Exhibit flooring: Trends, technology and client concerns

Exhibit flooring has come a long way in the past 10 years. Not only are the options available growing on a yearly basis, the concept of flooring has been gaining momentum on the minds of designers, builders and exhibiting companies. The days when carpet was king and the color and padding depth were the only decisions to make are long gone.

Exhibit flooring has come a long way in the past 10 years.
Photo provided by Brumark, courtesy of EEI Global. All rights reserved.

As the ground we walk on in the booth continues to evolve, Exhibit City News discussed trends, technology and client concerns with several major flooring companies in the industry.


What trends are you seeing in flooring?
Aaron Smith, sales executive
D.E. McNabb Co. Flooring
I have several clients who we have switched over to a newer fiber the past few months. It has a true “green” story, and a much nicer finish than the traditional show-grade carpet. It is also less affected by the increase in petroleum costs than other fibers. Also, there have been many clients interested in our upgraded flooring options and turnkey service packages. We have been using a low-profile raised floor for wire management and a hardwood finish for many different events this year.

Dave Walens, president
Brumark
Maximized Branding! We are seeing more efforts to have brand extension onto the flooring as a trend in the exhibit industry. Many companies are looking for ways to maximize their brand integrity throughout the entire concept of the booth design. With today’s technology, we are able to provide solutions that allow our clients to have the ability to use various flooring options to continue their customer’s branding. Whether it is a carpet, wood flooring, raised flooring, printed flooring or a lit floor, there are numerous innovative solutions that allow the flooring to become the 5th wall.

David Stern, founder
The Inside Track
We market exclusively to exhibit houses, and one of the most positive trends we are seeing is that many of their clients are increasing their budgets, allowing them to use flooring to integrate more branding and experiential areas into their overall exhibit design. We’re making more carpet inlays than ever before with larger booths using a variety of carpet colors and shapes to highlight product areas.

Exhibitors with smaller booth sizes are requesting their company name or logo carved into their carpets.

Another trend is the use of raised floors.

Pat Basileo, general manager
American Harlequin
For exhibit and display floors, there is a trend toward modular patterns as well as raised or sprung panels. The modular panels offer design variety and are easy to handle and ship. For example, in a 30 by 30-foot space, a series of different patterns of flooring can be used to change one section of the display to offer a certain look, i.e. outdoors with a grass-like pattern to hi-tech with a deckplate style. The raised floors and sprung modular panels provide relief to both the exhibitors and the visitors since it is more comfortable than carpeted concrete.

Rich Cantrell, general manager
Flooring Exhibits
Logos and custom inlays have been on the rise. They are a very cost effective way to customize and advertise compared to other large format branding. People look up and then they look down before they enter a booth.

How has technology affected exhibit flooring?
Cantrell: We are now able to water-jet all types of flooring, from carpet to hardwood, with custom inlays and logos that have more detailed and accurate results.

Smith: With changes in technology, the quality of flooring keeps improving. The hard surface options and rolled vinyls are much more realistic than ever before. The carpet is also richer and better performing. There are endless patterned goods available now that are beginning to be used in booth spaces to further enhance the design.

Walens: More flooring options are being developed out of vinyl. These are very thin and durable quick-lock floors. They assemble and disassemble very easily and can be cut with a razor blade instead of a saw. They are available in “real wood” look patterns. LED lighting is being used on a regular basis. Also, as textile printing is improving, so is the quality of custom printed floors. Dye sublimated floors and printed floors on wear layers that are then laminated to vinyl tiles can add incredible durability and outstanding quality.

Stern: The technology used in Vutek printers allows us to apply vibrant colors used in our Custom Printed Textured flooring. Over the last few years, there have been some exciting advances in the area of recycled carpet as well. After clients are finished using our Nylon 6 recycled carpet, we can have the fiber stripped from the backing, melted down and turned into a material called Caprolactam. This is then used to make new carpet, plastic automotive parts, synthetic fiber for clothing and other products. Another recycling technology allows plastic bottles to be melted down and turned into a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) chemical, which is then extruded to make carpet fiber.

Basileo: We are seeing great strides in how patterns are placed on vinyl flooring. There is a high-speed ink jet process that takes a photo of a beautiful green lawn and creates a vinyl lawn in seconds.

What is the #1 issue an exhibitor should consider when choosing flooring?
Basileo: Expense and ease of I&D. Vinyl floors come in all price ranges, but you would want to place precedence on a floor that can be quickly installed and transported rather than on longevity. If you spend a pretty penny on a floor you think will last forever, it may last forever, but might be out of style in a few years.

Cantrell: Quality. Manufactures have cut many corners by using lower-grade raw materials. These short cuts drastically affect the quality of finished products.

Smith: I feel that the opportunity to use the flooring as an intricate element in the design of the booth is often overlooked. The floor space is a large part of the booth and can be utilized to further enhance the overall aesthetic feeling that the booth design is trying to achieve. An exhibitor should integrate the flooring as a part of the design when applicable since there are thousands of flooring options out there. Be creative with this space rather than just using a basic grade in a neutral color.

Walens: Does the floor meet the overall design integrity of the exhibit while being able to be produced cost effectively?

Stern: While there are dozens of flooring aspects to consider, I think the number one issue is to make sure you have a reliable flooring vendor that will be there with you every step of the way. We all know so many things can happen between the time something leaves the dock and when it arrives at your booth. Having a vendor that cares, not only about the products they sell, but also about you as a customer, will make all the difference in the world.

Is installation a major concern for your client when choosing flooring?
Stern: On the show floor, time is money, so whether a client is using our raised flooring or standard carpet, everyone’s goal is a fast installation. To ensure consistency, we feel that the same company that is building the booth should install the carpet and flooring. When an exhibit house requires installation as a condition of choosing us for a project, we’ll contract with the same I&D provider that is building the booth to perform this function.

Basileo: Yes, it should be easy enough to have anyone unroll, tape, and reroll the floor up. Complicated interlocking flooring may look great, but takes an eternity to put together.

Smith: We always try to make our clients aware of the proper installation techniques and the amount of time that the installation process should take with any type of flooring we sell. For the more intricate booths with inlays or different types of flooring finishes, our c
lients have called upon us to utilize our nationwide floor laying capabilities to handle this portion of the move in.

Walens: Absolutely. A client can run into tremendous labor costs if installation is not thought of from the beginning. At Brumark, installation is always a top priority for all products we offer. Whether it is a portable floor or a large custom floor, we finish and package our products to minimize installation. This includes proper cutting, crating, carpet bags or casing and labeling.

Cantrell: Yes, a very big concern. Good, experienced flooring installers will put you and your client at ease, letting your exhibit I&D crew start fresh with their layout and assembly.