Page 100 - History-of-flooringLR

Tarkett: Where it all began…

The Tarkett story begins with three small businesses and their
values. In 1880, the Sommer Family open to small businesses
a history producing felt in Mouzon, France.

In the 1930s Sommer soon became a household name and by
the 1950s, Francois Sommer, a technical and social innovator,
created Tapiflex, a product that combined traditional felt with a
new type of vinyl backing in a tiny French alpine village, where
hay merchant Joseph Allibert founded his company and was
Originating from a proud tradition of excellence, selling insoles made of straw to keep shoes warm and dry
entrepreneurship and innovation, Tarkett has transmitted from around the globe.
one generation to the next for over 140 years.

After World War Two, Bernard Deconinck took responsibility
Mr Owen Aisher was one of the great entrepreneurs of the for the company from his father-in-law, Joseph Allibert and
roaring twenties. Growing up on the Isle of White, Owen was a quickly became one of the first entrepreneurs in France to
multi-disciplinary contractor and through working in the trade acquire a large plastic moulding press, Bernard would design
he identified a gap in the market for roof tiles. By 1924, the and make plastic products that would change everyone’s lives,
Marley Tile Company opened for business.
transforming Allibert into a global company.
The Marley name originated from a village in Harrietsham, The third founding company is at the origin of Tarkett’s name.
where the first tiles were produced in a shed on ‘Marley Farm’, In the 1940s, the Swedish company, Limham, invented
part of ‘Marley Court’ – an old manor house on Pilgrim’s Way. multilayer parquet which revolutionised flooring. During the
In the space of only a few decades, Marley grew from a tiny 50s, they launched a new vinyl floor covering called Tarkett. The
family making concrete roof tiles into a powerful name was chosen to run with parkette, the Swedish word for
multinational company.
parquet. Concerned about preserving precious natural
resources, Limham started their first recycling initiative with
Marley began to find work in World War One by making vinyl in 1957.
concrete huts, air raid shelters, anti-tank blocks and concrete
‘mats’ for tanks and vehicles to stand on in unsafe ground.
Samir Allibert became the first European plastic transformers.
Sommer Allibert merged with Tarkett in 1997 and focused
Following World War II in the 1940s there is another housing entirely on flooring, ultimately taking the name of Tarkett in
boom, so much so that Marley acquired four additional 2003. The Deconinck family was still involved in the company
factories to meet the demands in the industry. By the late 1940s and remains so today. Since 1997, Tarkett has continued to
the UK saw the opening of Marley Home Stores and some new grow. In 2002, Sintelon joined Tarkett to build the future leader
products such as Marley Flor and Marley Space Saving Doors.
of flooring in Eastern Europe and in 2004, FieldTurf brought
Tarkett the new generation of artificial turf to become a
Back in the 1970s, Marley launches the first Safetred collection worldwide leader in sports surfaces. In 2010 the renowned
and was a huge hit with the GLC (Greater London Council) and Rhinofloor brand joined the family.
the London Housing Consortium where it was specified in all
social housing renovation and refurbishment projects. The GLC For more than 60 years Tarkett has been committed to
even held their own slip resistance test and Marley were the developing new ways of doing business and planning for the
only company in their eyes that could provide a true future with a cradle-to-cradle approach. We work proactively to
wet room solution.
improve our products and continuously seek out new ways to
reduce our carbon footprint and turn rubbish into new beautiful
By 2004 Marley Floors had caught Tarkett’s eye and was floors, endlessly.
purchased later that year. Today, Tarkett continues to produce
Safetred products locally at their manufacturing plant in Building on their heritage, Tarkett have a powerful vision for
Lenham, Kent and now offers 29 products, 75 colourways and the future to make our flooring even more sustainable
continues to represent the Marley brand to this day.
and more beautiful.

Over the past 140 years, Tarkett employees have helped design,
develop and improve solutions for their customers in
healthcare, education, hospitality, workplace, residential and
sports. Today, they continue to anticipate the future with their
products, designs and their approach to sustainability so that
future generations of our global Tarkett family can provide
future generations with products that benefit the people
and the planet.

0800 328 2115
www.tarkett.co.uk

100 The History of Flooring