Issue Date:12/23/2002
Hardwood Floors E-News Monday, December 23, 2002 Issue 201 Next issue published January 6, 2003 Deadline for items: January 2, 2003 Send news to [email protected]
PermaGrain Products Files Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Wood flooring manufacturer PermaGrain Products Inc. (Newtown Square, Pa.) voluntarily filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Dec. 17. No assets are reported. The case's first meeting will be held on Jan. 14, 2003, according to the bankruptcy court filing records. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) reported it took over security at PermaGrain's facility in Karthaus, Pa., following the company's bankruptcy filing. The company, which used radioactive cobalt-60 to mold plastics with wood to create acrylic-impregnated commercial wood flooring at its Karthaus plant, ceased operations on Nov. 11, 2002.
Rumblings that the company had fallen on hard times had been circulating. "They had been in trouble for awhile," says Jeff Hamar, president of Galleher Hardwood Co. (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.), a PermaGrain distributor. "The company had been trying to sell, and there were a number of people both inside and outside of the industry that had looked at it. The most viable deal that they put together was with Gammapar, but that really fell apart in early December for the last time. So, they had no other alternative than to declare Chapter 7 and essentially cease doing business. The banks and other creditors are currently liquidating the assets." Hamar says that his company suspected financial trouble for a while but had received no written notices.
According to Hamar, PermaGrain's trouble can be attributed to three factors. The first was the soft economy in the commercial market, with business slowing dramatically after September 11 last year. The second was quality problems with its biggest customer-the Gap. A third problem involved some product diversifications that didn't work out. "They essentially ran huge operating losses for a while and just ended up shutting down," Hamar says, adding that all of the company's plants have been shut down. "I think it's unlikely that anything will emerge out of the rubble of PermaGrain," he notes.
PermaGrain's executives have been unavailable for comment for several weeks, and the company's lawyer also was unavailable at press time.
Armstrong Files Disclosure Statement for Chapter 11 Plan Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (Lancaster, Pa.) has filed a proposed disclosure statement for its Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization (POR) with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The Court must approve the disclosure statement before AWI can solicit votes on its POR, which was filed with the Court on November 4, 2002, and called for the creation of a billion-dollar trust to resolve the thousands of current and future asbestos-related claims. The disclosure statement, along with AWI's POR and related information, is available at www.armstrongplan.com. In the statement, AWI estimates that the total value to be distributed to the asbestos personal injury trust, other than the insurance asset, will be approximately $2.1 billion, and the total value to be distributed to holders of allowed unsecured claims will be approximately $1.1 billion. The POR will only become effective after a vote of various classes of creditors and with the approval of the Court. The Court has not yet scheduled a hearing on the proposed Disclosure Statement.
Armstrong, which includes the Bruce, Hartco and Robbins wood flooring brands, filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 6, 2000, as it faced litigation over its manufacture of asbestos in the 1960s.
Mohawk holds two conventions in Scottsdale, Ariz. Mohawk Industries (Dalton, Ga.) held two back-to-back conventions Dec. 3-7 at the Biltmore Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Mohawk Product Premiere Convention held Dec. 3-4 gave about 200 of its top retailers a pre-Surfaces sneak peek at Mohawk's new product offerings for 2003. "Dealers appreciate our Product Premiere event because they can view our full assortment of flooring products in one area," said Ed Williams, senior vice president of marketing. The sneak peek included an expanded hardwood product line and more longstrip offerings.
The Mohawk Floorscapes Convention, held Dec. 5-7, gave dealers a chance to learn about new products, displays and merchandising strategies as well as network with other Mohawk Floorscapes dealers. The convention also gave Mohawk a chance to gain feedback from these concept store owners. "We spend a great deal of time listening, and we have a careful review of notes after the conventions are over," Williams said. Several educational seminars were offered as well as leisure activities. Fox Sports broadcaster and NFL-great Terry Bradshaw was a featured speaker.
Distributor News Artistic Finishes Inc. (Roseville, Minn.) has signed McKee Floor Covering Inc. (Eagan, Minn.) as its newest hardwood molding distributor. McKee Floor Covering sells hardwood and laminate flooring products through a network of retail dealers throughout the Midwest.
Gold Coast Flooring Supply (Hicksville, N.Y.) has opened a new 25,000-square-foot facility. The location includes 3,000 square feet of showroom space. Coinciding with the opening of the new location is the acquisition of the Witex Ceramic, Engineered Hardwood and Laminate lines.
National Hardwood Flooring & Moulding (Van Nuys, Calif.) has added a new warehouse as its sixth location in Van Nuys, Calif. The company has an in-house milling facility and a showroom that allows the customer to view moldings and flooring side by side. Stains, glues, finishes and abrasives also are in stock and on display.
Erickson's Flooring & Supply (Ferndale, Mich.) has expanded its territory to cover the southern Ohio market, including Cincinnati and Dayton. Contact Tony Hutson or Erickson's customer service at 800/225-9663 for more information.
People News Green River Lumber (Great Barrington, Mass.) has announced the addition of Scott Taylor as general sales manager. Taylor joins the company from Connor Sports Flooring, where he served as central sales regional manager. He can be reached at 413/528-9000.
3M Co. (St. Paul, Minn.) has promoted Tony Fulco as its newest floor sanding sales specialist. Fulco has held sales and marketing positions with 3M for the past eight years. He will be based in Chicago and will be responsible for 3M floor sanding distributors and end-users in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and portions of Wisconsin.
Allwood Imports LLC (Portland, Ore.) has hired Jason Warner to manage the sales and marketing of hardwood and bamboo flooring in California. Interested distributors should contact him at 503/255-7976 or e-mail [email protected].
By the Numbers Builders revved up the pace at which they started new homes to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.70 million units in November, according to the Commerce Department. This was a 2.4 percent increase from an upwardly revised rate of 1.66 million units in October. Single-family starts were up nearly 1 percent from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.39 million units in November. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is projecting a total of 1.69 million housing starts for 2002, the greatest number in 16 years.
The NAHB Housing Market Index (HMI) rose one point from November's revised reading to 65, its highest level since November of 2000, when it also reached 65. For December, the HMI's component index gauging current sales of new single-family homes rose one point to 72, its strongest reading since February of 2000, when it reached 77. The component gauging expectations for the next six months declined a point to 69, while the index gauging traffic of prospective buyers was unchanged at 48.
Job Watch Tembec (Hunstville, Ontario), a manufacturer of Muskoka Prefinished Hardwood Flooring and unfinished hardwood flooring, currently is seeking an account manager to cover the Midwest. For additional information, contact Robert Belisle at 800/461-5386 or e-mail him at [email protected].
On the Web Erickson's Flooring & Supply (Ferndale, Mich.) has announced its Web site at www.ericksonsfloors.com.
Allwood Imports LLC (Portland, Ore.) has launched an online inventory for its distributors at www.allwoodimport.com. Current distributors should call 503/255-7976 for a password. New distributors may complete an online application or call for a password.
Muskoka Prefinished Hardwood Flooring by Tembec (Huntsville, Ontario) recently updated its Web site at www.muskokaflooring.com. In addition, Muskoka has a new product brochure featuring all its species and grades.
Suncoast Bamboo (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) has an online catalog at www.suncoastbamboo.com. Flooring retailers interested in becoming resellers should fill out the online application or e-mail [email protected].
The Swedish wood flooring team of Wasa Hardwood, Forbo Parquet and Siljan Wood Products now are linked on the Web. For the hand-distressed and prefinished Siljan Designer Line, visit www.wasahardwood.com. For Forbo's precision-milled plank flooring, visit www.forboparquet.com, and for Siljan's Nordic red heart pine floors (engineered and solid), visit www.siljan.com. All three sites are linked through www.wasahardwood.com.
Creative Hardwood Designs (Colgate, Wis.) has launched its Web site at www.chd-medallions.com. Access it by typing "contractors" as the user name and "123chd" as the password.
Mark Your Calendar Erickson's Flooring & Supply (Ferndale, Mich.) soon will begin its annual warehouse sale/contractor seminars for 2003. Seminars will be held at each Erickson's location. The dates are as follows: Grand Rapids, Mich.: Jan. 18; Ferndale, Mich.: Feb. 8; Chicago: Feb. 22; and Indianapolis: March 1. To sign up or to get more information, call 800/225-9663.
Domotex 2003, the world trade fair for carpet and other floor coverings, will be held Jan. 11-14, 2003, in Hannover, Germany. More than 1,000 companies from more than 60 countries will exhibit. For more information, visit www.domotex.de.
Dri-Eaz (Burlington, Wash.) will host a grand opening at its new Southeast Operations Center in Nashville, Tenn., January 14-17, as it kicks off the facility's inaugural Applied Structural Drying (ASD) course. For more information, contact Lance Fisher at 800/932-3030, ext. 255. In other Dri-Eaz news, the company will hold its 2003 Restorative Drying Symposium May 1-3 at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. Speakers will address issues such as wood drying, mold, airborne contaminants in water restoration and indoor air quality. The event also includes tracks on marketing and financial management specific to small businesses. Registration includes all speaker presentations, hotel accommodations and meals on Friday and Saturday. The cost is $799 per person based on double occupancy. For more information call 800/932-3030 or visit www.dri-eaz.com.
The International Flooring Exhibition (IFE) 2003, will take place during Coverings 2003, March 24-27, 2003, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. Floor covering products from more than 1,350 companies, representing more than 45 countries, will be included in IFE. New this year, all IFE exhibitors will be intermingled with Coverings exhibitors, allowing IFE exhibitors to benefit from the same traffic generated from the existing show. In other Coverings news, Vision 2003, the professional education seminar of Coverings 2003, will feature live simultaneous translation from English to Spanish of its key speaker presentations and a variety of instructional sessions.
Wanted: Old Photos & Floor Scrapers Do you have old wood flooring photos or tools gathering dust? Have a good story from the old days to share? We need them for our Vintage Moments section. Send your stories or photos of people and tools to Vintage Moments, Hardwood Floors, 4130 Lien Road, Madison, WI 53704 or e-mail them to [email protected]. We'll send you a free Hardwood Floors T-shirt if we use your item (all items can be returned).
Do you have an antique floor scraper or old photos of floor scrapers in use? If so, contact Bob Moffett at 713/551-8484. He is looking to assemble items for a display on the history of floor scrapers.
NWFA Member Services You can enjoy low Web rates, special offers and member savings discounts when you visit Hertz Rental Cars at www.hertz.com. Choose from a wide variety of cars, find convenient locations anywhere in the world and click your way through to check out the services only Hertz can provide. Always remember to enter your Hertz discount CDP number in each reservation, and then present your membership card or Hertz member savings card at the time of rental. If you prefer to make your reservation by phone, call Hertz at 800/654-2200.
