Congoleum history

1902: The name "Congoleum" is ascribed to its use by United Roofing and Manufacturing Co., located in Eri PA, who named their roofing product "Congo" roofing after the source of asphalt it was using - shipped from the African Congo.

1903 United Roofing and Manufacturing Co. expands their facilities and creates floor runners.

1906 The Nairn manufacturing process is improved to allow for colorful geometric shapes in a variety of patterns.

By 1910 a new type of smooth-surfaced floor covering known as printed felt base had come into existence as an economical alternative to floorcloth and linoleum.

The United Roofing & Manufacturing Co. was formed in 1911 to manufacture this waterproof floor covering, which was marketed under the registered name of Congoleum.

1924 Congoleum Corporation acquired Nairn Linoleum Manufacturing Corporation and changed the name to Congoleum Nairn Inc.

See this 1928 CONGOLEUM RUGS SHEET FLOORING - a Canadian Congoleum art rug installed in a home in Nova Scotia.

1930: asphalt & red-backed Congoleum Gold Seal Rugs and Nairn Linoleum were sold into the 1930's until replaced by vinyl-based products.

The years 1926 to 1930, during which the company suspended its annual dividend, were not as profitable, although it never lost money. It resumed its dividend in 1931 and sailed through the Great Depression with a comfortable profit each year.

1933 Vinyl plastic floor covering is first presented to the public at the Chicago World’s Fair.

Later becoming Congoleum-Nairn, by 1939, 164 million square yards of linoleum were being produced in America.

In the December 15, 1940 issue of The Star-Ledger, author Edward J. Mowery wrote, “if there ever was an epic in manufacturing genius, you’ll find it at the 48-acre Kearny plant of Congoleum-Nairn, Inc.”

Congoleum-Nairn had more than 100 buildings in Kearny, occupying more than 48 acres of land in 1941.

Above: a Congoleum Nairn Gold Seal Rug logo imprint from a 1942 Congoleum Rug.

In 1943, tragedy struck when 13 people died in an explosion at the Congoleum-Nairn plant.

1947: Congoleum flooring may contain asbestos

Page top photo: a popular Congoleum rug floor covering or "linoleum" installed in a United States home in 1949.

at 1950 CONGOLEUM GOLD SEAL SHEET FLOORING - No Asbestos was found in some 1950 floor covering products tested.

Forced by the competition to expand its line, Congoleum-Nairn in 1951 acquired Delaware Floor Products, Inc., a Wilmington manufacturer of vinyl plastic tile and rolls as well as felt-base floor coverings and also a manufacturer of sheet-vinyl coverings for sinks and counter tops.

1953: Congoleum Nairn buys Sloane-Blabon

The acquisitions were moving Congoleum-Nairn in the right direction, since by 1955 synthetic tiles were clearly supplanting linoleum in public favor.

Shifting emphasis away from linoleum, Congoleum-Nairn moved its linoleum-making operations from the Kearny plant in 1957 to the former Sloane-Blabon factory in Trenton, New Jersey, retaining part of the Kearny facility to make asphalt and vinyl plastic tile.

Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 [out of print, original copy, text and images provided by InspectAPedia.com (c)].

Introduced in 1962, Cushionflor was a no-wax product--the first in its field--composed of a layer of chemically embossed vinyl foam bonded between a vinyl surface and a vinylized felt backing.

Corp., a Celina, Ohio, maker of occasional tables acquired by Congoleum-Nairn in 1963.)

In December 1966 Congoleum-Nairn received two patents covering the chemically embossed vinyl-foam products it had been marketing and promptly instituted patent-infringement actions against four competitors, all of which were eventually settled on a basis favorable to the company.

1968 Congoleum Nairn is first to sell No-Wax floors, originally introduced as 'Shinyl Vinyl' allowed customers the comfort of cushioning, realistic designs, and easy maintenance.

Another lucrative income source, amounting to $1.7 million in 1969, came from royalties earned on its patents.

1971: Congoleum flooring example - shown below

It also was a major supplier of furniture for the mobile- and recreational-home market. It claimed over 400 different patterns and colors in flooring, "more than anyone else in the business." In 1972 Congoleum Industries began a $20-million expansion of the Marcus Hook plant to provide new facilities for the manufacture of vinyl floor coverings.

Floor coverings remained the company's leading product sector in 1975, accounting for $169 million in revenues (42 percent of the total) and $25 million in net income (95 percent of the total). That year Congoleum Industries ceased producing vinyl asbestos tile.

In 1976 Congoleum Corp. received $35 million in damages from Armstrong Cork Co., the industry leader in smooth-surfaced floor coverings, for violating the company's patents.

Aided by a backlog of naval shipyard contracts, Congoleum's sales soared to $558.6 million in 1978, and its net profits to $41.7 million.

In early 1980 Congoleum was acquired by Fibic Corp., a newly formed, privately held corporation organized by The First Boston Corp., with payment in cash of $38 for each share of common stock, or about $445 million in all.

1982: Asbestos found in this Congoleum Flooring

First Boston sold its holdings in Congoleum in 1984 to the company's chief executives, Byron C. Radaker and Eddy G. Nicholson, in a leveraged buy out.

But in 1986, the company was sold to Hillside Industries.

One benefit of this program was that the Marcus Hook plant, which in 1987 led all Delaware river valley polluters by pumping more than a million pounds of ozone-destroying compounds into the air, completely eliminated this noxious discharge by switching from hazardous solvents to water in its inks.

Based in Mercerville, New Jersey--outside Trenton--Congoleum embarked on a capital-spending program in 1989.

The company was unable to borrow from banks for these improvements but in 1991 secured a $57.5-million asset-based working-capital line from CIT Group Inc.

In February 1993 American Biltrite Inc. sold its Amtico Tile Division, a producer of resilient-floor tiles, to Congoleum, in return for a 40 percent stake, valued at $18.8 million, in the company.

In 1994 Congoleum had net sales of $265.8 million and net income of $17.5 million.

In February 1995 Congoleum completed a public offering of 4.65 million shares of Class A common stock at $13 a share, following which Congoleum Holdings was merged into Congoleum Corp.

Congoleum's long-term debt was $90 million in June 1996.

2000: Congoleum White Shield Backing Linoleum

2003: Congoleum bankruptcy: in response to liability from asbestos hazard or injury claims, Congoleum Nairn filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 on 31 Decembver 2003.

2010: Congoleum emerges from bankruptcy: the bankruptcy court approved Congoleum's reorganization plan by mid 2010.

EPA, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Asbestos in Your Home, web search 08/31/2011, original source: www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/ashome.html

These 2012 Congoleum flooring samples are from a Lowes building supply store.

2013: Congoleum does not contain asbestos

2014 'Timeless' luxury plank and tile is introduced

2015 'ArmorCore' is released as a resilient sheet solution for residential builders and multi-family properties.

2016 'Triversa' and 'Triversa ID', 100% waterproof resilient plank collections were developed and introduced.

2018: Congoleum continues to produce a wide range of residential and commercial sheet flooring and floor tile products, made in the United States at the corporation's factory in Trenton, NJ.