REPRINTED FROM FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY (JULY 2015) — Earlier this month, Nox Corporation became the first Asian luxury vinyl tile (LVT) supplier to announce it will open a manufacturing plant stateside. Founded by his father in 1994, David Koh, president, explained that the state-of-the-art facility, in Fostoria, Ohio, will be production ready by the year’s end and will allow the company to better service its current U.S. manufacturer and distributor customers.

Unlike many Asian LVT suppliers, Nox not only has the manufacturing capabilities to produce separate components of vinyl products, but also finished goods produced in-house, designed by an in-house team. This, said Koh, is done in order to better control quality and also enables the company to fit the specific needs of various markets and customers.

“We never compromise quality for cost,” he told FCW at NeoCon earlier this month. The company currently carries a well-rounded portfolio of dry-back/glue-down, loose lay, click, and puzzle-cut LTV, as well as woven vinyl. And as the only Asian OEM/ODM LVT plant in the U.S., customers will have access to a quality, diverse range of products.

Nox’s investment signals its growing commitment to the U.S. market, as well as to integrated manufacturing, noted Koh. The company’s current biggest markets are Japan, Europe and the United States with projections of the U.S. soon becoming its largest, and certainly fastest growing, market.

“The reason we want to build in the U.S. is because the LVT market in the U.S. in particular is experiencing serious amounts of growth,” said Koh. “Our intention is to differentiate ourselves from other foreign suppliers with much faster lead times.”

Environmental sustainability is extremely important to the company, which focuses on using low raw materials and even began utilizing phthalate-free plasticizers in 2007/ Nox is able to recycle its own materials and the company ‘s Integrated Vertical Production (IVP) has enabled it to commit to its customers with consistent quality standards.