Overview
Pergo AB was earlier a division of Perstorp AB, a Swedish company that was founded 120 years ago for the purpose of manufacturing vinegar for the European food market. As the company grew, it shifted its focus to specialty chemicals, and in 1923 developed a process for manufacturing decorative laminates for tabletops, a market which Perstorp AB quickly dominated.
In 1977, the company originated the idea for laminate flooring and the product was introduced to the European market in 1984. In the late 1980's and early 1990's Pergo began to expand its flooring operations throughout Europe.
Pergo was introduced in the U.S. in January 1994 into 107 stores on the East Coast and Midwest and by summer had gone national into 850 stores. Based on this success, in 1995 Perstorp began looking for its permanent U.S. headquarters and factory location, where it would manufacture laminate flooring. Raleigh, North Carolina was selected for Perstorp Flooring's U.S. headquarters and Garner, North Carolina for the manufacturing facility.
On June 19th, 2001 Pergo AB was listed on the Stockholm Stock exchange as an independent company. Today Pergo is one of the largest producers of laminate flooring in the world. Five years after first visiting Raleigh and four years after building the 130,000 square foot factory, Pergo Inc., a subsidiary of Pergo AB, has increased its sales from $24 million to more than $250 million. Pergo is sold through 3,500 specialty retailers, The Home Depot and Lowe's. The product has been the market share leader in the laminate flooring category from the beginning and Pergo, Inc. is committed to continuing its success.
| Pergo
Timeline |
 1923 |
Perstorp Industrial Group began producing
laminate surface. |
| 1977 |
Laminate flooring concept was developed. |
| 1984 |
Launch of the first laminate floor in
Sweden. |
| 1985 |
Opening of the first laminate flooring
factory, Trelleborg, Sweden. |
| 1989 |
Pergo Original brand introduced. |
| 1994 |
Pergo laminate flooring introduced in the
United States. |
| 1995 |
Introduction of Pergo in the Asia /
Pacific. |
| 1996 |
Flooring factory opens in Raleigh, North
Carolina, USA. |
| 1997 |
Launch of high-quality commercial grade
product, Pergo Publiq. |
| 1999 |
Introduction of Pergo Living, Pergo
Select and Pergo Preferred sub-brands. |
| 2000 |
In January the company name was
officially changed from Perstorp Flooring to Pergo, Inc. |
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