Temple, TX (June 21, 2006) – Wilsonart Commercial Flooring announces the first ever CEU (continuing education unit) program for commercial design professionals on laminate flooring. The course, approved by the Interior Design Continuing Education Council (IDCEC) and its member organizations, is entitled “Laminate Flooring Contract Application.” It includes sections on creative applications of laminate flooring, commercial style and design options, installation and maintenance, manufacturing methods and the evolution of high-pressure surface laminates to flooring.
“Most people don’t realize one of the very first applications for commercial laminate flooring was bowling alleys,” says Randy Phillips, national sales manager for Wilsonart Commercial Flooring and head of the company’s continuing education initiatives for commercial design professionals. AMF, the largest bowling alley operator in North America originally began replacing wood bowling lanes with Wilsonart high-pressure laminate flooring in the early ‘80s. AMF needed a product superior to wood that would resist dents and scratches from bowling balls and that would stand up to abrasions caused by pin setting equipment. Lastly, AMF wanted to eliminate down time associated with wood floor refinishing operations that would shut down the bowling alley for 10 days at a time.
“It’s interesting that these features and benefits are the same ones which make laminate flooring extremely attractive a quarter of a century later to commercial customers worldwide in corporate, healthcare, hospitality, multi-family housing, retail and educational businesses,” says Phillips.
The CEU contains five different sections. The “Evolution of Laminate Flooring” section contains information about how high-pressure laminates were originally developed and factors that led to increased popularity of commercial grade laminate flooring. The “How is Laminate Flooring Manufactured” section spotlights the differences between high- pressure and direct-pressure laminates. This section also outlines material design and product construction aspects of commercial laminate flooring that make it highly resistant to dents, scratches and scuffs.
The “Style and Design” section discusses how commercial laminate flooring designers conceive designs for commercial markets. The “Installation” section includes a description of the various installation and maintenance procedures for commercial laminate flooring. It also contains an innovative lifetime costs analysis to help design professionals understand. Six different case studies are included in the “Creative Applications” section including: MSNBC Studio headquarters, well-known furniture designer Julia Gray’s New York showroom, the historic Chesterfield Hotel in South Beach, FL and others.
The CEU was approved by American and Canadian committee members from IDCEC organizations including: the American Society of Interior Designers, Interior Designers of Canada, the Interior Design Educators Council, the International Interior Design Association, and the National Kitchen & Bath Association. Members of all groups are eligible to receive one contract hour of continuing education credit by taking the course. To schedule a live presentation of the course, contact Randy Phillips at (254) 207-3237 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Wilsonart is a leading manufacturer of laminate surfaces and one of the largest manufacturers of commercial high-pressure laminate flooring. For more information on Wilsonart Commercial Flooring, visit www.wilsonartcommercialflooring.com.
