Issue Date:12/9/2002
Hardwood Floors E-News Monday, December 9, 2002 Issue 200 Next issue published December 23 Deadline for items: December 19 Send news to [email protected]
People News Olson Floor Supply Co. Inc. (Jamaica, N.Y.) has hired Elizabeth (Liz) Ferstler to assist in sales at its Jamaica location. Ferstler has more than 11 years of experience in the wood flooring industry.
Erickson's Flooring & Supply (Ferndale, Mich.) has added the following employees to its Detroit location: Ed Biernot, contractor specialist serving east metro Detroit; Heather Huck, marketing coordinator; and Michelle Ruzycki, merchandising/marketing assistant. They can be reached at 800/225-9663.
Peter Bonsall, who most recently served as director of Tembec Davidson Europe (Dublin, Ireland), has announced he has moved on to start his own venture-Blue Evolution Ltd. Bonsall's new venture involves market studies, research and business development for Canadian and American companies wanting to increase sales in Europe, or thinking of starting to sell product in Europe. Blue Evolution Ltd. can be reached by e-mailing [email protected] or by calling 353-0-87-6592196.
By the Numbers Supported by historically low mortgage rates, sales of new single-family homes reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.01 million units in October, down 4.5 percent from an upwardly revised, all-time high rate of 1.05 million units in September, according to the Commerce Department. This was the third consecutive month in which new-home sales have broken the million-unit pace. The National Association of Home Builders currently is projecting that new-home sales for all of 2002 will reach nearly 960,000, up substantially from the current record of 908,000 units set in 2001.
Manufacturer News Action Floor Systems (Mercer, Wis.) was chosen as the supplier for Reebok's new Canary Wharf sports center in East London, United Kingdom. The club's gymnasium received an ActionCush floating system with a premium maple surface. The club's aerobics room has an ActionThrust I floating panel floor featuring two layers of 15/32-inch plywood and Air Flex natural rubber pads under a solid maple surface. The combined project required approximately 12,000 square feet of flooring.
Harris-Tarkett's (Johnson City, Tenn.) prefinished longstrip engineered flooring was selected by This Old House homeowners Kim Whittemore and Bruce Leasure to update their 1922 Colonial revival house in Winchester, Mass. The company's American Collection in Yukon Oak Toast was installed in the expanded kitchen, the pantry and the master suite. The installation will be featured in segment 2216 of This Old House, premiering on PBS on Jan. 23, 2003, in the first half of The New This Old House Hour (check local listings). Viewers also may track the project by logging onto www.thisoldhouse.com.
Distributor News Horizon Forest Products (Raleigh, N.C.) has added a traveling sales trailer to its services. The Horizon trailer is stocked with sanding products, installation tools and parts. The trailer is the first of three that will work out of Horizon's North and South Carolina locations.
Hoboken Floors (Wayne, N.J.) has announced the opening of its newest location, Hoboken Floors South, in Jacksonville, Fla., featuring a state-of-the-art showroom, a professional products store and a warehouse. Nancy Devlin is the branch manager. The facility is open weekly Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. It is located at 7662 Philips Highway, Suite 24, Jacksonville, FL 32252. The phone number is 904/739-6664 and the fax is 904/739-6626.
Contractor News A hardwood flooring company specializing in the installation of specialty commercial and residential floors is for sale in the mid-South. According to the company, the business has a great cash flow, repeat customers and loyal, hardworking employees. A leader in its market, the company shows increasing sales and growth potential in an economically booming region. The owner's health forces the sale of the company; however, the owner is willing to stay on and train the new owner. Interested parties should contact Matt of Sunbelt Business Brokers at 479/582-5200 or e-mail [email protected].
The Wood Floor Guild held a workshop in advanced installation techniques Nov. 18-22 at Port St. Joe, Fla., sponsored by Decorative Flooring and FloorWatch.com. Instructing for the week were Howard Brickman, Brickman Consulting; Don Bollinger, Wood Floor Products; Layton Endres and Andrew St. James, Forest Floors; and Rick Wilson, Floor Man Company. The installation of approximately 800 square feet of flooring included intricate layout, bending, a radiated field, borders and pattern cutting. All students produced medallions they were able to take home. Interested installers can receive notification of future events by writing to WFG, P.O. Box 2115, Abington, MA 02351.
The inaugural NOFMA Certified Wood Flooring Inspector School, a weeklong training course presented by NOFMA, The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association on Nov. 4-8, drew 22 participants to Memphis. Students included independent floor covering inspectors, flooring contractors and representatives of both flooring product distributors and manufacturers. Course instructors included NOFMA's Mickey Moore; Evan Lauridsen of Armstrong Wood Products; Mike Sundell of Basic Coatings; Mark Brown of Carpet Arts Inspection Service, Kathy Allen from the University of Memphis; and NOFMA Technical Assistant Warren Spradlin. The course curriculum included flooring standards; wood technology; installation, sanding and finishing standards and guidelines; sanding and finishing performance issues; and more. In addition to classroom time, there was hands-on practice using demonstration panels showing flooring issues likely to be encountered on live inspections. Pass/no pass status will be issued this month. Those who pass must then complete a six-month probationary period before NOFMA certification will be issued.
Job Watch Pollmeier (Portland, Ore.), a manufacturer of unfinished and prefinished solid beech flooring, is looking for a salesperson for the West Coast. Candidates should have at least five years' experience in the solid wood flooring industry and should be willing to work out of the company's Portland, Ore., office and travel 50 percent or more of the time. The right candidate will be trustworthy, honest, self-motivated and a self-starter with high energy and enthusiasm. Applicants must communicate well with all kinds of people and must possess good computer skills. Interested parties should send a résumé to Pollmeier Inc., Attn.: Douglas Martin, 10200 S.W. Greenburg Road, Portland, OR 97223, fax 503/452-5801, or e-mail [email protected].
On the Web Penn Wood Products Company Inc. (East Berlin, Pa.) has launched a Web site for its Pennwood brand hardwood flooring in domestic, exotic and rare wood species; architectural, floor-related and decorative moldings and accessories; and specialty hardwood products. New product introductions, distributor inquiries and contact details also are available on the site at www.pennwoodproducts.com.
Absolute Coatings (New Rochelle, N.Y.) has enhanced versions of its www.trekfinish.com and www.lastnlast.com Web sites. The sites are user-friendly and more accommodating, with spec sheets and MSDS sheets available for download, the company says.
Corrections In the 2003 Hardwood Floors Resource Book and Networking Guide the phone number for REB Enterprises Inc. in Richmond Hill, Ontario, should have been listed as 905/787-8376.
In the last Hardwood Floors E-News/Fax newsletter, Leonard Hall of Endurance Floor Co. Inc. should have been listed as an instructor at the NWFA Installation and Sand-and-Finish School in Tampa, Fla., Nov. 12-15.
NWFA Member News Enterprise Fleet Services can assist your company with its commercial fleet needs. Whether leasing or buying, Enterprise can provide quality fleet management service. Enterprise also has a Medium-Duty Truck Department. Contact Enterprise at 877/23-FLEET or e-mail [email protected].
