Armstrong Wood Products Inc history

To help sell products in the home-remodeling market, in 1953 Armstrong built in Lancaster an "idea house" filled with Armstrong products, to be used as a showcase for dealers and customers.

By 1960 building materials accounted for 60 percent of sales, and industrial specialties and packaging were each 20 percent of sales.

In 1962 Backstrand became chairman and Maurice J. Warnock was appointed president.

1963 – Introduces suspended ceiling systems.

Otherwise, Warnock's tenure as president was successful with new efficiencies in organization, improvement in flooring products, and continued growth in sales to $460 million by 1967.

Armstrong invariably promoted from within and, in accordance with this policy, Warnock was succeeded in 1968 by a flooring executive who had spent his entire adult life with the company, James H. Binns.

In 1969 Binns sold the line of cleansers, waxes, and polishes to Chemway Corporation and the extensive packaging operations to Kerr Glass Manufacturing Company.

The production of linoleum was discontinued in 1974, but the company continued to develop new types of resilient flooring, among which Solarian no-wax flooring became a well-known brand name.

1980 – Begins to use recycled streams of mineral wool and newsprint, instead of new materials, to make ceilings.

In July 1989 Armstrong learned that the Belzberg family of Canada had acquired 9.85 percent of its stock and had announced the intention of gaining control of the company and selling its furniture and industrial products divisions.

1993 – Becomes a founding member of United States Green Building Council.

Momentous events proved to transform Armstrong during 1995.

When its numbers were adjusted to reflect only these ongoing businesses, Armstrong posted record net sales of $2.16 billion in 1996, while net earnings hit $155.9 million, an increase of 26 percent over the previous year.

Based in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany, DLW was the leading flooring manufacturer in Germany and the third largest flooring company in Europe and had revenues of $669 million in 1997.

1999 – Begins the ceiling-tile recycling program.

Armstrong also acquired GEMA Holdings AG, a maker of metal ceilings based in Switzerland, in 2000.

In the meantime, Armstrong posted its third consecutive annual net loss in 2004 as it took a $153 million charge to write down the value of its struggling European resilient flooring business.

2009 – Becomes first ceilings manufacturer to close the loop, using recycled ceiling tile to make new products in Armstrong’s Ceiling-2-Ceiling™ program.

2012 – Obtains first ceiling-industry Environmental Product Declarations.

2016 – Launches SUSTAIN® product line, the industry’s first portfolio of high-performing, sustainable ceiling solutions.