MĂĄrcio and Fabio Goncalves of Port Chester, N.Y.-based Creation Hardwood Flooring Specialists drove home the "Most Unusual Work Vehicle" title for their 1929 Ford Model A truck.
For each of the winners of this yearâs WFB Truck & Van Contest, their work vehicle represented an opportunity. Whether it was an opportunity to raise the bar locally with a pristine design, be more efficient at job sites, connect with their community or simply get their young company off the ground, each of these pros seized the wheel and elevated their wood flooring businesses where the rubber met the road. As with previous years, the top categories include Best Exterior Graphics, Most Organized Interior, Most Unusual Work Vehicle and Biggest Disaster; but due to the quantity of fun and inspiring submissions we received, the categories kept on rolling. To see how pros are making the most of their work vehicles, keep scrolling.
Mike Somodeanâs goal for his Sprinter vanâs wrap was to make âprofessionalismâ the first impression. What better way than using a picture of one of his own favorite wood flooring projects? âIt definitely draws compliments, and it definitely draws calls and leads for projects,â Somodean says of the elegant wrap, which features a French parquet floor he and his team built from scratch. âIâve tried to make the best of the limited attention span that somebody dedicates when they see a van, keeping it nice and clean and neat but still including what I think is relevant to the way we do business.â
Itâs the third van wrap Somodean has designed for his company vehicles, working with the same wrap company each time. Somodean is hands-on when it comes to the designing process, supplying the photos, logos and layout. âWe didnât want that one picture across the entire van, we just wanted that gradient,â he says. He also supplied the tree ring graphic on the back doors of the van. âItâs an alternative design to the squares that we use sometimes for our logo, and we have that on our shirts, as well,â Somodean says.
Somodean chose black and red as his companyâs colors due to their striking contrast. Especially these days, itâs important to try to stand out as efficiently as possible, he says.
âIn my opinion, that attention span that weâre trying to capture is really limited nowadays with all the distractions,â Somodean says. âYouâre probably going to have two or three seconds that people are going to look at it, and you capture that by the striking design, a combination of colors, and then maybe theyâre going to linger a little bit and go into the essential information.â That essential information includes the phone number, website, and social media handle on the van.
âSocial media is a big part of our day-to-day life, and we use that as an archive; it does bring quite a bit of business,â he says.
Overall, Somodeanâs main advice for designing a van wrap is: âLess is more.â âI see a lot of people starting to list a whole suite of services that they offer; nobodyâs going to read that,â he says.
And as sophisticated as the van wrap and the wood flooring work it highlights already is, Somodean wanted to raise the bar even more by incorporating the hashtag #not2dollarsafoot on the side of the van. âWeâre kind of trying to fight that and hoping to elevate the standards a little bit, challenging people to do the better work and charge appropriately for it,â he says.
Most Unusual Work Vehicle
Creation Hardwood Flooring Specialists
Port Chester, N.Y.
MĂĄrcio Goncalves grew up in Brazil, where he remembers his father taking exceptional care of the familyâs pristine 1954 Jeep. âWe always had a fascination with old cars,â he says. So, after Goncalves launched his wood flooring business with his brother, Fabio, in Port Chester, N.Y., three years ago, they decided to invest in a vintage vehicle to help promote the business. When they came across this 1929 Ford Model A Woody Truck, they knew immediately it was the perfect fit.
âWe fell in love right away,â Goncalves says. âHalf of the truck is made of wood, and we work with wood floorsâthat makes the car perfect for advertising. Wherever we go with the truck, it catches peopleâs eyes.â
The bottom of the truck is original, while the top is pine plywood that likely replaced the original oak top the truck would have been equipped with, Goncalves says. Goncalves re-sanded the wood body and put a coat of varnish on it. He also added the companyâs name and logo, which was inspired by Leonardo da Vinciâs Vitruvian Man drawing. âI put the Vitruvian Man on it and a Life Tree in the back, and then I put wood underneath the logo,â Goncalves explains. âIt begins in the tree, goes to the man and then to the floor.â
Most recently, Goncalves also replaced the motor in the truck, upgrading it from a 320 to a 350.
But as with any antique vehicle, it has its quirks. âItâs an old car, so you have to kind of pray before you start it that it will start,â Goncalves laughs.
The vintage truck, dubbed âWoody,â has quickly become a fixture in the Goncalvesâs community and is often decorated for holidays and events. âItâs become a trademark for the company,â Goncalves says. âThe kids always look for it.â
Along with being a great, eye-catching ad for the business, Goncalves says heâs glad for the chance to share the joy of vintage cars that he grew up with.
âItâs not about the truck, itâs about the family getting together around it to work on it and have a good time,â he says. âItâs a nice thing to pass on.â
Most Organized Interior
BPM Flooring
Bowling Green, Ky.
Slaven Demir doesnât consider himself a super-organized person in regular lifeâbut when it comes to his work trailer, itâs a different story. âI like to be on time and I like to get the job done on time, so itâs just something that helps,â he says of his ultra-organized trailer. âI think about jobs even before I come to themâI know what Iâm going to do, and thatâs kind of what this trailer is: an extension of how I think.â
Demir had a 12-foot trailer before upgrading to a 14-footer and revamping his custom plywood shelving system to its latest form. He decided to separate his equipment into categories, putting his installation tools and supplies on the driverâs side of the trailer and the sanding and finishing tools and supplies on the right, with vacuums and dust containment system at the front. âIf the tool is there, the sandpaper is right up above it,â Demir says. âSo you donât have to go very far.â He set out all of his tools and measured them before mounting the shelving in the van. He also made sure the spots are clearly labeled so things are put back in the correct place.
Demirâs crew like to joke about Demirâs obsession with cleanliness in the trailer, but theyâve also started to come around to the high standard of organization Demir advocates. âTheyâve kind of gotten to know that theyâll save themselves a little bit of time and frustration if everything has a place and everything is done a certain way,â Demir says.
Along with everything having a designated place in the trailer, Demirâs favorite part of the setup is having the rollers and T-bar sleeves stationed right by the opening of the trailer. âWhen weâre getting something we use a lot, we donât even have to go in the trailer, and I kind of like that,â he says.
Other trades are often in âaweâ of Demirâs trailer interior, which is always evolving and improving, and clients also take note of the cleanliness. âIf youâre nice and neat and clean, they kind of know that youâre going to be like that in their house,â Demir says.
Thereâs no right or wrong way to set up your van or trailer, Demir notesâtools in a pile can still get the job done. But there are benefits to giving an organized shelving system a go.
âItâs just a lot less frustrating to not have to search for stuff,â Demir says. âSo itâs worth a try to try to be organized. And if thatâs not you, thatâs OK, too.â
Watch a video tour of Demir's trailer interior:
Biggest Disaster
Jazz Custom Wood Flooring LLC
Burlington, Wis.
The best wood flooring vehicles attract attention. Ryan Jazdzewskiâs first work van certainly did thatâbut it wasnât the right kind of attention. âIt sounded like a steam engine collecting speed,â he says of the gratingly loud 1999 Chevy Express. âYou could hear it from blocks away.â
He bought the van in 2016 from a carpet cleaning company for $1,200âand the tone was quickly set. âHalfway home from the sale, I had to call a tow truck to get me the rest of the way back,â Jazdzewski says. âThatâs right, it didnât even make it home.â
Towed twice in the first two weeks Jazdzewski owned it, the van had persistent electrical issues, and its tachometer was consistently above 4,000 RPMs when driven on the highway.
Jazdzewski remembers a flooring retailer pointing out some leakage under the van during a material pickup. Sure enough, the van had a hole in the top of the gas tank, which couldnât be filled all the way without leaking. On the plus side, without a full tank, at least it couldnât unleash its banshee-like screeching for too many miles at a time. âIt had people looking at me funny,â Jazdzewski laughs.
Flooring retailers werenât the only ones to notice issues with the epically disastrous vehicle. Jazdzewski recalls getting pulled over shortly after the fateful purchase of the van for not having renewed the license plates yet. âThe cop came over and said, âYour plates are expired ⊠and also there is something severely wrong with your van,ââ Jazdzewski laughs.
Asked about any âpositiveâ qualities about the van, Jazdzewski is at a bit of a loss. âIt ran,â he finally laughs. âIt got me my first year in the door. Other than that, there wasnât anything good about it.â
Jazdzewski eagerly parted ways with the van about a year after buying it, selling the headache-on-wheels for $200. By that point it had a blown transmission and only the second gear worked.
After a year of dealing with his âdisasterâ vehicle, Jazdzewski was able to upgrade to a new (and much quieter) work van.
Jazdzewski is now the proud owner of a new Sprinter van for his flourishing wood floor business, but heâll never forget where it all startedâor the sound it made (a sound now memorialized in a video Jazdzewskiâs brother took that can be seen and heard in all its glory here). âA lot of memories packed into that one vehicle,â Jazdzewski says.
While this yearâs four winners were impressive, the following entries were just too good not to have a moment in the spotlight, as well.
Best Truck/Trailer Combo
Frontier Flooring
Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Peas and carrots. Simon and Garfunkel. Frontier Flooringâs truck and trailer. All of these are perfect combinations, but only one of them answers the question, âHow does it feel to lay wood?â That would be Frontier Flooringâs truck and trailer, which are adorned with matching wraps that go together seamlessly and state the companyâs phone number, logo, website and the statement, âFeels good to lay wood.â âItâs a sweet wrap that contributes quite a bit to my business,â Frontier Flooringâs Cory Vanasse says.
Best Truck For a 77-Year-Old Family Flooring Business
Blodgettâs Floor Covering
Lafayette, Calif.
A solid, long-lasting flooring business deserves a vehicle to match. Larry Blodgett found a match made in work vehicle heaven with this vintage pickup truck, which dates back to the same time his family flooring business was founded. âOur company was founded by my grandfather in 1946,â Blodgett says, âand about nine years ago I found our 1946 Dodge Pickup for our business, which I restored last year.â
Best Nod to French Impressionists
Verardi & Co. LLC
Beverly, Mass.
A wood flooring vehicle canât go wrong by highlighting the worldâs most famous painting about wood flooring professionals, âLes raboteurs de parquetâ (1875), by French impressionist Gustave Caillebotte, and Verardi & Co. LLCâs box truck shows it off in all its gritty glory. âItâs a piece of art,â says Jeferson Verardi. And while the truckâs a nod to the past, it also drives its message into the present as it promises, âOlde world craftsmanship, modern day techniques.â
Although theyâve yet to make a semi-autonomous big machine, Craigâs Custom Hardwood Flooring is taking the wood flooring vehicle to semi-autonomous territory, tricking out a 2022 Tesla Model Y for the company.
Most Likely To Glow in the Dark
Calabrese Flooring Co.
Northglenn, Colo.
Michael Wongâs electrifying new trailer design is a nod to his fractal burning skills, with a logo that almost looks like it can glow in the dark. The lighting fixtures under the truck pulling it are also the perfect touch. Wong said that after 20 years of doing hardwood he âreally wanted a nice cargo trailer and a solid, reliable truck to pull it.â Mission accomplished. âItâs not my daily driver, but it looks amazing when sheâs out!â he says.
Best Chrome Graphics
Graf Custom Hardwood
Portsmouth, Ohio
The crisp, chrome graphics on this big rig give it a futuristic look that, along with its impressive build, leave little doubt itâs going to get where itâs going.
Best Seating For a Big Machine Motor
Danielâs Hardwood Flooring
Pinckney, Mich.
This old farm truck, aka âTrucky,â had 13 owners by the time Daniel Springer bought it in 2019. While it had some quirks, it was clear someone at some point had put a lot of work into it. âIt went fast, and it never felt like you had a full bed of tools in the back,â Springer says. It was Springerâs first âbigâ purchase when starting out in the industry and, as seen in the photos, offered convenient front seating for big machine motors (complete with seatbelt). After many years of service, Trucky finally got treated to a retirement with a view. âTrucky sits at Regalâs scrapyard now, watching the cars pass by on the highway,â Springer says.
Most Monstrous Weekend Cleaning Project
Plankd Flooring
Mount Barker, Australia
Troy Stanfield of Plankd Flooring traded up his Toyota HiAce SLWB van (exclusive to the Australian market) for a newer model last year, but business has been booming and he hasnât had a chance to organize it just yet. âMy homemade shelving was never refitted in the new van from the previous one,â Stanfield says. âThe cargo barrier changed all my interior dimensions and I just never got around to modifying the shelving. Almost a year later now and a busy work schedule has created a monster.â Stanfield plans to dedicate a long weekend to finally taming his monster. âI guess I know what Iâm doing over the Easter break,â he said in his entry.
Most Innovative Use of Drawers
Unique Flooring Solutions
Asheboro, N.C.
When Matthew Kirkman purchased his work van six months ago, he knew immediately he wanted a Decked Vehicle Drawer System. âThe drawers allow me to have all my hand tools and edger paper in an easy-to-access area that doesnât require me to step up into the van,â he says. Adding a piece of plywood over top of the extended drawers also provides a convenient work area for mixing stain or finish. Now the only need to step up into the van during the work day is to admire his daughterâs handiwork, which includes brackets she painted fluorescent pink. âShe assures me that pink and purple unicorns are to be painted on the cabinet door next,â Kirkman says.
Best Monster Truck
Cardona Flooring
Stamford, Conn.
Cesar Cardona has done some demolitionsâthe wood flooring kind, not the derby kind, despite the look of what he calls his companyâs âFord monster truck.â The intimidating vehicle appears capable of traversing any terrain any day of the week, including Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! âWe get a lot of attention when we drive around on the street,â Cardona says.
All Things Wood Floor, created by Wood Floor Business magazine, talks to interesting wood flooring pros to share knowledge, stories and tips on everything to do with wood flooring, from installation, sanding and finishing to business management.