Issue Date:9/30/2002
Hardwood Floors E-News Tuesday, September 30, 2002 Issue 195 Next issue published October 14 Deadline for items: October 10 Send news to [email protected]
NOFMA/NWFA School Draws 85 Students The NOFMA/NWFA school held in Memphis Sept. 21-25 saw 85 students working diligently to learn the ins and outs of hardwood flooring. NOFMA's Mickey Moore and NWFA's Steve Seabaugh supervised the event. Instructors for the event included Daniel Boone, Boone Wood Floors Inc.; Warren Spradlin, David Vinson, Rusty Swindoll, Bobby Millner and Glen Miller, NOFMA; Jim Schumacher and Galen Fitzel, 3M Construction and Home Improvement; Mel Hollis, Kunzle & Tasin; John Bast III, Lanham Hardwood; Bill Costello, Dura Seal; Todd McDonald, Aacer Flooring; Don Conner, Mullican Flooring; Stan Lawson, Powernail Company; Jim Goss, Woodwise/Design Hardwood Products; Brent Sorbet, Basic Coatings; Ron Leslein, Piedmont Hardwood Floors; Bob Goldstein, Floor Style Products; Wayne Lee, Clarke American Sanders; Sheldon Walker, Glitsa American; Todd Schutte, BonaKemi USA; Rick Jones, Columbia Flooring; Charles Dixon, Hardwood Floors by Charles; Sharon Miller, Lenmar Inc.; Mark Long, Global Market Partners; Bob Sweezey, Capitol USA Adhesives; Ricardo Pairazaman, Finishing Touch Hardwood Floors; Randy Hairfield, Hairfield Floors; Diana Gurley, Somerset Hardwood Flooring; Greg Fuller, Harvester Chemical Inc.; Hank Williams, Porta-Nails Inc.; Gray Moulthrop; and Kim Wahlgren, Hardwood Floors.
BonaKemi USA Acquires TDR Enterprises BonaKemi USA Inc. (Aurora, Colo.) has announced the acquisition of TDR Enterprises Inc. Based in Littleton, Colo., TDR is the originator and producer of Atomic Dust Collector Systems. The dust collectors, which can be mounted in either a trailer or a truck, provide hardwood floor sanders with highly effective dust containment. "This acquisition is another significant investment in reaching our goal to lead the industry as a total systems company, offering the best finishing programs and equipment available,” says Ron Peden, CEO of BonaKemi USA. "The level of our investment demonstrates our commitment and firm belief in this vision for Bona's future and the industry. The purchase of TDR accelerates the speed in which we can take dust containment to the next level. The size and power of the truck/trailer mounted systems sets the new standard in dust-free sanding and allows us to maintain our leadership position in dust containment." As part of the agreement between Bona and TDR, the principle owners of TDR, Todd Weyhmiller and Dan Gill, will become full-time employees of Bona. They will continue to operate and manage the Atomic DCS Corp. as an independent subsidiary of BonaKemi USA. They will be relocating their offices and manufacturing facilities to Aurora, Colo.
Domcor's HFI Flooring Goes National Domcor, division of Domco Tarkett Inc., has set up Domcor Hardwood Division, a full-fledged corporate structure that will be responsible for the distribution of all hardwood flooring, including Domcor's current Harris-Tarkett lines, from coast to coast in Canada. In the next few weeks, all Domcor service centers throughout Canada will have their own hardwood floor expert to help serve the company's floor covering retailers across Canada. These existing facilities will be the sales and marketing center of the new Domcor Hardwood Division. The strategic move also will re-enact the presence of a Domcor service center in Calgary.
Manufacturer News Partee Flooring Mill (Magnolia, Ark.) is celebrating its 55th anniversary. The mill was started Oct. 7, 1948, when Cal Partee Sr. purchased a small dimension mill from Long Bell Lumber Co. Through the years that followed, sawmills were built and one additional flooring mill was purchased in Lewisville, Ark. In 1972, Partee Flooring Mill broke ground for a flooring mill in Magnolia, Ark., in order to combine all facilities at one location. Early in 2002, the mill began another addition to its present flooring operation, adding an additional 25,000 square feet to make room for a computerized scanning, ripping and optimizing system. The company says it owes its success to the safety and cleanliness of its manufacturing plant, the quality solid hardwood flooring it produces and all of its employees, from the lumber receiving yard to the graders and shipping crew.
Dri-Eaz (Burlington, Wash.) recently received a Washington State Quality Award (WSQA) at the Achievement Level. Dri-Eaz was one of only two organizations in Washington State to earn WSQA recognition in 2002. This was the first year that Dri-Eaz submitted a WSQA application. Based on the criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the WSQA sets standards of excellence that help companies develop systems and practices to improve overall performance. There are four possible WSQA recognition levels: Commitment, Achievement, Leadership and Excellence. In order to apply for the award the company submitted a 50-page application that documented processes in seven categories: leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, information and analysis, human resources, process management and business results. Dri-Eaz will continue to submit applications until it achieves the highest level of the award. At that point, the company plans on pursuing the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Festool Tooltechnic Systems LLC (Goleta, Calif.) is teaming up with Mannington to hold a design contest for wood and laminate flooring installers and designers. To enter, participants must send in photos of their most creative install made using Mannington wood or laminate flooring and Festool tools. The deadline for entries is Nov. 15, 2002. From this pool of entrants, four semifinalists will be selected. Each will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Surfaces 2003 in Las Vegas, where they will compete for the final awards. Working at a special contest booth, they will produce a section of wood or laminate floor in a design of their choice. The finished pieces will be judged for uniqueness of design and degree of difficulty. In addition to the free trip, all four finalists will win gift certificates for tools and flooring materials from the sponsors.
Distributor News Horizon Forest Products (Raleigh, N.C.) has opened its first floor sanding equipment repair shop. The shop is the only one in the central and eastern part of North Carolina. Shops also are planned for two more locations: Wilmington and Charleston. Cameron Worsham is the shop manager in Raleigh.
Harris-Tarkett (Johnson City, Tenn.) has added four distributors to its nationwide network of independent distributors. Misco Shawnee, headquartered in Maryland Heights, Mo., will distribute Harris-Tarkett products from its Cincinnati-area branch in parts of Ohio, in Southern Indiana and throughout Kentucky. Trinity Hardwood Distributors, based in Dallas, will represent the company in North Texas. David C. Gibson, St. Louis, will sell Harris-Tarkett products in the St. Louis area and Midwest, based in Salt Lake City, will represent Harris-Tarkett in Utah. These additions bring to 10 the total number of new distributor appointments the company has announced within the past 12 months and support the company's ongoing strategy to add top-tier organizations to its distributor network, according to Jim Morando, president, Harris-Tarkett.
Milwaukee, Wis.-based distributor Gehl Flooring Supply Inc. held its first annual Sporting Clay Shoot-out at the Waukesha Gun Club Sept. 14, 2002. The event included a light breakfast, a 50-shot sporting clays shoot-out and a catered lunch. Contractors and builders from throughout the state attended the event. The shoot-out was sponsored in part by Basic Coatings, WD Flooring, Trustor Coatings, Synteko, Kunzel & Tasin and Powernail. Nels Ingebrigtsen of Basic Coatings and Tom Bieberitz of WD Flooring attended the outing and were on hand to present their donated prizes to the winners.
Kentucky Wood Floors (Louisville, Ky.) has announced the appointment of bpi (Dallas, Texas) as its distributor for the state of Texas. This appointment now enables bpi to offer the Kentucky line throughout its 10-state area. "With branches in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, bpi is well positioned to provide product knowledge, samples and pricing for the Texas dealers wishing to upgrade their hardwood flooring sales. In addition, our architectural representative will be exposing the state's specifiers to Kentucky's unique menu of species, designs, textures and finishes," says John Anderson, manager of the bpi Hardwood Flooring Division.
Heritage Wood Products Inc. (Gainesville, Mo.) has appointed Hunter Hardwoods Inc. (Alsip and Palos Park, Ill.) as a distributor for its strip flooring in Illinois, Indiana, southeast Wisconsin and southwest Michigan.
National Hardwood Flooring & Moulding (Van Nuys, Calif.) is growing again. The company is expanding its location to incorporate the next-door area and is adding 13,500 square feet to its existing warehouse/showroom. The company will be able to stock two additional engineered lines of Castle and Heritage, boasting six species: red oak, white oak, walnut, cherry, maple and hickory.
As of Oct. 1, 2003, SeaPac Sales will be the exclusive Junckers Hardwood Inc. (Anaheim, Calif.) distributor for the Pacific Northwest. Its six-state territory includes Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Alaska, Idaho and Montana.
People News John Woolsey has been appointed director of marketing at Anderson Hardwood Floors (Clinton, S.C.). Most recently, Woolsey served as manager of marketing and trade communications at Columbia. Prior to that, Woolsey worked for Mannington, serving the company for 30 years in a variety of positions.
Preverco Inc. (Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec) has appointed Carol Lees as sales representative for its line of prefinished hardwood floors. She will cover Eastern Ontario and will work in cooperation with Gary Ludwig to cover the Toronto market. Lees has more than 18 years experience in the flooring industry. She can be reached at 905/342-9635.
Steve Peo and Kirk Shaw have joined Woods of the World (Birmingham, Mich.) for architect, designer, builder and dealer sales. Both will cover the Michigan market and can be reached at 248/646-2422.
To ensure the success of its new corporate entity, Domcor has appointed Darrell Tweed to the position of national sales and marketing manager, Domcor Hardwood Division. Prior to his nomination, Tweed was general manager of HFI Flooring in Calgary.
By the Numbers Strip wood flooring shipments in August were 3 percent higher than the total shipped in August 2001, according to statistics from NOFMA, The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association. Shipments for the month numbered 53,611,000 board feet, compared with 52,249,000 board feet in August 2001. The total for 2002 now is 9 percent higher than the first eight months of 2001.
Historically low interest rates on home mortgages and their positive effects on buyer demand boosted builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes in September to its highest level since November of 2000, according to the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) latest Housing Market Index (HMI). Rising eight points to 63 in September, the index more than made up for a six-point dip registered in August.
Sales of new homes in August increased to a record 996,000 units on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis, according to the Commerce Department. That is a 1.9 percent increase over the July rate, which was revised downward from just over 1 million to 977,000 units. On a regional basis, new home sales increased 7.4 percent in the West and 1.3 percent in the South. They were unchanged in the Midwest and dropped 9.5 percent in the Northeast.
Following an exceptionally strong pace set in this year's first half, U.S. housing starts slowed 2.2 percent to a still-healthy seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.6 million units in August, the Commerce Department recently reported. The decline was confined entirely to the single-family sector and was largely focused in the Midwest, where rainfall was above normal for the month. Single-family housing starts slipped 4.4 percent in August to a rate of 1.25 million, their slowest pace since last November.
On the Web Preverco Inc. (Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec) has refreshed its Web site at www.preverco.com.
Job Watch A manufacturer of wood flooring and related products has an immediate opening for a sales career position. The company is expanding its sales coverage and has several territories available in southern California. The company is looking for an experienced candidate but will train the right person. The job will include salary plus benefits. Fax a resume and salary history to: Personnel Dept. 714/998-6826. Confidentiality is assured.
Millwood Specialty Flooring (Ellijay, Ga.) is seeking an experienced hardwood lumber buyer. The candidate is to relocate to north Georgia. Interested parties should send a resume to Millwood Specialty Flooring, P.O. Box F, Ellijay, GA 30540.
D&M Bamboo Flooring (Wood Dale, Ill.) has announced new openings for manufacturer reps in western and eastern regions. Interested parties should fax a resume to 630/582-1700.
National Hardwood Flooring & Moulding (Van Nuys, Calif.) is looking for an experienced wood flooring sales person to sell its product throughout the United States. Candidates should have at least five years of experience. For more information, contact National Hardwood at 818/988-9663 or fax a resume to 818/988-4955.
Mark Your Calendar Decorative Flooring (Port St. Joe, Fla.) will hold a Wood Floor Guild workshop Nov. 18-23. The event will feature students installing decorative floors with bent curves, medallions, and borders in a job-site setting, along with the guidance of instructors. With a team of instructors led by Howard Brickman, the class is designed for installers who have mastered standard installation techniques. The target class size is one instructor for four students. The curriculum will include understanding water in wood, cutting for inlays and borders, monitoring job-site conditions and custom design production. For more information, fax 781/878-1446, or write P.O. Box 2115, Abington, MA 02351.
NWFA Member Services The 2002 NWFA Distributor Profit Report provides detailed financial results of wood flooring distributors. Results of the report are based on financial data provided by NWFA member companies. Contact NWFA for a copy of this important financial tool for business planning.
