Protecting the Environment
Setting the Environmental Standard

At Horner Flooring, we have and continue to protect and preserve our environment - not just talk about it. We believe that a significant part of manufacturing a top-quality hardwood sports floor includes wise stewardship of raw materials used in their manufacture. Horner is certified by "Smartwood," an arm of the Forest Stewardship Council, which in turn is an arm of the worldwide Rain Forest Alliance.

Good forest stewardship practices have always been important to Horner. Most of the lumber purchased for the manufacture of Horner Sports Floors is purchased from a small core of second and third generation landowners that cut on the same parcels as did their fathers and grandfathers - a classic example of utilizing a renewable natural resource on a sustainable yield program to ensure lumber availability for future generations.

In addition, Horner has the most modern manufacturing facility in the industry today. An integral design component of this facility was to maximize yield from the available lumber consumed in the manufacturing process.

Horner initiated and continues to promote efforts to discontinue the manufacture of 33/32" thick sports flooring; as it has recognized the "waste of lumber" to produce a product that would have a life span longer than the structure in which it had been an integral part. Similarly, Horner initiated the concept of using engineered wood products for subfloor components. Engineered wood products are designed to maximize the utilization of wood fiber and consequently offer the industry one of the most significant ways to preserve our natural resources. The importance of this effort continues to be recognized and advanced by Horner today as evidenced by the inclusion of these products in the specifications of many of its flooring systems. Horner has continued to advance these concepts through its affiliation with industry associations and agencies. This will have a very significant impact on the consumption of our natural resources - something we should all embrace.

In its approach to synthethic flooring composition, Horner's product has the ability to be formulated from virtually 100% EPDM to virtually 100% recycled materials of which the primary ingredient is tire rubber. By adjusting composition and specifying appropriate adhesives, flooring systems can be specified "green" so as to maximize LEEDS MR 4.1, MR 4.2 and EQ 4.1 credits.

These are just some of the ways that Horner Flooring has demonstrated its pledge of environmental responsibility. Horner is committed to the preservation of our precious natural resources, and it is a stewardship we have proudly practiced since 1891. After all, our company would not span three centuries of existence if we didn't believe in setting such high standards.