Issue Date:8/19/2002
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Issue Date:8/19/2002
Hardwood Floors E-News Monday, August 19, 2002 Issue 192 Next issue published September 3 Deadline for items August 29 Send news to [email protected] Fleet Capital Corp. Branch Sues Former Burruss Co. Execs Fleet Capital Corp. of Atlanta is suing two former executives of bankrupt lumber company Burruss Co. (Lynchburg, Va.) for $13 million in damages, according to a recent report in local newspaper The News & Advance. Burruss was widely acknowledged to be the third-largest wood flooring manufacturer in the industry when it shocked the industry in November 2000 by declaring bankruptcy amid speculations of executive malfeasance.
Fleet Capital is suing Burruss executives John Alvis Jackson Jr. and Larry Andrew Carey and their wives, as well as Virginia Wood Products and two unknown defendants, claimingâ€"according to a lawsuit filed in federal court-that Burruss company officials inflated loan certificates and diverted earnings to another corporation to enrich themselves. Fleet claims Jackson and Carey submitted false financial statements to the bank in order to secure continued access to a revolving line of credit, The News & Advance report says, adding that, according to the suit, when Fleet cut off the revolving loans Burruss was unable to continue its operations. No criminal charges have been filed, and a March 3 trial date has been set. As of Hardwood Fax press time, Fleet Capital Corp. spokesman Myles Cohen said that the company was unable to comment on the suit.
Burruss' reported sales in 1999 were $102 million. Burruss manufactured both unfinished and prefinished flooring, as well as truck trailer flooring, lumber, furniture components and kitchen cabinet doors. Among the company's seven active locations were wood flooring mills in Brookneal, Va., Monticello, Ky., and Galaxy, Va., as well as a distribution center in Orlando, Fla.
NWFA Holds Factory-Finished School in Philadelphia NWFA drew 73 students to its Factory-Finished School in Philadelphia Aug. 7-9. Volunteer instructors for the school, led by NWFA’s Steve Seabaugh, were Doug Bouwmeester and Brian Duke, Artistic Finishes; Scott Granger, Bruce Hardwood Floors; Tom Peotter, Historic Floors of Oshkosh; Tim Colgan, Kahrs International Inc.; Steve Sharko, Lauzon Distinctive Hardwood Flooring; and Mary Thur, Tembec Inc. The sponsoring distributors were Beer’s Hardwood Floors and Universal Floors Inc.
NWFA Installation and Sand-and Finish School Attracts 52 Attendees NWFA's latest Installation and Sand-and-Finish school, held in Baltimore, Md., Aug. 13-16, had 52 students taught by NWFA's Steve Seabaugh and the following volunteer instructors: James Heeg and Jim Schumacher, 3M Construction & Home Improvement; Larry Alfieri, Absolute Coatings; Brent Sorbet, Basic Coatings; Brett Wheeler, Precision Technologies; Larry Beers, Beers Hardwood Floors; Mike Farrell and Gregg Bethune, BonaKemi USA Inc.; Wayne Lee, Clarke American Sanders; John Vardakis, Dura Seal; Paul Ruiz, Glitsa American Inc.; Tom Peotter, Historic Floors of Oshkosh; Janet Sullivan and Sharon Miller, Lenmar Inc.; Richard McLaughlin, Powernail Co. Inc.; Sprigg S. Lynn, Universal Floors Inc.; and A.J. Winstead, Virginia Abrasives Corp. Lead distributors for the school were Cherokee Wholesalers Inc. (Alexandria, Va.) and Derr Flooring Co. (Willow Grove, Pa.). The instructor for the Dynamic Sales class held just prior to the school was Richard Poirier of Dimension International.
FloorsNOW Completes Acquisition of Commerx Inc. Assets FloorsNOW Technology Corp. (Calgary, Alberta) announced that as of July 5, 2002, it closed on the acquisition of certain Commerx assets. Commerx Inc. is one of the 100 leading e-businesses in North America, according to FloorsNOW. Commerx assets purchased include hardware; Commerx intellectual property and software; numerous licenses, including Manugystics, Commerce One and Commerce Quest; trade names; URL addresses; and servers. This acquisition broadens the FloorsNow scope of services and positions the company as a full-service provider of business-to-business solutions. FloorsNOW will continue to operate within the floor covering industry, while Commerx, under its current name, will offer a complete range of business-to-business solutions for other industries, as well.
Manufacturer News Junckers Hardwood Inc. (Anaheim, Calif.) has announced a $40,000 "Ride the Wave" summer give-away for its dealers. Retail sales personnel can win 46 prizes-with four levels of winners-totaling $40,000. Sales awards are based on total sales volume during the promotional period of Aug. 1 through Sept. 30, 2002. All sizes of orders are welcome, with a minimum total square footage necessary to qualify. Prizes vary from $5,000 to $200 and will be awarded on Nov. 15, 2002.
New NWFA member Herrington's Lumber-Millwork-Building Supplies hosted a builder's night at the Interlaken Inn in Lakeville, Conn., Aug. 8. All Herrington sales reps were represented to introduce flooring to their builder customers. Guest speakers were Richard Vanbuskirk, Hoboken Floors; Mike Chamberlin from UGL; Tom Brahler from Mirage/Boa-Franc; Will Barret from Green River Lumber; and Angela Crowl of Dominic A. DiFebo & Sons representing the NWFA and its member benefits.
The launch and promotion of the Dri-Eaz (Burlington, Wash.) DrizAir LGR 2000 dehumidifier has been a success, resulting in the expansion of the company's twice-a-month DriZone Applied Structural Drying (ASD) School to three classes a month, the company says. As part of its promotional campaign, Dri-Eaz let customers "Try Before You Buy" and, as an incentive for purchasing, offered "Buy 3 Get DriZone," giving purchasing customers a free registration to the ASD School with the purchase of three DrizAir LGR 2000s.
Distributor News Mercier Wood Flooring (Montmagny, Quebec) has added Norman D. Lifton Co. Inc. (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) to its list of U.S. distributors. Norman D. Lifton Co. will represent the Mercier product line in the New York City area and eastern New York State, central and southern New Jersey and southern Connecticut. Norman D. Lifton Co. is the third addition this year to the roster of distributors, joining Certified Carpet Distributors Inc. (Pittsburgh) and Misco Shawnee Inc. (St. Louis, Mo.) Interested retailers in the New York area can contact Norman D. Lifton Co. customer service at 914/667-7400. For other areas, contact Michel Collin at Mercier Wood Flooring, 800/463-3385 or visit www.mercierdurable.com.
People News After more than 35 years with Clarke, a Division of Alto U.S. Inc. (Chesterfield, Mo.), Dick Hammond has announced he will retire effective Sept. 1, 2002. After being hired in November of 1966 as a trainee, Hammond moved to Boston in 1967 to become the area service manager. He held a wide variety of positions during his tenure, including manager of branch operations, field service manager, national service manager, product manager (sanders) and director of sander marketing. While the many posts he ran may be forgotten, his charm, good humor and relentless determination will never fade. "A man with Dick's dedication, devotion and loyalty is hard to find. He's been a true treasure to work with," says Mark Hefty, president, Alto U.S. Inc.
Merle B. Smith Co. Inc. (Burr Ridge, Ill.) has promoted Ruby Merrill to general manager. Merrill has been with the company for five years.
YiHua International Group (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) has appointed Jean Tong vice president. Tong previously held the position of general manager, managing the company's furniture division and New Classic, a furniture distribution subsidiary.
Vintage Hardwoods LLC (Phoenix, Ariz.) announces the addition of Frank Krivas to its team. Krivas brings to the position more than 20 years of sales, marketing and management experience in the flooring industry. Responsibilities will include regional and national sales, marketing, product positioning and manufacturing responsibilities. Krivas can be reached by phone at 602/200-9390 or by cell phone at 602/410-4940.
By the Numbers On the heels of record-breaking home sales this summer, builders are adjusting their expectations to reflect a lower, level of activity in the market for new single-family homes, according to the National Association of Home Builders' Housing Market Index (HMI). The August HMI dipped four points to 57, its lowest level since year-end 2001, after holding within one point of 60 for the last five months. All of HMI's component indexes slipped in August. The index gauging current sales declined four points to 61, while the index for traffic of prospective buyers fell five points to 43. However, indicating that builders remain optimistic for the future, the index gauging sales expectations for the next six months slid just two points to 67. NAHB continues to forecast that sales of new homes this year will surpass last year's record 908,000 units.
The nation's home and rental property owners continued to upgrade their properties at a steady pace in this year's second quarter, with no letup from the first quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders' Remodeling Market Index (RMI). The RMI for current conditions in the remodeling market held steady at 52.7 for a second consecutive quarter in the period spanning April through June 2002. This level represents a seven-point recovery from a slowdown the occurred in residential remodeling last fall, and brings the RMI within three points of its 55 reading during the first half of last year. The RMI index gauging future market expectations fell by just over two points to 52.2 in the second quarter.
In line with expectations, the pace of nationwide housing starts slowed 2.7 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.65 million units, according to the Commerce Department. This rate is on pace with the number of starts that the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is forecasting for the year as a whole. Meanwhile, permits for new housing construction remained virtually unchanged in July at a 1.7 million-unit rate. Single-family housing starts declined 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32 million units in July. This was only slightly lower than the average 1.33-million-unit rate set in the second quarter. Meanwhile, multifamily starts declined 4.7 percent to a rate of 328,000 units. This compares to a second-quarter average of 337,000 units. Overall housing starts declined 11.7 percent in the Northeast, while the South and West reported more modest declines of 3.6 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively. As the exception to the rule, the Midwest posted a 5.8 percent gain in housing starts.
Mark Your Calendar BonaKemi USA (Aurora, Colo.) will hold its Contractor Sand-and-Finish Schools Sept. 10-12, Oct. 15-17, Nov. 19-21 and Dec. 10-12 at the Bona National Training Center in Aurora, Colo. The school agenda includes training on all aspects of sanding and finishing and recoating. Each contracting company in attendance will receive coupons good for Bona machines, abrasives and finishes. For more information, contact BonaKemi USA at 800/872-5515 or visit www.bonakemi.com.
Coverings has announced that the 2003 show will be held earlier this year. The show will be held March 24-27, 2003, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The event will feature the International Tile and Stone Exposition, the International Flooring Exposition and the Vision 2003 Conference Program. For more information, visit the Coverings Web site at www.coverings.com, or contact Coverings by mail at 11940 U.S. Highway One, Suite 200, North Palm Beach, FL 33408, by phone at 561/776-0600 or 800/881-9400, by fax at 561/776-7466 or 800/883-9466, or by e-mail at [email protected].
The revamped Hardwood Floors Web site now has a industry event calendar. Visitors can enter their own industry events to be posted on the site. Enter events by going to www.woodfloorbusiness.com and clicking on "Events Calendar."
On the Web Fine Lines Manufacturing (Traverse City, Mich.) has unveiled its new Web site at www.finelinesmfg.com. The site features information on the company's medallions, parquet, borders and custom inlays, as well as small and enlarged photographed views of its products.
Patina Old World Flooring (Ventura, Calif.) has launched its new Web site at www.patinawoodfloors.com. The site includes information on the company's flooring products (including a visual production tour); a photo gallery; a spot to download company product literature; information on basic floor care and maintenance; a question and answer section on Patina products; a number of flooring links; information on where to buy Patina floors; and terms of business.
The French company Wood-Support (Clermont-Ferrand, France) has created a new Web site at www.wood-support.com that brings together supply and demand for logs, sawn timber and wood panels both in France and other countries worldwide. The international customer service department provides marketing support for all those working in the wood industry, putting companies in touch with buyers or sellers. The site also carries advertisements regarding wood and derivative products, combined with a specialist information portal containing technical, economic and legal news about the wood industry and its international markets. A communication section enables companies to put on-line a detailed presentation of their expertise, products and services.
Job Watch Kittle's Flooring Co. (Cooper City, Fla.) currently is recruiting qualified installation personnel. Kittle's Flooring Co. is a South Florida wood flooring contractor, specializing in installation of medium- to high-end wood flooring products. The company has employee benefits that include health insurance, 401K, paid vacation and worker's compensation coverage. Experienced installers interested in joining the Kittle's Flooring team can contact the company at 954/272-2304 or can fax a resume to 954/272-2306.
A California-based hardwood flooring company currently is seeking a full-time consultant or part-time person with a background in marketing wood flooring. Call 909/576-2342 for details.
Reminder to NWFA Distributor Members Two important surveys NWFA distributor members received are due. Please return your computer software surveys and networking surveys to the NWFA headquarters as soon as possible. The deadline is Aug. 30. Surveys should be faxed to 636/391-6137.