Document apbNOpVqEgg2GQydqREvQdDe

#A# Vinyl W m Institute received IB* Sherry M- Cart NEWS Wayne Interchange Plaza II, 155 Route 46 West, Wayne, New Jersey 07470 Contact: Nora Jacobs Edward Howard & Co (216) 781-2400 For Immediate Release VINYL FLOORING RATES HIGH WITH CONSTRUCTION PROS WAYNE, New Jersey, December 4, 1986 -- Vinyl flooring is growing in popularity with building industry professionals, a newly released study finds. In a nationwide survey of residential construction specifiers, 60 percent of the builders and 57 percent of the architects questioned indicate that they currently specify vinyl floor coverings for their building projects. Moreover, for those individuals who currently specify vinyl flooring, 10 percent of the builders and 6 percent of the architects plan to use even more in the future. Vinyl's durability and ability to perform to specification were cited as the top reasons for choosing it over competitive materials, participants said. Overall, durability is the number one concern builders and architects have about the products they specify, the survey found. (more) The Vinyl Institute, A Division of The Society of the Plastics Industry CTL026804 2- - Five hundred fifty architects, builders and code officials throughout the country participated in the study, which was sponsored by the Vinyl Institute, the trade association representing the leading manufacturers of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or vinyl. Conducted by an independent research firm in New York City, the study was designed to determine where vinyl building products are used and why. It is the first time that such a study has been done on behalf of the vinyl industry, according to the Institute's director. Dr. Roy T. Gottesman. Over 80 percent of the code officials surveyed state that they favor the use of vinyl flooring in residential applications. More than 90 percent of the survey participants state that vinyl flooring is approved by their local code. "Few products in the home must meet the demands that flooring does," Gottesman notes. "This survey confirms the fact that vinyl's ability to withstand day-to-day wear and tear is the number one reason why it is so popular with both home owners and home builders." In 1985, over 286 million pounds of vinyl resin were used in the United States in calendered and coated flooring applications, according to statistics from the Society of the Plastics Industry. Hie Vinyl Institute, founded in 1982, is a Division of the Society of the Plastics Industry. It is headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey. #*# CTL026805