" So Jim, what's the 1st step in making or manufacturing vinyl flooring?"

" Well, the 1st step towards that is our white shield backing or carrier felt, Bob."

" It's not [unk]. Is it a paper?"

" It's sort of like a paper. A little stronger and made of wood pulp, polyester, and latex."

" Then what happens?"

" Well Bob, each roll of felt is then unround. It travels through a series set of rollers to a coating station."

" And what's the coating that's going on there?"

" Oh, [unk] is basically a vinyl 30, which we call the gel."

" So that's the 1st step? The 1st thing you lay down?"

" That's right. It's in a liquid state, then it travels through a hot air oven."

" Yeah."

" It transforms from a liquid state to a solid state, then cooled, and re-round. At that point, we're ready toward the next stage of our process, which is the actual firming of the [unk]."

" So you rewind it and move that roll into another location?"

" That's correct."

" Let's go see that."

" Fine."

" So Jim, what does 1 of these rolls weigh?"

" 8,000 to 10,000 pounds, Bob."

" That's a lot of ton."

" It's a lot of weight."

" Utilizing cranes?"

" Yeah."

" Air carts?"

" Yeah."

" Bringing them on to our one-line mechanism."

" Yeah."

" And then what happens over here? What's the next step of the process?"

" This is the next step of the process, adding the actual printing color to the gel itself that we [unk] earlier."

" Okay. And what's this doing here?"

" Okay, this is a [unk]. It's a [unk] of flat bar used to keep the production line running so that we don't stop when we claim from 1 mold to another."

" I hear you. You never have to stop the process, but you're gonna repeat it."

" That's correct."

" And then what's the next step?"

" The next step is the actual printing area. as we add in the [unk], Bob. It only has a large [unk] of its pipe to the whirl."

" The rotary engraving center."

" That's correct."

" Yeah."

" Currently, we are printing a piece of 12 foot wide. We have the capacity of printing up to 16 feet wide."

" So, are these pretty heavy rollers?"

" Very heavy rollers, Bob. About 8,000 pounds."

" And what have you got in there? Is it an ink or a paint or what?"

" Well, actually, as of a year ago, the company is suppose to adapt to eliminate a solvent ink and completely develop a waterbase ink system."

" Water based?"

" Yes. Currently, eliminate harmful vapors into the atmosphere."

" You don't have to worry about pollution anymore?"

" No, not at all."

" Marvelous. So how many of these rollers go into the process of putting a pattern on?"

" This is the 6th station press. This particular pattern we'll only gonna utilize part of the [unk]."

" I see."

" Okay. As we enter this one stage, we're putting on what they say what will become an overall [unk] on the pattern, Bob."

" Okay. So what looks like kind of a [unk] detector, you don't quite see them as yet?"

" No, not so. We'll see it at the stage."

" Okay."

" Now, in the next station, things are [unk] fun together now. We're printing a blue flower, what will become part of the design. Now, you can see, there's the blue flower."

" Okay."

" It's very small on the front."

" You can't do it all at once?"

" No."

" Oh, alright. Now it's got a grid going in."

" Okay. Now we're printing the grout line."

" Yeah. The question is, how does it work? I mean, it's not like a paint roller, is it?"

" No. See, the cylinder is rotating at a can [unk] where you see the design of the grout line or as we [unk] in funny little holes right into the seal cylinder, Bob."

" To hold the ink."

" That's correct. And as it travels back around, the excess is removed."

" There's a playback there."

" That's correct."

" Okay."

" And the only thing that's left is the ink that's actually going to the print."

" That's the right amount."

" That's right."

" Okay."

" And we got the grout line."

" So now you got the grout line and you got the little blue flower. What else is left?"

" Well, now we have to port some other design with a background into the file into the file, and that's where this particular cylinder comes in."

" Yeah. That's all [unk]."

" What it's creating here it sounded like a shadow effect [unk] for texture."

" Yes."

" Alright. Then what's the next step?"

" The next step is where we apply the wear layer."

" And when you put the wear layer on?"

" That would be the final product."

" You end up with that nice shiny finish."

" And all the texture, everything it does."

" Let's take a look at it."

" Jim, what's going on over here?"

" Well, Bob, what you're seeing unwinding now is the roller we printed just last night."

" It's a different pattern, huh?"

" It's a different pattern."

" Yeah."

" And we are now on a different process. This is called the fusion process, and what we have just done was load up the printed rolls, unwinding them, signing them to the wear layer process."

" Okay. What do you call this big rack behind this?"

" That big rack is an unwind chart. As you see, a roll currently unrolling."

" Yeah."

" A roll backs up behind it."

" Yeah."

" In order that at the end of this roll, so then they slide to the beginning of the back roll."

" Okay."

" And the process doesn't stop."

" So this is the actual wear layer?"

" This is the wear layer [unk], Bob. This is the actual surface in which we [unk] one."

" Yeah, and what is it?"

" Well, it's a vinyl, Bob."

" Which is a petroleum derivator, right?"

" Right."

" And then it's being applied by the rollers on. Barley has an applicator roller, and the roller would press this to put into [unk] up against the applicator, and the serial close on to the sheet."

" And then where's it going from here?"

" Well now it's going into a hot air oven at approximately 425 degrees, and it will cure it for about 2 minutes."

" So Jim, once this comes out of the oven, it's dried. What else happens to it?"

" Well, now that it has been dried, it stays cured. All the layers have been fused together which dissolve into texture and a shiny adorable surface, Bob."

" So that's what makes it looks like it's really 3 dimensional."

" Yes. And in addition to the wear layer coating, we've applied an additional [unk] paint just to [unk] finish to this floor."

" It heeds rust."

" Well, when you and I walk on it without sneakers and shoes, it won't leave any marks on the floor."

" Okay. What about quality control?"

" Well, this is a burning point quality control area where our trained inspectors examine everything [unk] to flooring that comes by them."

" Yeah."

" And more like every [unk] or imperfection that they come through the process, and that is putting through a computer and develops into a cut map."

" Terrific. Jim, I think we've all got a pretty good understanding on how you make the vinyl flooring."

" Sure."

" Thanks for the tour."

" Thank you."

" Okay."