South African Wood & Laminate Flooring Association

Contact Information

Company Profile

SAWLFA was formed by foresighted people in the face of competitive materials and "under-trained competitors" to collectively address issues facing the wood and laminate sector of the Southern African flooring industry.

SAWLFA membership is drawn from all players, from installer to suppliers, we therefore cordially invite you to come and join us in the most exciting and progressive movement in the industry.

Explanation of terms:

EPLF - European Producers of Laminate Flooring - have stringent tests for laminates which are then graded AC1 to AC5 - AC stands for Abrasion Class which represents the wear characteristics of the laminate. For more details on how the grading process works look at our understanding flooring document.

Accreditation is a practical exam for installer team members which, all installer members must attend and pass before they are listed on our web site. They must follow correct installation procedures. If at any time they have floor failure due to incorrect fitting or incorrect materials they fail and will need to re-do the exam until such time as they follow correct installation methods.

During the past year we have had some 75 member pass this exam.Advanced Accreditation is a practical exam which, only accredited members can take. This test for capability in all the finer finishes of a wooden floor, for example, stairs, basins, toilets, doorframes, and curved walls. Each team member is tested individually. We have seen some 11 x members achieve this award of which we set a very high standard.

Importers - What SAWLFA is accomplishing is to list only products that conform to European Standards. We only list importer members with the test reports/certificates to prove they are in compliance. Products listed go through strict testing and are graded. We can safely state that the products can be used for what they are advertised for.

Training – Training for the first time through SAWLFA was held on the 14 and 18 July 2009, this for members of the association only and incorporated both practical and theory training for laminates and solid wood.
This full day course has been put together by using all 6 x guides:

Pre–installation guide for laminate floors.
Pre-installations guide for solid wood and engineered floors.
Installations guide for laminate floors.
Installations guide for Solid wood & engineered floors.
Maintenance guide for Laminate floors
Maintenance guide for solid wood & engineered floors.

These documents have taken the association over 12 months to put together and offer everything an installer would need to be one of the most professional in his field.

We want our members to have full technical knowledge and the confidence to set the standard within this industry.

With the most qualified instructors within this industry behind it and with exciting opportunities in the pipeline like sand and seal and decking for future training being looked at we will continue to grow from strength to strength.

The association is also working with SABS on updating the SANS (South African National Standards) 10043 document for correct installation procedures.