French flooring producer Tarkett (Nanterre; www.tarkett.com) has posted full-year net sales at more than EUR 2.8 bn in 2017, up 3.7% year-on-year, with exchange rates accounting for a negative impact (1.2% drop), mainly due to the depreciation of the US dollar and the pound against the euro. Adjusted EBITDA for the full year was EUR 315m and the EBITDA margin amounted to 11.1%, compared to 12.2% in 2016. Net profit came in at EUR 126m, up 6.5% compared to 2016 and excluding the French competition authority’s EUR 165m penalty – see Plasteurope.com of 24.10.2017.

The company has planned to invest around EUR 70m over the next three years to expand its luxury vinyl tiles production capacity in North America and Europe. Of this, more than EUR 20m will be invested in Europe in manufacturing sites, "mainly in Luxembourg and Poland." Fabrice Barthélemy, president of Tarkett EMEA, says the investments will enhance the company's position in the European PVC tiles market and give customers access to exclusive designs. In the US, close to EUR 50m will be invested at two manufacturing plants in Florence, Alabama.

In other company news, Andrew Bonham has been appointed president and CEO of Tarkett North America, with effect from 5 March 2018. He succeeds Glen Morrison, who has been CEO of the Tarkett group since 1 September 2017. Bonham will be based in Solon, Ohio / USA and also become a member of the executive committee. He started his career at General Electric in 1984, and spent more than a decade in marketing and sales at GE Plastics Silicone. Bonham has been senior vice president Americas at industrial equipment producer ESAB (Colfax) since 2014.

According to the company, it sells 1.3m m² of flooring per day, for use in hospitals, schools, housing, hotels, offices, stores and sports fields. The group has around 12,500 employees and 34 industrial sites.