and architects to create high design flooring concepts.
Colour Finish – this undoubtedly forms a major part of the launch of the new range. Amtico knew that it needed to reinvent colour within its collection, but how had to the address the question of how to develop a finish that would excite and appeal to a wider customer profile.
Extensive research was the key i.e. how do designers and architects apply colour within interior spaces, what shades are required by each market sector, and how do other materials explore and incorporate colour? Needless to say, this required a careful balance of hues focusing on trends, as well as commercial usability. It was also important to make sure each colour also worked in combination with other Signature products to maximise design flexibility. Through experimentation with various pigments, Amtico worked to create intensely saturated tints and shimmered effects before finalising the right looks to scale-up to full production.
Amtico International’s expansion throughout the Asia region and continued evolution and development of its flooring solutions, including exclusively produced bespoke designs, is becoming evermore popular with architects, designers and clients guaranteeing continued global growth and success.
For more information please visit www.amtico.com.