About.

OUR PURPOSE.

We exist to support the resilient flooring industry in Europe. Through a commitment to transparency and sustainability of product performance, we work with governments and test institutes to develop strict product standards and universal information systems.

Resilient flooring is durable, flexible and impermeable. Made by our members, in an impressive variety of design and size formats, from natural and synthetic materials, this flooring delivers choice for all projects and budgets.

ERFMI represents the interests of the resilient flooring industry by helping maintain high ethical standards within the industry. We are active in obtaining and communicating relevant information to our members. We represent the industry in negotiations with government departments, public bodies, trade associations and non-governmental organisations in the European market.

In addition to promoting the preparation of international standards, specifications and classification systems, we support activities that develop the resilient flooring industry. ERFMI specifically avoids any activities that prevent or restrict competition between our members in line with competition law.

ERFMI is also part of the European Floor Coverings Association, the umbrella association dealing with common topics concerning resilient, laminate, textile and multilayer modular floor coverings in Europe.

Products.

What is resilient flooring?

Resilient floor coverings are highly engineered sheet and tile products, made to withstand heavy use in a variety of commercial and residential settings.

Different environments call for different floors. While resilient flooring is manufactured in many styles and materials, with a range of performance qualities, it is known for being easy to maintain, hygienic and comfortable underfoot. A resilient floor benefits a building through its design and performance.

The product families are:

Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) or ’Vinyl’ floor coverings are widely used in both commercial and residential environments.

Types of PVC or Vinyl flooring:
Homogeneous
This flooring has one homogeneous, or a single product layer of PVC sheet, created through heating and melting PVC pellets, in varied colours and weights, which under pressure and extrusion create decorative patterns. This is glued directly to a subfloor, often installed in heavy traffic commercial spaces.

Heterogeneous
Featuring different layers of PVC and other polymers or strengthening products, heterogeneous flooring is laminated together under heat and pressure. An embossed, transparent top wear layer and backing layers are used for dimensional stability to protect layers of printed films and coloured sheeting, creating highly detailed designs in sheet and cut plank and tile formats. The addition of a glass or polyester fleece layer acts as a carrier. Heterogeneous flooring is glued to subfloors or loose laid across interior spaces.

Vinyl flooring is made with many specialised functions including acoustic dampening, safety or anti-slip, electrostatic dissipative qualities, and Luxury Vinyl Tiles, or LVT.
LVT flooring is known for its highly realistic design visuals and cut tile shapes, which are vinyl modular tiles and planks with realistic high-quality visuals.
A resilient woven vinyl uses different technology to create a woven ‘look’.

Examples of Production Lines:  Homogeneous Calandering   CV/Heterogeneous  LVT

Linoleum is made from renewable natural raw materials, such as linseed oil, rosin, wood flour, limestone and colour pigments that are mixed and calendared onto a jute mesh.

Manufactured for over 100 years and renowned for its durability, practical maintenance regime and easy installation, linoleum has a natural bacteriostatic quality that inhibits the growth of bacteria. When finished in manufacturing, it has a CO2 neutral footprint and has one of the strongest sustainability profiles in the industry.

Originally used in health care and education facilities, linoleum today is made in over 350 colours and is also installed in offices, retail outlets, leisure, hospitality and transportation. Linoleum can be supplied for installation in rolls, as well as modular planks and tile format, including click-floor options.

Floor coverings made with caoutchouc, also known as natural rubber, are commonly known as rubber or elastomer floor coverings. Produced through vulcanisation, natural and/or synthetic rubber is mixed with a natural filling material, often chalk flint, environmentally compatible pigments and additives. Due to its elastic properties, these floor coverings do not require any plasticizers, and are identified as part of the non-PVC category. Rubber is produced in many colours, patterns and structures, and bespoke customer designs.

This product naturally has a closed and dense surface, which can also be supplied with coatings. They can have either a smooth or structured surface, and are supplied in sheet tile and plank formats.

Rubber floor coverings are extremely robust and durable, abrasion and cigarette-burn resistant plus they are not affected by the short-term impact of oils and greases.

Suitable for high traffic commercial and industrial areas, such as warehouses, production plants or electrostatic protected areas, rubber also has excellent ergonomic and acoustic properties.

Example of Production Line:  Rubber

Cork is a natural material that comes from the bark of the cork oak tree, with unique and incomparable qualities. No synthetic reproduction has of yet been able to mimic its cell structure resembles a honeycomb, enabling it to act as a natural thermal and sound insulator, with shock absorbing properties.

These exclusive qualities of cork make it ideal to use in flooring because of its exceptional comfort while also being a renewable and sustainable resource.

These heterogeneous floor coverings are made with polyurethane, using petrochemical or organic resources. Consisting of a wear layer and other compact layers made from polyurethane in differing composition, this flooring uses chemical cross-linking and decorative additions, along with reinforcement and other backing layers.

Supplied in roll, or planks/tile, with adhesive or click installation, polyurethane flooring can be produced from petrochemical or organic resources. Organic origin tile products can carry a Luxury Organic Tile, or LOT declaration. These are free from chlorine, solvents or plasticizers, are odour-free and have no dangerous emissions.

This flooring category is extremely durable, especially in terms of scratch and abrasion resistance as well as indentation. Because there is no need to polish this flooring, it has low maintenance requirements and associated costs.

This category is produced in compliance with EN16776:2016.

Example of Production Line: PU

Made with synthetic thermoplastic polymers, this is resilient flooring made without PVC polymers. They are flexible flooring solutions in sheet, tiles and plank formats, available in both heterogeneous or homogeneous compositions.

This flooring category can provide different functionalities, including acoustic, static control, slip resistance and low maintenance, for installation in a wide range of domestic, commercial and industrial applications.

The products are produced in compliance with EN14565: 2004.

This category represents flooring made from a range of materials including vinyl, linoleum, rubber, thermoplastic polymer, polyurethane or cork.

Engineered in several layers, its tough top layers can be made of vinyl, linoleum, rubber or thermoplastic polymer, polyurethane or cork, and also incorporate a printed film design.

Backing layers can be alternatively high density fibreboard, a rigid polymer with or without reinforcement, or a mineral mixture. A layer of an acoustic material such as cork or foam can be added, applied as a backing to act as an acoustic barrier or underlay. These create physical stability across a range of temperatures and makes it more tolerant of sub-floor conditions.

Made for glue free installation and with click joints, they can be configured in tile or plank form.

Commercial versions offer thermal insulation to reduce heat loss and fuel costs in large open spaces in retail stores and offices, contributing to Green Building programmes.

Overall, modular multilayer flooring is wear, stain, and water-resistant; naturally quiet to walk on and easy to maintain. Designed for the widest range of conditions, it can resist wear from the home environment to heavy commercial installations such as retail stores, withstanding the daily impact of equipment and people.

The products are produced in compliance with EN ISO 20326: 2018.

Environment.

WE CARE ABOUT THE WORLD.

For ERFMI, environmental concerns mean three key areas:
01. CIRCULAR ECONOMY.

Central to our activities, we engage in research and support product development, and innovation opportunities, driven by a circular economy model.

ERFMI and its members actively support:

For PVC alone, ERFMI members recycled more than 140,000 tonnes in 2022.

02. TRANSPARENCY.

We encourage the growth of transparency within our membership, to further develop trust and responsibility between consumers and manufacturers.
We promote the development of Environmental Product Declarations, or EPD. EPDs enable the assessment of the environmental performance of products based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

  • Use our EPD calculator for a full comparison of products.
  • We promote the use of explanatory symbols associated with our product standards.
03. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.

Our pledge

Responsibility for the environment

The impact of our values, principles and processes on society and the environment are important to ERFMI, its members and their employees. We therefore fully subscribe to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These represent how we and our members aim to conduct ourselves in business.

Read more…

Inspiration.

BE INSPIRED BY OUR MEMBERS.

Resilient flooring is driven by design. State of the art production techniques and artistic inspiration create surface materials that are attractive and highly usable in architecture and interior design. Dedicated floor design teams produce products that are realistic and true to nature, created through innovative techniques. Linking all resilient flooring are the aesthetics of colour, texture and pattern.

Copyright 2017 ERFMI and ERFMI members. All rights reserved. All photographs and text included herein are the property of ERFMI and ERFMI members. The use of any images or other materials included herein, in whole or part, for any purpose, including, but not limited to, reproduction, storage, manipulation, digital or otherwise, is expressly prohibited.

Our Members.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

The following European flooring manufacturers are members of ERFMI. By clicking on the logos you can learn more about the company or visit the company’s website.

Associated Members.

News.

Read all about it.

ERFMI publishes new EPDs and updated EPD calculator

The European Resilient Flooring Manufacturers’ Institute (ERFMI) has published the latest Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) covering the full range of resilient floor coverings and updated the EPD calculator on its website (www.erfmi.com). [...]

Contact.

Connect with us.

ERFMI vzw
71, Kortenberglaan
B-1000 Brussels
Belgium
Tel.: + 32 (0) 2 2 87 08 71
Tel.: + 32 (0) 2 2 87 08 72
Email: info@erfmi.com

Managing Director
Jane Gardner
Tel.: + 32 (0) 2 2 87 08 71

Manager
Dr. Jochen Zimmermann
Tel.: + 32 (0) 2 2 87 08 72