Q.E.P. to Create 35 New Jobs at Indiana Plant
Q.E.P. Co. Inc. (Johnson City, Tenn.), which purchased ArborCraft LLC in February, is creating 35 jobs in the next 18 months at its Montpelier, Ind., plant. Q.E.P. is planning to add a second shift at the plant that manufactures engineered wood panels that are used in flooring production at the company's Johnson City facilities. According to the Blackford County Economic Development, Q.E.P has begun interviewing potential employees and anticipates hiring several employees immediately. View the full release here.
Shaw Closes Maine Plant
Shaw Industries (Dalton, Ga.) closed its Appalachian Katahdin flooring veneer mill in Patten, Maine, on July 21, according to Don Finkell, president hard surface at Shaw; 18 of the mill's employees were offered positions at Shaw's other veneer facility in South Carolina. Reasons cited for the closing include declining demand, rising raw material costs and increasing transportation costs. Anderson Flooring re-opened the plant in 2004; Shaw purchased Anderson in 2007. Shaw Industries is a subsidiary of conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway (Omaha, Neb.).
McClain Forest Products Purchases Former North Pacific Operations
McClain Forest Products (West Plains, Mo.), a dry lumber and flooring producer, has acquired North Pacific Group Inc.'s Missouri and Arkansas lumber and flooring operations, according to a release posted at baxterbulletin.com. The acquisition includes a West Plains, Mo., office and three drying yards located in Van Buren, Mo.; Raymondville, Mo.; and Western Grove, Ark.
With its latest purchase, McClain has unified all its locations, including its Ozark Mountain Hardwoods subsidiary, under the McClain Forest Products LLC banner, and moved its headquarters to West Plains. Also, all of its flooring products, including the former Ozark Mountain Hardwood brand, will be branded Springcreek Flooring.
Along with facilities in Alton, Mo., and Koshkonong, Mo., that formerly produced Ozark Mountain Hardwood, McClain's combined kiln capacity is now more than 1.5 million board-feet, with production volume capability of more than 40 million board-feet annually.
President Darwin Murray heads McClain's daily operations; Murray previously ran North Pacific's Missouri hardwood operations for 10 years. Vice President D.Q. Perna and Chief Financial Officer Larry Rainwater, who have worked for McClain for 38 and 33 years, respectively, will continue their leadership roles at the company.
Anderson Receives Green Acclaim
Manufacturer News
For the second consecutive year, EcoTimber's (Denver) Honey Solid Woven Bamboo was given a top rating by Consumer Reports; it was also named "Recommended Best Buy." In addition, its Vertical Grain Solid Strip bamboo flooring was given the No. 2 overall pick. Buyers can read about the full story in Consumer Reports' August issue or at www.consumerreports.org.
Distributor News
PAW Enterprises (Nashville, Mich.) has been named the exclusive supplier of Schafer Hardwood Flooring's (Tecumseh, Mich.) Âľ-inch solid and Âľ-inch engineered flooring lines in western Michigan and northern Indiana. For more information, contact Ed Westfall at 269/329-1865 or 517/403-2814 (cell).
Triangulo Exotic Wood Flooring (Chesapeake, Va.) has added three distributors. The distributors and their states served are: Belknap White/Alcco (Mansfield, Mass.) in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island; Herregan Distributors (Minneapolis) in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan; and Wheeler Distributing (Orlando, Fla.) in Florida.
Frasers Wide Plank Flooring Inc. (Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia) is seeking distributors nationwide. To inquire, contact 902/830-1136 or [email protected].
Sneek Timber BV (Landsmeer, Netherlands) is seeking importers and distributors. The company manufacturers unfinished and prefinished engineered and solid flooring; some of its products are made from European oak. For more information, call 31-20-4823952 or e-mail Erik Sneek at [email protected].
By the Numbers
Mark Your Calendar
The NWFA will hold a Wood Flooring Basics School on Sept. 14-17 in St. Louis. For more information, visit www.nwfa.org, e-mail [email protected], or call 800/422-4556 (U.S. and Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international).
The Green Initiatives Conference will take place Sept. 29-30 at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park, Ga. The event is a senior-level summit on corporate sustainability. For more information, visit www.greeninitiativesconference.com.
NWFA Member Services
The NWFA is offering a financial service for its members, B2B CFO. It is designed to help small- to mid-market companies understand and control their financial performance. Three services are available. NWFA members can call a financial management hotline toll-free at 800/422-4556 to ask any finance-related question. The NWFA will transfer your call to Johnny Gates, a dedicated financial expert with experience in the wood flooring industry. This service is free. NWFA members also can receive a financial analysis of up to three years' worth of financial data. The analysis compares the member's financial performance to industry peers in the same revenue level, with suggestions for improvement. This service is $325. A free on-site financial assessment also is available. The assessment includes interviews with key personnel and an accounting process review. The resulting report will suggest courses of action. The member company then has the option to contract for additional services to address and fix areas of concern. The fee for this service is determined by the requirements of the project. For more information, contact the NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S. and Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international).
