Waregem, Belgium April 18, 2024 – At a special works council and staff meetings held today, the Beaulieu Flooring Solutions business unit of Beaulieu International Group (B.I.G.) announced its intention to discontinue the production and sales activities of the Mats division as well as the production of the Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT) division.  If confirmed, the intention will involve a total of 95 Belgian employees.

The Mats division suffers greatly from increased competition, reduced volumes, high labor costs and energy prices, making it impossible for them to remain competitive within the market. Both the Belgian and Polish sites will be discontinued as a result of this intention.

The Luxury Vinyl Tiles market has been struggling with overcapacity for several years due to the large regional supply and competition from Asian markets that are pushing down prices sharply. Despite a transformation plan and several growth investments in this activity, current market conditions make it impossible to be profitable in its current form. However, B.I.G. remains committed to its trading activities for LVT in which it offers various collections to its customers worldwide.

The intention to discontinue both activities would allow the Group to focus on the further development of its profitable segments and thus help achieve the sustainable growth of the Group and the resulting employment of more than 4.700 employees worldwide.

Following this announcement, the statutory information and consultation process has begun. The company will present all facts to employee representatives in a spirit of openness and transparency.