Issue Date:3/25/2002
Hardwood Floors E-News
From Hardwood Floors magazine and NWFA
Monday, March 25, 2002
Issue 181
Next issue published April 8
Deadline for items April 3
Send news to [email protected]
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By the Numbers
Strip wood flooring shipments in February were 19 percent higher than the total shipped in February 2001, according to statistics from NOFMA, The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association (Memphis, Tenn.). Shipments for the month totaled 47,148,000 board feet. Combined with January's 20 percent leap over the January 2001 figures, the 2002 total of 93,836,000 board feet represents a 19 percent increase compared with the first two months of 2001.
The National Association of Home Builders' Housing Market Index (HMI) rose two points to 60 in March. "Low interest rates, resilient home values and a stabilizing economy have helped home buyers put whatever fears they might have had following Sept. 11 behind them, which in turn has produced renewed builder optimism," said Gary Garczynski, NAHB president and a builder/developer from Woodbridge, Va.
Overall housing starts rose 2.8 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.77 million units, the Commerce Department recently reported. The gain was due entirely to the single-family sector, where starts rose 7.4 percent to a rate of 1.46 million units-their fastest pace since December of 1978.
People News
Precision Technology LLC (Memphis, Tenn.) has announced some personnel changes. After participating in the launch of Precision Techology last year, Bill Price is refocusing on his training and troubleshooting company, Floormasters International (Standish, Maine). Precision Technology will utilize Floormasters' consulting and training services. Meanwhile, Wilson Woolley has been added to the sales and marketing staff. Woolley has an extensive wood products and coatings background. Additionally, Nancy Burns has been hired to coordinate the company's internal activities.
The NWFA has announced the nominations for its new Board of Directors. New nominees are Bill Costello of Dura Seal (Arlington, Texas) and Leonard Hall of Endurance Floor Company (Miami, Fla.). Current board members nominated to serve another three-year term include Angela Crowl of Dominic A. DiFebo & Sons (Wilmington, Del.), Neil Poland of Mullican Flooring (Johnson City, Tenn.), David Williams of Horizon Forest Products (Raleigh, N.C.) and Mark Weglowski of BonaKemi USA (Aurora, Colo.). The election of the new members will take place at the 2002 Annual Meeting at NWFA's convention in Orlando, Fla., on April 20.
Manufacturer News
Maxwell Hardwood Flooring (Monticello, Ark.) celebrated its 10th anniversary with a luncheon and open house on March 12. More than 150 people attended the event. Tommy Maxwell, president and CEO, gave the welcome address. Other speakers at the event were Jim Jett, president of Union Bank and Lou Lattanzi, vice president of purchasing for Floor Service Supply Company (San Jose, Calif.). During the program, the company recognized 10-year employees, who were presented with a Maxwell 10th anniversary watch.
Erie Flooring & Wood Products (West Lorne, Ont.), a manufacturer of hardwood flooring for residential, commercial and truck flooring markets, recently announced ISO 9001:2000 certification. The company receives its ISO 9001:2000 status under the certification body of SGS International Certification Services Canada Inc.
Lumber Trade Inc. (Miami, Fla.), manufacturer representative for Lumber Bras Ltd., has a new plant in Ananindeua, Brazil, where the company makes hardwood flooring, decking and specialty parquet. Lumber Bras is an Italian company that manufactures in reference to the UNI norms of quality used in Italy, and its Versailles parquet is made in the traditional way to reproduce a 17th century floor.
Robbins Premium Hardwood Flooring (Addison, Texas) received a 2001 Platinum Award for Design Excellence (ADEX) for its Urban Exotic Collection. Hartco Quality Wood Flooring (Addison, Texas) was awarded a 2001 Platinum Award for Design Excellence for its Exotic Treasures Collection. Bruce Hardwood Floors' (Addison, Texas) Natural Reflections Collection received a 2001 Gold Award for Design Excellence. The ADEX, sponsored by Design Journal magazine, is a competition of furnishings in the architecture and design industry.
Importers are being sought for remachined salvaged Australian jarrah. For more information, contact David Pinkus at [email protected].
Mark Your Calendar
The NWFA's first Factory-Finished Wood Flooring Installation School will be held in Fresno, Calif., April 3-4. The school will cover installation methods, maintenance and repairs of all types of factory-finished flooring. For more information, contact the NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada), 636/391-5161 (local/int'l) or [email protected].
Job Watch
Finitec Hardwood Products (St-Lambert-de-Lauzon, Quebec) is looking for an agent for the province of Ontario. Candidates should have proven experience with finishes and should also be able to develop dealers and distributors. Interested candidates should fax a résumé to Sales Manager Steve Leduc at 418/889-9915 or e-mail [email protected].
An experienced sales representative is wanted for outside sales in the Los Angeles area. Candidates must have a minimum of two years' hardwood flooring experience, and they must be self-motivated and able to close deals. Candidates also need good communication skills and PC knowledge. Independent contractors are encouraged to apply. Interested candidates should fax a résumé to 818/550-0589.
International Hardwood Flooring Inc. (Philadelphia, Pa.), an importer/manufacturer of exotic unfinished hardwood flooring, is seeking an assistant sales/product manager/sales representative to be based out of the Philadelphia office. This person will report directly to the product line manager and be responsible for assisting in virtually all aspects of sales (inside and outside) and marketing, production and inventory control. IHF offers an excellent working environment and compensation package. Candidates should send an e-mail to [email protected].
Member Services
Enjoy great savings on all your shipping needs-check out NWFA's Shipping Plus program. Shipping Plus offers exclusive member discounts of up to 52 percent with today's leading shipping providers-Airborne Express, LTL Freight Services with Roadway Express and Yellow Freight and Air Freight Delivery with Emery Worldwide. Call the Shipping Plus Hotline at 800-MEMBERS (800-636-2377).
Members can access the "Floor Covering Industry White Paper" online at www.nwfa.org. This study was conducted by Indian River consulting Group for NWFA and NAFCD to provide information relevant to the Wholesale Distributor.
