Issue Date:5/13/2002
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Issue Date:5/13/2002
Monday, May 13, 2002 Issue 184 Next issue published May 27 Deadline for items May 23 Send news to mailto:[email protected] Coverings 2002 Attendance Up from 2001 Coverings, an annual global gathering of the tile, stone and floor covering industries, was held May 6-9 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The trade exposition, which featured more than 1,300 exhibitors from 45 nations, was forecast to be attended by some 25,000 executives during its four-day run. Although official attendance numbers had not yet been released at press time, Nicole McBride, a spokesperson for the show, says attendance was up from last year. Although the show's emphasis appeared to remain on the tile and stone market, its "International Flooring Exposition" segment featured other flooring, as well. NWFA had a booth, as did NWFA-member exhibitors Abrasive Enterprises Inc., All American Wood Register Co., Authentic Pine Floors, Bostik Findley, Custom Wholesale Floors, Design Flooring Distributors, Eco-Floors, Floor Style Products, Foreverwood, Greenwood Flooring, Heritage Flooring Ltd., Hoboken Floors, Kahrs International, Lauzon Distinctive Hardwood Flooring, Mapei, Para-Chem, Super-Tek Products , TEC Specialty Products and Venteak Corporation.
NWFA also was involved in the educational programs. Technical Director Steve Seabaugh led a technical seminar on Monday on mixed media installations, and Executive Director Ed Korczak participated in a panel discussion, "Beyond Ceramic Tile: How to Add Other Flooring Products to Your Offering," on Thursday.
The dates for Coverings in 2003 are April 14-17 (close on the heels of next year's NWFA convention, which will be in St. Louis April 9-12).
NWFA Holds Installation and Sand & Finish School in Utah The NWFA held its Installation and Sand & Finish School April 30-May 3 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Volunteer instructors were led by NWFA's technical director, Steve Seabaugh, and included: Dennis Plaut and Glenn Werneke, 3M Construction; Don Smithson, Alto U.S.; Brent Sorbet, Basic Coatings; John Blesing, Blesing's Flooring; Terry Green, Dura Seal; Tom O'Halloran and Mike Rocher, BonaKemi USA; Sheldon Walker, Glitsa American Inc.; Charles Dixon, Hardwood Floors by Charles; and Tom Peotter, Historic Floors of Oshkosh. Ottley Floor Co. was the sponsoring distributor. Richard Poirier of Dimension International, was the instructor for the Dynamic Sales School held at the same location April 29-30.
People News The Atlas Companies, parent company to Basic Coatings (Des Moines, Iowa), has announced that Mike Sundell has replaced Roy Blackburn as president and general manager of Basic Coatings. Sundell has served in many positions at Atlas for almost 30 years. Most recently, he served as regional sales manager for Basic's eastern region. The eastern region will continue to be covered by Sundell until the company identifies a replacement.
Precision Technology LLC (Memphis, Tenn.) has appointed Brett Wheeler national sales manager. Wheeler most recently served as national sales manager for Berger-Seidle America.
BonaKemi USA (Aurora, Colo.) has appointed John Ryan south central distributor business manager. Ryan brings more than 20 years of hardwood flooring experience to Bona, having most recently served as regional sales manager for Robbins Hardwood Flooring. Ryan will be based in Fort Worth, Texas. In addition, Tony Huston has been named northwestern regional contractor manager for Bona. Huston has more than 15 years of hardwood flooring contractor experience and will be based in Seattle.
Manufacturer News BonaKemi USA has named Larry Subervi the winner of its 2001 Gary Reynolds Sales Achievement Award. This award is given to the top BonaKemi salesperson for excellence in sales performance and territory management. Subervi, based in Denver, is the distributor business manager for the Western region of the country. BonaKemi also has named the winners of its Outstanding Sales Achivement and 2001 Distributors of Merit awards. Outstanding Sales Achievement Award winners are: Finish Products: Hoboken Floors (Stoughton, Mass.; Wayne, N.J.; Albany, N.Y.; Oakville, Conn.; Rochester, N.Y.; Newark, Del.; and Westbrook, Maine); Sanding Equipment: Long Floor Supply (Richmond, Va.; Raleigh, N.C.; Beltsville, Md.; and Wilmington, Del.); and Abrasives: Olson Floor Supply Co. Inc. (New Hyde Park, N.Y.). Bona's 2001 Distributors of Merit Award winners included: Atlantic West Flooring Distributors (Denver), Cascade Pacific Flooring Distributors (Portland, Ore.), Denver Hardwood Company (Denver), Design Distributing Inc. (Richmond, Roanoke and Norfolk, Va.), Floors Inc. (Birmingham, Madison and Pelham, Ala.), Goodfellow Inc. (Delson, Quebec), Lanham Hardwood Flooring (Louisville, Ky., West Chester, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Ind.), and The Bahr Company (Chicago and Romeoville, Ill.).
Eagle Floor Supply Inc. (Toronto, Ontario) has announced sealed tenders will be received by Quinney & Associates Ltd., in its capacity as receiver, until 5 p.m. on May 21, 2002, for the purchase of the milling and finishing lines of Eagle Floor Supply. A 15 percent deposit must accompany tenders with the balance due on closing. For more information, including a complete tender package with descriptions of assets for sale, and appointments to inspect the assets, call Richard Quinney at 416/213-2600, ext. 319, or fax him at 905/669-8705.
Wood Factory Ltd. (United Kingdom), a manufacturer and supplier of prefinished engineered strip and plank, prefinished solid plank, solid steps and worktops in a range of species, is seeking importers/distributors in the United States. E-mail mailto:[email protected] for more information.
Armstrong Wood Products Inc. (Addison, Texas) reported first quarter net sales of $747.6 million, compared with $779.9 million in the first quarter of 2001. Increases in wood flooring and cabinets were offset by declines in the other business segments. Wood flooring net sales of $160.9 million in the first quarter of 2002 increased 3.9 percent from $154.9 million in 2001, primarily from increased volume from home center distributors. Operating income of $8.7 million for this segment in the first quarter of 2002 was lower than operating income of $10.1 million in the first quarter of 2001. Higher selling and advertising expenses primarily drove the decrease in the operating income of this segment, partially offset by higher sales and lower lumber costs.
Maxwell Hardwood Flooring (Monticello, Ark.) continued its 10th anniversary celebration by hosting a cocktail party during the recent NWFA convention in Orlando, Fla. The event was held at the Gaylord Palms Resort with approximately 150 guests attending. Tommy Maxwell, president and CEO, toasted the industry, suppliers, employees, friends and family for the success of the company. The celebration will continue throughout the year, and an employee fair is scheduled for this summer.
Distributor News Heritage Wood Products Inc. (Gainesville, Mo.) has named A To Z Wood Flooring Inc. (Burnsville, Minn.) distributor of its strip flooring in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Mark Your Calendar NWFA will hold a virtual seminar,"Turning Problems into Profits," on May 15, 2002. During the "webinar," speaker Lew Migliore will teach attendees how to prevent problems before they occur, resolve issues effectively for themselves and for customers, handle complaints promptly and effectively, and turn problems into profits. The program is interactive. For more information, visit NWFA's Web site at https://nwfa.org/ and click on the "Management Education" link.
The Building and Interiors Group of CMP Information Ltd. (London, England) will hold its National Floor Show at the Harrogate International Center Sept. 3-5, 2002. So far, the event is scheduled to include 173 companies from 13 different countries, with 14 first-time exhibitors. Last year's show attracted 4,408 buyers looking to source a range of products including wood, underlays, tools and accessories. For more information, visit http://www.nationalfloorshow.co.uk or http://www.cmpinformation.com.