Issue Date:9/3/2002
Hardwood Floors E-News Tuesday, September 3, 2002 Issue 193 Next issue published September 16 Deadline for itemsSeptember 12 Send news to [email protected]
By the Numbers Strip wood flooring shipments in July were 11 percent higher than the total shipped in July 2001, according to statistics from NOFMA, The National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association (Memphis, Tenn.). Shipments for the month numbered 45,512,000 board feet, compared with 41,154,000 board feet in July 2001. The total for 2002 now is 10 percent more than the first seven months of 2001.
Sales of new homes in July rose to a record 1.02 million units on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, according to the Commerce Department. That is a 6.7 percent increase over the June rate, which was revised downward from just over 1 million units to 953,000 units. Gary Garczynski, president of the National Association of Home Builders, cautions that despite low interest rates and the widely-held view that housing is a good investment, the market may not be able to sustain this pace of home sales, particularly if job growth remains stagnant. However, he notes that the supply-demand balance in the market is very healthy, with a low 3.9-month inventory, and predicts new home sales in 2002 are almost certain to exceed last year's record of 908,000 units.
People News Gammapar, the Acrylic Wood Products Company (Forest, Va.) has named Jay A. Cooper vice president of sales and marketing. Cooper brings to the Gammapar management team 15 years of experience within the building products category. He will redirect the company's sales and marketing efforts, including the development of an external independent sales force. The company also has named Thomas J. Spurlock III vice president of manufacturing and L. Wayne Zeigler senior vice president. Spurlock brings to the Gammapar team 20 years of manufacturing expertise and Zeigler brings more than 30 years of manufacturing, sales and leadership experience. In other company news, Roger G. Isaacs has been named export manager and will be focusing on developing relationships with newly appointed international sales agents. He also will be assisting the inside sales effort and conducting product and sales training classes. Also, April H. Barbour has been named inside sales coordinator for the Northern United States.
Wood Flooring International (Delran, N.J.) recently added Ron Molino to its inside sales department.
Maxwell Hardwood Flooring (Monticello, Ark.) has made two additions to its management staff. Kristi Maxwell Prince has been named financial analyst for the company. In her new position, she will be involved in the monitoring of expenses and implementing of cost controls throughout the company. Maxwell Prince has been involved with and has worked in the hardwood flooring industry for more than 10 years. She most recently served as Radio Shack Corp.'s senior financial and operational auditor. Also, Dustin Prince recently joined the company as general manager for Sassafras Hunting Lodge, the lodge the company uses to entertain guests, customers and suppliers.
Manufacturer News Gammapar, the Acrylic Wood Products Company (Forest, Va.) is moving to a direct sales model using independent sales organizations to enhance the company's ability to serve the architectural and design communities, as well as commercial flooring contractor markets. The company has announced its first round of agency selections to be: Fred Fortin and The 410 Company; Shawn Campbell of Contract Surfaces; Ed Fossett of Sustainable Floor Systems; and Jason Brubaker of The Brubaker Agency.
TimberGrass LLC (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) has announced its bamboo flooring once again will be featured in the Green House at the Puyallup Fair Sept. 6-22. A project of the Pierce County Public Works and Utilities, the Green House features recycled and low-impact building materials.
The Showboat Hotel and Casino (Atlantic City, NJ) recently completed an installation of PermaGrain Products' (Newtown Square, Pa.) UltraTec 3000 hardwood flooring in its Pelican Bar and Player's Club lounge. Sequoia cherry was selected for its rich, warm tones.
Muscanell Millworks Inc. (Cortez, Colo.) has installed a width-sorting and moisture-detection system manufactured by Froedge Machine and Supply Co. (Tompkinsville, Ky.) The new system allows the company to chop, defect and width-sort prior to ripping, resulting in increased ripping production and decreased repetitive motion injuries.
Leica Geosystems (Norcross, Ga.) has announced that its DISTO Tape hand-held laser distance measuring tools now are available nationwide through more than 700 Lowe's building supply stores. The tool is being featured in the Lowe's Tool World department as part of an initiative focused on productivity improvements with laser tools.
Distributor News Advanced Adhesive Technologies (AAT) (Dalton, Ga.) has added nine wholesale flooring firms to its network of authorized distributors: All Country Flooring (Farmingdale, N.Y.); Bamp's Flooring Supply (Hesperia, Calif.); California Cushion (Orange, Calif.); Carpet Pad Sales Co. (Grand Terrace, Calif.); Floor Layers Emporium (Bakersfield, Calif.); GRT Flooring (Huntsville, Ala.); Northeast Flooring & Supplies (Philadelphia); T&E Supplies Inc. (Ontario, Calif.); and Wholesale Flooring (Downingtown, Pa.).
National Hardwood Flooring & Moulding (Van Nuys, Calif.) has announced it now carries prefinished bamboo flooring, moulding and trim. The product is available in a vertical or horizontal grain in clear grade, natural or carbonized color, semi-gloss or satin finish, and has either an aluminum oxide or UV coating.
Contractor News Amber Flooring (Emeryville, Calif.) has announced the opening of its new showroom at 5652 San Pablo Ave., Emeryville, Calif. The showroom displays many species of finished wood flooring and is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Mark your Calendar The NWFA will hold a webcast plus audio seminar on "New People Strategies for Superior Results" Sept. 25, 2002. This virtual seminar will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (CST). Those tuning in to the event will learn about: why business strategy starts with people; the Jack Welch 20-70-10 rule for getting the right people on the bus and the wrong people off; the "Six Bs” for building capability; the VOICE approach for building commitment; and how to integrate people strategies into the four steps for achieving clear market leadership. The featured speaker will be Bill Finnie, managing director for Grace Advisors' Business Consulting Group in St. Louis. For more information, contact Glyphics Communications at 800/651-7916 and mention the NWFA program, or visit the management education link at www.nwfa.org.
The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) Show will be held April 9-11, 2003, at McCormick Place in Chicago. The show will feature exhibits, technical education; general sessions; networking events; the CSI annual meeting and member forum; and CSI annual honors and awards ceremony. The event will co-locate with The TFM Show (for facility professionals) at the debut of Construct America. For more information, contact CSI at 800/689-2900 or visit www.csinet.org.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) will hold its 2003 National Convention in San Diego May 8-10, 2003. For more information, contact AIA at 1735 New York Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20006, call 800/242-3837, fax 202/626-7547, e-mail: [email protected], or visit www.aia.org.
NWFA Member Services The 2002 Distributor Employee Compensation Report is a comprehensive review of employment compensation packages. The NWFA member company report is available at no charge on-line at www.nwfa.org. Go to Business Publications and scroll to July 2002 Distributor Newsletter. As an added value, a Cross-Industry Report offers the advantage of a larger sample of firms and provides break-outs of 22 sales volume categories and more than 100 geographic areas. This report is available on CD for $10. To order, call NWFA at 800/422-4556 (United States), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/391-5161 (International) or e-mail [email protected].
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