Hardwood Floors E-News - 3/5/2007

The NWFA held its Advanced Installation School February 20-22 at its recently expanded, state-of-the-art facility, which now features 18,800 additional square feet of space for hands-on learning. Thirty-nine students attended the school, which was led by Technical Director Steve Seabaugh and Technical Services Advisor Frank Kroupa. Volunteer instructors included Daniel Racareanu, American Woodcraft Inc.; Rob Johnson, Basic Coatings; Darin Nesline, BonaKemi USA Inc.; Wayne Lee, Clarke American Sanders; Jamie Lupresto, Diamond Flooring; Frank Szubart, Harmony Source Inc.; Patrick Van Dyke and Charles Peterson, The International Parquetry Historical Society; Reed Maddray, Maddray Flooring LLC; Tom Peotter, Oshkosh Designs; Mark Scheller, Scheller Hardwood Floors Inc.; Dave Stark, Virginia Abrasives Corporation; and Tony Robison, Washington Wood Floors Inc. W.D. Flooring (Laona, Wis.) has become a milling company member of the Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association.

Armstrong Hardwood Flooring (Lancaster, Penn.) has received the 2007 American Building Products Award from Home magazine for its Armstrong Locking Hardwood.

Foresbec Inc. (St-Eugene, Quebec) awarded $100 each to contest winners Rob Sweigart of Camden Flooring Co. (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and Myriam Fournier of Plancher Bois Franc 2000 Inc. (Quebec City, Quebec) for correctly identifying the wood species used in Foresbec’s new advertising campaign.

Mohawk Industries (Dalton, Ga.) has enhanced its DreamVision room design software to include hardwood. For more information, visit www.mohawkflooring.com.

National Rubber Technologies Inc. (Toronto), a newly formed company, has recently begun manufacturing its Symar products, including QuietDown acoustic control underlayment.

Artistic Finishes Inc. (St. Paul, Minn.) has started its Extraordinary Service Level Pledge for 2007, which promises customers a seven-business-day lead-time for approximately 80 percent of its molding parts, with the balance set at 14 business days. For more information, contact Randy Hambright at 888/783-0374.

Maxwell Hardwood Flooring (Monticello, Ark.) was recently featured on the Do it Yourself Network as part of the kitchen renovations series.

Anderson Hardwood Floors (Clinton, S.C.) has chosen TRC Distribution Ltd. (Calgary, Alberta) as a distributor for Western Canada, including Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

Mirage/Boa-Franc (St-Georges, Quebec) has selected Metropolitan Hardwood Floors (Kent, Wash.) as a distributor for Utah, Wyoming and Colorado.

Merle B. Smith Co. Inc. (Burr Ridge, Ill.) has become a distributor for Basic Coatings (Toledo, Ohio). The company has also opened a new state-of-the-art showroom.

Award Hardwood Floors (Wausau, Wis.) has appointed Dennis Mohn president and CEO. Mohn brings 30 years of floor covering experience to the company.

The Malish Corporation (Willoughby, Ohio) has appointed Gordon Overs vice president of operations.

Mohawk Industries has named Brian Carson president of its hard surfaces division and Rik Born vice president of Eastern sales for hard surface products. Carson and Born previously worked for Armstrong World Industries.

BonaKemi USA (Aurora, Colo.) has restructured its distributor sales team and appointed Todd Shutte director of sales and training, Enos Farnsworth director of new business development, and Dee Lenston training programs manager. The company has also added two regional contractor managers: Martin Ceballos and Kenneth Hintz.

Elegance Exotic Wood Flooring (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) has promoted Bruce Bowles to sales manager. He is responsible for expanding the company’s aligned dealer and distribution network and product development.

Coastal Hardwood Inc. (Mobile, Ala.) has added Kurt Coates as sales representative for Louisiana. Coates is responsible for sales and marketing of the company’s products in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas, as well as central and western Louisiana. He is a 15-year veteran of the hardwood flooring industry.

Merle B. Smith Co. has hired Jose Rosado, Agnes Kowalska and Peter Foss for its sales team. Rosado has 10 years of experience and is bilingual in Spanish and English, and Kowalska is bilingual in Polish and English.

Mirage/Boa-Franc has appointed Annette Lewers as architectural and design representative for Ontario and Lucie Pelletier as architect and designer representative for Quebec.

The International Standards and Training Alliance (Philadelphia) has added Tom Lutz as member of the International Labor-Management Committee.

New residential sales of single-family houses in January 2007 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 937,000 units, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. This is 16.6 percent below the revised December rate of 1,123,000 units and is 20.1 percent below the January 2006 total of 1,173,000 units. Charles Peterson of The International Parquetry Historical Society (Gales Ferry, Conn.) has launched Woodflooringedu.org, a nonprofit educational resource on wood flooring. The site will feature new content every week. The NWFA will hold a Subfloor Solutions School in Toronto March 27-28. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.nwfa.org.

The NWFA will hold its 22^nd Annual Education Conference and 2007 Wood Flooring Expo April 10-13 in Denver. Former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway will be the keynote speaker of this event, which features educational sessions, networking opportunities, industry-specific products and the Wood Floor of the Year Awards. For more information, contact the NWFA by phone at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international), by e-mail at [email protected], or visit www.nwfa.org.

Brickman Consulting (Norwell, Mass.) will hold Inspector Training classes April 30-May 4 in Orlando, Fla., and August 13-17 in Charlotte, N.C. For more information, visit www.brickmanconsulting.com.

Basic Coatings LLC will offer its comprehensive Basic Pro Schools March 12-16, June 4-7, July 30-August 2 and October 15-18 at its training facility in Toledo, Ohio. For more information, contact Kellie Smithson at 800/441-1934, ext. 3798.

Progressive Finishing (Concord, Ontario) is seeking an independent manufacturer’s representative or a highly motivated and experienced hardwood flooring account representative/sales manager to sell engineered and prefinished solid hardwood flooring to distributors, retailers, builders and contractors in the southeastern United States. The company provides a vehicle, basic salary/draw, commission and expenses. Résumés should be faxed to Bill Dixon at 905/760-7831 or e-mailed to [email protected].

Clarke American Sanders (Springdale, Ark.) is looking for several sander sales managers for territories including the mid-Atlantic, North Central and Northwest regions of the U.S. These positions handle direct sales with professional sanding contractors and craftsman dealers. The ideal candidates will have bachelor’s degrees and five years of experience in the sanding or wood flooring industry. The company provides competitive compensation and benefits packages. Résumés should be e-mailed to [email protected]; mailed to Clarke, Human Resources/SM-HWF, 2100 Hwy. 265 S., Springdale, AR 72764; or faxed to 479/750-8236.

Cikel America (Pompano Beach, Fla.) is seeking a technical manager. This position will serve as the authoritative lead for installation issues, questions, problems/solutions, as well as assist in product development. Candidates should be willing to relocate to Greensboro, N.C., and have experience in giving hardwood flooring installation seminars and providing technical information to internal and external customers. The company provides a competitive salary, bonus and health benefits. Résumés should be e-mailed to [email protected] or faxed to 336/369-2183.

Aacer Flooring LLC (Peshtigo, Wis.) is seeking an energetic sales representative for its distribution sales team. The position requires a minimum of three years’ experience, knowledge of industry sales channels and frequent travel within the U.S. for distributor development and promotion of Aacer at national trade shows. Résumés with salary expectations should be mailed by March 14 to Aacer Flooring LLC, Attn.: Human Resources, P.O. Box 151, Peshtigo, WI 54157 or e-mailed to [email protected].

Austin Hardwood Flooring (Austin, Texas) is looking for a wood flooring salesperson. The ideal candidate will have at least two years’ experience with wood flooring sales and/or installations, and should be self-motivated and responsible. Résumés should be sent to [email protected].

The previous issue of Hardwood Floors E-News incorrectly listed Mirage/Boa-Franc’s updated Web site. The correct address is www.miragefloors.com. Voting for the 2007 Wood Floor of the Year Awards is underway. NWFA members can vote online for their favorite entries in 10 categories. Members can vote one time in each category. To vote, visit www.nwfa.org and click on the "Floor of the Year" link at the bottom right-hand corner of the page. You will be asked to enter your member ID number to vote. Make your selections carefully. Once you cast a vote, you cannot change it. In addition, once you vote in a category, you will not be able to view that category again. Online voting will be available until March 31, 2007. No online votes will be accepted after 5 p.m. on March 31 (CST). Voting will occur online only; no voting will take place at the convention. Winners will be announced at the NWFA Convention in Denver on Wednesday, April 11. For more information, contact the NWFA by phone at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international), or by e-mail at [email protected].