European Resilient Flooring association announces board and senior staff changes

It’s all change at the European Resilient Flooring Manufacturers’ Institute (ERFMI) with the announcement of several new senior management appointments, including Jane Gardner as its Managing Director.

ERFMI represents the interests of the resilient flooring sector in Europe. Its members produce floorcoverings made of Vinyl, Rubber, Linoleum, Cork, Polyurethane or synthetic thermoplastic polymers.

Jane succeeds Ton Pluijmert, who has retired from ERFMI after 16 years serving the interests of the resilient floor covering industry in Europe. The organisation thanks Ton for his valuable contribution to the industry.

ERFMI has also elected Robert N B Smith, Director of Technical Services – James Halstead plc as its new Chairman at their recent General Assembly held on November 14th 2018 in Brussels. He takes over from Pierre Lienhard, Group Marketing & Strategy Director for Gerflor who has been acting as Interim Chair.

Demosthene Sakkas, Director of the Research and Innovation Division EMEA at Tarkett takes over as the new Chair of the Technical Committee.

Jane Gardner was previously Head of Consulting for Axion, a resource efficiency consultancy based in Manchester, UK, where she was involved in projects covering a number of different plastic products with a particular focus on collection and recycling.

As well as setting up Recofloor, the national collection and recycling scheme for vinyl flooring, Jane managed Carpet Recycling UK, a membership association focused on increasing carpet recycling. In addition to this, Jane was the UK Regional Representative for Recovinyl, the pan-European PVC recycling scheme.

Jane says: “I am looking forward to working with my colleague Jochen Zimmermann, ERFMI’s Technical and Administration Manager, to represent the interests of our members in Europe. I look forward to working to further develop the circular economy within the resilient flooring sector, as well as ensuring that ERFMI’s voice is heard at both European and National level.”

ERFMI represents the interests of 16 manufacturers and distributors of resilient floor coverings across Europe, who between them produce in excess of 360 million sq metres of flooring a year and employ 11,000 people.

Resilient floor coverings are highly engineered to combine attractive, modern design and colour with superior functionality. They are strong, comfortable to walk on, durable, hygienic and easy to maintain. More information on ERFMI can be found at www.erfmi.com