In a move described as like “sending coals to Newcastle”, Australia’s only manufacturer of commercial vinyl flooring is sending its first ever shipment of flooring to the United States.
Armstrong Flooring Australia manufactures at Braeside, in south east Melbourne, employs more than 100 people. Its products are exported to Europe, Asia, South America and now, for the first time, the United States.
The shipment is the first of many that the south east Melbourne-based manufacturer has secured to the United States.
Armstrong Flooring is headquartered in the United States and has several manufacturing plants there.
Australian Made Campaign Chief Executive, Ian Harrison, said the shipment was “like sending coals to Newcastle”.
The shipment was dispatched over the weekend.
Armstrong Flooring Australia worked with its US-based parent company, Armstrong Flooring Inc, to supply this product as the best option to fill a need in the US commercial sheet market.
Flooring from the Braeside factory is used in hospitals, aged care facilities, schools, universities, offices and government buildings in Australia and across the globe.
Armstrong Flooring’s General Manager, Australia/New Zealand, Richard Ye said: “The first shipment of flooring to the US is a significant milestone for Armstrong Flooring Australia. It shows that Australian skills, colour-design expertise, quality and value are world class.”
Mr Ye said Armstrong Flooring Australia would continue to explore opportunities in the US and other flooring markets.
“We hope that by growing export markets that we can provide more jobs for Victorians,” Mr Ye said.
Australian Made Campaign Chief Executive, Ian Harrison, says Australia has some of the highest manufacturing standards in the world, which underpins the high demand for Australian-made products globally.
“We are thrilled to see another great Australian manufacturer expand overseas and leverage the market capital of being ‘genuine Aussie’. The Australian Made Campaign congratulates Armstrong Flooring on its first shipment to the USA and wishes the company success in this new venture.”
The US flooring market was worth $US21.17 billion in 2016, Floor Covering News reported, with the market continuing to trend upwards during a gradual recovery from the Global Financial Crisis.
The United States is one of Victoria’s most important international partners and is the state’s largest source of investment and second largest trade partner, the Premier’s office says.
The Victorian State Government says the United States is a key export market for Victoria with the value of exports in 2016/17 climbing nine per cent to $A3 billion.
“We hope that by growing export markets that we can provide more jobs for Victorians,” Mr Ye said.