Bamboo Flooring From Vietnam
by : Marcus Peterson
Bamboo flooring from Vietnam is unique and environmentally friendly, comparable to some of the best hardwood flooring. In Vietnam, bamboo flooring is known as bamboo parquet. As Vietnam and China are the major locations of bamboo harvesting, they serve as the major source of bamboo flooring exporters. Some of the best bamboo floorings in the United States are imported from Vietnam.
Even though the manufacturing processes are the same all over the world, the specialty in Vietnam bamboo flooring is that freshly cut bamboo strips are used for processing. Freshly cut bamboo has the added advantage of offering high-quality flooring material. The major portion of bamboo used in flooring is grown in the Pacific Rim.
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The beginning of bamboo flooring industry is traced to 1990. It was then that Doug Lewis, the founder of bamboo hardwoods, moved to Vietnam to set up a factory producing bamboo flooring. Over the years, the bamboo market in Vietnam has grown, and many traders are joining the bamboo flooring market.
A number of companies in Vietnam are employed in the manufacturing and exporting of bamboo flooring. The manufacturing process consists of a number of steps, starting with the slicing of freshly cut bamboo shoots into strips. These strips are then treated with boiled water to remove the starch, and then they are dried. Finally, bamboo floorings are made by laminating the strips into solid boards. To protect the flooring from pests, it is treated with a preservative either before or after lamination. Urea-formaldehyde (UF) adhesive is usually used in the lamination.
Bamboo flooring is available mainly in two shades: natural and carbonized or amber color. The darker shade (caramelized) is obtained by the prolonged pressure heating of bamboo. The shade of bamboo flooring might differ with different companies, and it is available as single-layer and double-layer bamboo flooring.
High export-quality bamboo flooring from Vietnam exhibits hardness, brightness, and freshness and is now one of the most favored forms of flooring.
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