Forth Surfaces

Forth Surfaces was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many people we had a lot of time to reflect and do some soul searching. Through zoom and daily phone calls, we decided we were going to get into the flooring business…again…but with a twist.

It’s said, “you can’t know where you’re going, without knowing where you’ve been.” Collectively we’ve been in the carpet and flooring industry for 50+ years. It doesn’t feel like long ago when we were playing around amongst the carpet rolls in the warehouse as kids. We’ve seen the positive impact this industry has brought to our hometown, the incredible people who make it what it is, and all the opportunities it has opened for us… Leading us to the age-old question…how can we make it better??

There’s no question that the environmental impact our industry has had on the world is substantial. Frankly, it’s a problem. How big of a problem? By weight carpet is the #2 item added to landfills each year (second only to baby diapers). The EPA estimates the number at more than 5 Billion pounds….that’s over 6 Empire State Buildings per year! More than 90% of carpet is being thrown away and not being recycled or reclaimed.

In 2013 our founder, Clayton Miller, launched an endeavor to bring transformative innovation and technology to the flooring industry. We utilize Floors 2 Fuel Technology (F2F) allowing and enhancing the biodegradation of synthetic (plastic) flooring in landfills. So, rather than carpet and LVT sitting around for hundreds or even thousands of years, it would disappear well within our lifetimes (in only a few years to a decade in most cases). Naturally the goal became to bring this technology to the masses and provide this unique innovation to the industry. ?

Large manufacturers showed incredible interest…proved the technology worked…but ultimately decided to go a different direction as it was just too big of a departure from their current strategy. We kept trying…. more attempts and more nos.?

Finally, during COVID and our self-reflection, we asked ourselves some very important questions. What can WE do? Why not US? Why can’t WE be the change? Forming Forth Surfaces is our answer to those questions. It’s a big step forward. Now it may not be perfect but it’s better than where we’ve been…but it’s not as good as where we’re going.?

Forth Surfaces is all about moving the flooring industry forward in a positive direction concerning recycling, reclamation, and an end-of-life solution for synthetic flooring products. Our hope is that you will join us in moving #OnwardwithForth and specifying smarter. Take a step in what we believe to be the responsible direction…keeping in mind, being responsible doesn’t have to mean being boring.