The origin of laminate: how a Swedish brainstorming session in 1977 turned the flooring market upside down

Sven, now a sprightly eighty-year-old, joined Perstorp AB in 1974 (which later became part of Unilin, ed.). At the time, the Swedish company mainly produced laminate panels for kitchen worktops and bathroom walls. “We had an incredibly durable and reliable product on our hands, but we felt there was untapped potential so we started looking for other applications.”

Idé 77

The team grabbed the bull by the horns. In 1977 they organised Idé 77, a multi-day brainstorming session. The goal was as simple as it was challenging: to come up with as many new applications for laminate panels as possible. Sven, then still a Product Developing Engineer, also had a seat at the table. “No idea was too outlandish,” he recalls. “After a few days, around 200 proposals had been tabled.” A shower bench, panels for ping pong tables and even a shelter for bus stops made the list, but in the end it was number 23 that made history: laminat golv, or the laminate floor.

Still, initial reactions were mixed. “Some had serious doubts about the concept: a laminate floor would be too hard, too cold or too slippery.” The market potential, however, was clear. “A kitchen worktop requires no more than a few square metres of laminate panel. Obviously, a floor area is many times larger,” says Sven. “The challenge was manufacturing a product that met all the requirements of a top-quality floor.”

Testing and improving

The laminate floor was immediately subjected to extensive testing: is it strong enough to withstand stiletto heels? Is it comfortable enough to walk on for hours? Is it wear-resistant enough, even when subjected to wire wool? After a few adjustments, the answer in each case was a resounding ‘yes’.

The length of the planks – 2.4 metres – was the result of the production process for kitchen worktops but it made transport and installation of laminate floors cumbersome. “In 1984 we decided to halve the planks,” Sven explains. “The shorter planks were a perfect fit for a car boot and they were also much easier to install.” It proved a masterstroke: suddenly laminate flooring was easy to install by a do-it-yourselfer. Demand grew faster than Perstorp AB could produce. Three years later, the floor was renamed: Pergo, a contraction of Perstorp and golv (Swedish for floor). In 2013 Pergo was taken over by Unilin. Today the brand is still synonymous with Scandinavian functional design.

Exponential growth

In just a few years’ time, laminate conquered the flooring market. “To give you an idea: in 1991 our laminate occupied a single booth at Domotex in Hannover – the biggest textile flooring trade show in Europe,” says Sven. “We were the only laminate exhibitor there. Our floor was an instant success. The following year there were already seven exhibitors with laminate; twelve months later laminate filled an entire hall with 34 booths. Exponential growth, in every sense of the word.”  

The foundation for success was in place but the years that followed were at least as important for laminate flooring. Unilin made laminate waterproof, scratch-resistant and the ideal DIY floor thanks to the revolutionary Uniclic click system. 

Discover the full Long Live Laminate story here