Pergo® is a brand of laminate flooring from Sweden. Many consumers associate the Pergo® company with laminate flooring, since it was the first to introduce the concept to the United States, and some people also perceive Pergo® branded flooring as high quality. This company has such a large market share in the laminate flooring market than many consumers refer to laminate flooring generically as “pergo.”
Like other laminate flooring, Pergo® is made with an inner core made from chipped wood and an outer layer of laminate material. The material is designed with an image which is meant to look like wood, tile, or stone, covered in a hard laminate which prevents damage to the image. Laminate flooring, essentially, is a picture of a floor, although it can look quite realistic, especially from a distance.
The primary advantage to laminate flooring such as Pergo® is that it is much cheaper than other flooring materials. It is also relatively easy to install, coming in a number of installation options including snap together flooring which floats on the subfloor and flooring which must be glued or nailed together. Pergo® is also designed to be easy to care for; the hard surface resists scuffs and other damage along with spills and grime, and it can simply be mopped when it needs to be cleaned.
The Pergo® company introduced their product in Europe in the late 1970s, and it quickly became very popular. The popularity of the product grew as the company realized its potential for expansion and started marketing Pergo® brand flooring in other regions of the world such as the United States. Other companies quickly caught on to the laminate concept and started manufacturing flooring of their own, hoping to ride on the coattails of Pergo®. Today, a dizzying array of manufacturers and styles can be seen.
Many flooring stores stock Pergo® brand flooring, and it can also be special ordered. Special ordering creates much more flexibility, since people can decide exactly what style and color of flooring they want. Furniture stores often have samples to show consumers so that they can see what the flooring looks like; these samples can also be ordered through the mail, along with the flooring itself, for people who do not have ready access to a flooring store.