New certification program for rigid core luxury vinyl tile

The Resilient Floor Covering Institute and SCS Global Services have unveiled a new program to ensure the quality of Rigid Core Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) marketed and sold in North America.

SCS Global Services (SCS), a third-party certification and standards organization, will provide certification services and direct the testing protocol. It will include an assessment of the manufacturing quality control procedure for material suppliers, product traceability, chain of custody, internal QC testing, and segregation of non-conforming products and materials.

The certification protocol will also includes an on-site manufacturing facility audit, performance testing in compliance with the rigid core ASTM standard, testing for heavy metals and ortho-phthalates content, and FloorScore testing for indoor air quality.

Rigid Core LVT is the fastest growing resilient flooring category, according to a news release from the Resilient Floor Covering Institute. The product category has evolved quickly from a “multilayer” resilient concept—first as expanded polymer core (also called WPC), and quickly adding solid polymer core (SPC)—to a resilient waterproof flooring solution offered by many brands, the release says.