Issue Date:6/24/2002
Hardwood Floors E-News Monday, June 24, 2002 Issue 188 Next issue published July 8 Deadline for items July 3 Send news to [email protected]
P.G. Hardwood Flooring Acquires New Plant P.G. Hardwood Flooring Inc. (Saint-Edouard-de-Lotbiniére, Quebec) has acquired Plancher Beauceville Inc. (Beauceville, Quebec). "Our latest acquisition will pave the way for major knowledge and technology transfer for the benefit of both our companies, making them even stronger performers in an increasingly competitive and cut-throat market," said Claude Garneau, president of P.G. Hardwood Flooring Inc. The former owners of the newly acquired plant-Paul Poulin, André Poulin and Eric Poulin-will continue to run Plancher Beauceville.
People News George Celtrick has been named director of sales and marketing for the north division of Derr Flooring Co. (New York). Prior to joining Derr, Celtrick served as vice president of sales and marketing for Harris-Tarkett.
Glitsa American Inc. (Seattle, Wash.) has announced the addition of Ken Winterstein as senior chemist. Winterstein spent the last 21 years developing products, with the last eight spent developing water-based wood floor finishes, conversion varnishes, stains and other floor coatings.
Plumly Flooring (Winchester, Va.) recently named Dave Crouse to head its distribution operation. Crouse joined the company in 2001 and has been responsible for Maryland sales in recent months.
Wood Flooring International (Delran, N.J.) recently added Bryan Tillman and George Franco to its inside sales department. Call them at 856/764-2501 or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].
Brazilian Direct's new national sales manager, Dan Cosgrove, may be reached at 866/243-7793, [email protected] or www.brazilianhardwood.com. The company has commissioned sales opportunities available.
Manufacturer News 3M Co. (St. Paul, Minn.) employees around the world celebrated the company's 100th birthday on June 13, 2002. What began as a mining operation on Lake Superior's North Shore now is a $16 billion global enterprise with operations in more than 60 countries.
BonaKemi USA (Aurora, Colo.) held a contractor sand-and-finish school June 18-20 at its national training center in Aurora, Colo. Twenty-three contractors attended for classroom and hands-on training on all aspects of sanding and finishing hardwood floors. For information about future schools, contact BonaKemi at 800/872-5515.
D & M Bamboo Flooring Co. (Roselle, Ill.) has moved to a larger facility. The new address is 528 Congress Circle South, Roselle, IL 60172. The phone number for the new location is 630/582-1600 and the fax is 630/582-1700. The company also has a new distribution center in Los Angeles.
Protimeter North America's (Woburn, Ma.) transition to GE Measurement & Sensing Technologies, a new subsidiary of General Electric Co. (GE) is complete. GE Industrial Systems, a division of GE, late last year acquired the Sensing Solutions group of Spirent plc, the United Kingdom-based international network technology company that included Protimeter as part of General Eastern Instruments.
Distributor News Anderson Hardwood Floors (Clinton, S.C.) has made changes to its west coast product distribution. As of April 1, 2002, Diamond W Floor Covering (Livermoor, Calif.) joined Tom Duffy Co. (Suisun, Calif.) as the distribution team for Anderson-brand products in Northern California. Diamond W will handle the Northern California business from its Livermoor office under the leadership of sales manager Ron Anderson. The Tom Duffy Co. also is the exclusive distributor for the hand-scraped Virginia Vintage product. In addition, L.D. Brinkman Corp. will phase out the Anderson brand in Northern California this summer and will take over exclusive distribution of Anderson's Appalachian line in the region. The L.D. Brinkman Corp. will continue to carry the Anderson line in Southern California, Arizona and Southern Nevada.
American Products Inc. (Pineville, N.C.), a distributor of hardwood flooring and flooring supplies, will open a branch in Greenville, S.C., in July 2002. This division is in addition to American Products of Kentucky Inc. (Louisville, Ky.), which also has a branch in Lexington, Ky.
Kelly Goodwin Co. (Tukwila, Wash.) has moved its Olympia, Wash., branch location to larger facilities in nearby Lacey, Wash. The branch features a new, state-of-the-art 1,500-square-foot showroom. The new branch is located at 2601 Willamette Dr. N.E., Lacey, WA 98516. Its phone numbers are 360/456-6330 (local), 800/548-8742 (toll free) and 360/456-6759 (fax). The local branch manager remains Lee Thatcher.
In other Kelly-Goodwin news, Appalachian Flooring (Cowansville, Quebec) has appointed the company as its exclusive distributor for Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Montana and Wyoming. Kelly-Goodwin has seven branches throughout the area and may be reached at 800/424-2423.
Old Master Products Inc. (Van Nuys, Calif.) currently is seeking a small network of key distributors and dealers who are interested in marketing the Garrison Collection of handcrafted custom flooring nationally. Contact Jack Schoen at 866/477-7773 or 800/300-5158 for more information.
Sheoga Hardwood Flooring & Paneling (Middlefield, Ohio.) has named Hoboken Floors (Wayne, N.J.) its 2001 Distributor of the Year and recognized Merle B. Smith Co. (Burr Ridge, Ill.) for its outstanding support.
Terra Hardwood Flooring has appointed FloorScapes (Pomona, Calif.) as its exclusive distributor for the southern California market. Bill Martin of Martin Industries continues as Terra Hardwood Flooring's representative on the West Coast.
On the Web R.K. Haskew and Co. Inc. (Chattanooga, Tenn.) has redesigned its Web site at www.haskomachines.com.
Job Watch Hardwood Specialists LLC (Columbus, Ohio) currently is seeking a regional sales representative for the tri-state area. Candidates should have previous hardwood floor sales experience and be self-motivated and aggressive. For consideration, fax your resume to Nancy Rogers at 614/251-9669.
By the Numbers Housing starts surged 11.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.73 million units, according the to Commerce Department. Single-family housing starts rose 9.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.39 million units in May, their highest rate since February.
Strip wood flooring shipments in May were 10 percent higher than the total shipped in May 2001, according to statistics from NOFMA, The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association (Memphis, Tenn.). Shipments for the month numbered 52,838,000 board feet, compared with 47,950,000 board feet in May 2001. The total for 2002 is now 15 percent over the first five months of 2001.
The Deadline Has Passed The deadline for returning update forms for Hardwood Floors' Resource Book was June 14. If you haven't returned your form, fax it ASAP to the attention of Katie Wilke at 608/249-1153 or contact her at [email protected].
NWFA Member Services Del Fishman of the Fishman Agency can provide a free evaluation of your current risk insurance package and determine areas where your company can save money. Call Del at 800/882-1362 for more information.
