Issue Date:2/3/2003
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Issue Date:2/3/2003
Hardwood Floors E-News Tuesday, February 4, 2003 Issue 204 Next issue published February 17, 2003 Deadline for items: February 13, 2003 Send news to [email protected]
Surfaces 2003 Exhibitors Call the Show a Success Although official numbers were not available at press time, many at Surfaces 2003 last week speculated that the trade show may have been the biggest yet, surpassing 2001's record attendance of 39,183. The show, the largest in the floor covering industry, was held at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas Jan. 29-31. There were 944 exhibiting companies, a 3 percent increase over 2001. As has been the pattern in recent years, wood flooring's presence continued to grow, and there were 153 exhibiting NWFA-member companies, compared with 133 in 2002. New wood flooring product introductions from the major manufacturers at the show demonstrated continued trends in distressed floors, dark colors and exotic species.
Traffic was good on both floors of the show for most of the three days. "Our traffic was by far and away the best it's ever been-there wasn't any delay in it starting off as there has been sometimes," said Bill Clossin, vice president of marketing for wood flooring manufacturer Harris-Tarkett (Johnson City, Tenn.). John Mayers, director of sales and marketing for finish manufacturer Dura Seal (Upper Saddle River, N.J.), agreed. "We had a good show; it gets better every year," he said, noting that an increasing number of finish manufacturers now are exhibiting at the show. He added that the number of international attendees is growing, as well. The number of international wood flooring exhibitors also appeared to increase, with bamboo and other Asian imports continuing to have a strong presence.
Armstrong Restructures Worldwide Flooring Products Team Chan Galbato, president, Armstrong Worldwide Flooring Products (Lancaster, Pa.), has restructured the company's leadership team. Frank Ready, previously senior vice president of residential and consumer floor marketing, now is senior vice president of worldwide operations, and is responsible for resilient- and wood-products manufacturing, the sourcing of all products and raw materials, product distribution and environmental health and safety. Michael Badar, previously vice president of wood flooring, now is senior vice president of North American sales and marketing, and is responsible for all "go-to-market" functions for the company in North America, including sales, marketing, product management, distribution, styling and customer service. Roger Oates continues to be vice president of marketing, and Joe Thompson, previously vice president of marketing for Armstrong Wood Products, is the vice president of product management for wood flooring. Badar has relocated from the Dallas office to Armstrong's headquarters in Lancaster. At a press conference on Jan. 28 at Surfaces 2003, Galbato said "Armstrong has had a nice run over the last 18 to 25 months," but explained that the company's functions were "too separate" and that the new leadership alignment brings a more "holistic" approach. In addition, he said that the Dallas location is being "deemphasized," and that part of Ready's job will be to look at the "manufacturing footprint," indicating that consolidation is a possibility. The company's four brands-Armstrong, Bruce, Hartco and Robbins-will retain their separate identities.
Regarding Armstrong's Chapter 11 filing, Galbato said his best guess for emergence from bankruptcy would be within the next six to 10 months, and he would not comment on the many rumors regarding what would happen to the company at that point. He did say that the bankruptcy filing "was the most spiritually liberating event in the last decade at Armstrong."
2002 Strip Shipments Highest Since 1966 For the year 2002, strip shipments numbered 627.5 million board feet, up 8 percent from the 579.6 million board feet shipped during 2001, according to statistics from NOFMA, The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association (Memphis, Tenn.). This is the highest modern-day strip wood flooring shipment total since 1966, when 654 million board feet were shipped. Shipments peaked in 1955 with 1.2 billion board feet; the low point was in 1982, when only 75 million board feet were shipped. In December 2002, shipments were 9 percent lower than the total shipped in December 2001. Shipments that month numbered 52,990,000 board feet, compared with 57,996,000 board feet in December 2001.
Lauzon Industries to Acquire Produits Forestiers Turpin Inc. Lauzon Industries Inc. (Papineauville, Quebec) has reached an agreement to acquire Produits Forestiers Turpin Inc. (Thurso, Quebec), Canada's largest hardwood sawmill. The acquisition is expected to close sometime between February 15 and 18, and is subject to completion of final due diligence and other related formalities. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed. The agreement provides for dual management of Turpin, which was effective as of February 1. Founded in 1926, Turpin is a leader in the sawmill industry, reputed for its expertise in handling species including hard maple, birch and others. Its state-of-the-art Thurso mill, located near Ottawa, generates more than 25 million board feet annually. It currently operates three conventional production lines, two other lines designed for smaller dimension logs and eight kiln dryers with a capacity of 460,000 board feet per load. In 1997, its quality control system qualified under International Standards, resulting in ISO 9002 certification. "This major transaction is not only timely and strategic-it occurs while demand on noble hardwood lumber species from our Northern forests reaches a record high," Lauzon CEO David Lauzon said. "Turpin is a sure match given Lauzon's strategic development objectives to further expand its vertical integration aimed at increasing raw material access to secure long-term supply of its hardwood flooring mills."
Zinsser Co. Buys Assets of Parks Corporation Zinsser Co. (Somerset, N.J.), an RPM Company, has completed the purchase of the assets of Parks Corporation, which manufactures floor finishes, paint removers and other products. The assets include a 55,000-square-foot factory and distribution center in Riverside, Calif., and a 125,000-square-foot factory and distribution center in LeSage, W.V. The Parks headquarters is in Fall River, Mass. "The assets of Parks include a number of excellent formulas and viable brands thatgive us the opportunity to expand into new product lines and niche markets not currently occupied by Zinsser," said Robert Senior, Zinsser president.
NWFA Awards 2002 Members' Choice Floor of the Year Winner The NWFA has announced the winner of its 2002 Members' Choice Floor of the Year award in the Master Division. DM Hardwood Designs (Mission Viejo, Calif.), which also received the 2002 award for Best Manufacturer Finished Design, was the winner. The other 2002 winners were announced at the 2002 NWFA convention in Orlando; due to a rule violation, the voting for this award was done late last year on the NWFA's Web site.
The deadline for entries in the 2003 Floor of the Year competition is this week-Friday, Feb. 7. The 2003 Members' Choice voting will be done on the NWFA Web site; watch future copies of this newsletter for more details as they become available. For more information, contact NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or [email protected].
NWFA Pre-Surfaces Factory-Finished School a Success Thirty-eight students attended NWFA's Factory-Finished Wood Flooring Installation School held Jan. 27-28 at the Carpenters International Training Center in Las Vegas.NWFA's Steve Seabaugh led the class aided by volunteer instructors Galen Fitzel, 3M Construction; Todd Weston, Armstrong Wood Products; Evandro Carvalho and John Blesing, Blesing's Wood Floors; Wayne Lee, Clarke American Sanders; Mark Schroeder, Kahrs International Inc.; Don Connor, Mullican Flooring; and Tom Tyers and Tom Peotter, Oshkosh Floor Designs. There will be four more schools at the Las Vegas training facility this year: Introduction to Wood Flooring Installation, Feb. 25-28; Dynamics of Wood Flooring Sales, Feb. 26; Advanced Installation, June 5-7; and Installation and Sand & Finish, October 21-24.
Manufacturer News Maxwell Hardwood Flooring (Monticello, Ark.) will be featured on a series of nationally broadcast television segments called "Terry Bradshaw's 'Pick of the Week' " produced by Broadcast News Channel. The series airs on MSNBC and highlights success stories from around the country, focusing on companies and organizations that represent the backbone of the American economy, the company says. The segment will air on Feb. 27 sometime between 7:45 and 8:15 a.m. EST on MSNBC. For more information, visit www.broadcastnewschannel.com.
Preverco Inc. (St. Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec) recently won two regional prizes (Desjardins' Commercial Merit and Desjardins' Recognition Prize) recognizing the overall quality of the organization based on its tremendous growth, major investments, employment creation and innovative practices, the company says.
People News Preverco Inc. has announced that Glen Miller has joined the company. Miller, who has been in the wood flooring industry since 1976 and recently was with Satin Finish Hardwood Flooring covering national sales and education, will act as the sales manager for Preverco. He also will be responsible for setting up new marketing and training programs for the company. Miller can be reached by phone at 416/232-2111 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Due to a non-life-threatening illness, Lynn Musolf-Merila is stepping down as president of Lon Musolf Distributing (Vadnais Heights, Minn.). Steven Merila now assumes the position of president.
By the Numbers January's Housing Market Index fell one point to 64, returning to November's level after hitting a two-year high of 65 in December, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The component index gauging current sales activity dropped back to 69, still a high level but down three points from December's reading of 72. The index gauging sales expectations in the next six months declined one point to 68, while the index gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose two points to 50 in January.
In December, housing starts rose 5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.84 million units, with a nearly 5 percent increase on the single-family side. The government also revised substantially upward its previous reports on housing starts of October and November, according to the Commerce Department. The latest numbers bring the 2002 total to 1.7 million housing units produced, including 1.36 million single-family units. Starts rose across every region in December.
Both indexes that make up NAHB's Remodeling Market Index (RMI) fell in the fourth quarter of 2002 compared with the previous quarter; however, year-over-year comparisons show more marginal declines. The index gauging current market conditions was 43.2 at the end of 2002, down 6.6 points from the previous quarter but less than two points below its 45 reading at the end of 2001. The index gauging future expectations was 39.1 at the end of the year, down about nine points from the third quarter's 48.2 reading.
Total new home sales for 2002 reached 976,000, up 7.5 percent from the previous annual record of 908,000 units set in 2001. For the month of December alone, new-home sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.08 million units, up 3.5 percent from November, according to the Commerce Department. This is the fastest sales rate for any month on record and marks the fifth consecutive month of sales above the million-unit rate. The inventory of unsold new homes was at a 3.8 months' supply at the end of 2002, about the same level as last year and down slightly from a 3.9 months' supply in November.
On the Web Glitsa American (Seattle) remodeled Web site is at www.glitsa.com. Navigational tools have been added for easier access, and MSDS sheets, specification sheets, newsletter articles and other features also are available.
Boone Wood Brokers has introduced its new Web site at www.BooneWoodBrokers.com.
Job Watch Boa-Franc Inc. (St. Georges, Quebec) is looking to hire a direct sales representative for Florida. Hard-working, self-sufficient candidates who have at least five years' experience in sales and merchandising of hardwood flooring or other products should e-mail a résumé to [email protected] or mail to Boa-Franc/Mirage, 1255 98th St., St. Georges, QC G5Y 8J5, Canada.
Mark Your Calendar The Floor Covering Institute of Technical Services (FCITS) will hold a flooring inspection course for qualified inspectors taught by Howard Brickman of Brickman Consulting (Norwell, Mass). The first class will begin Feb. 17. For more information, contact FCITS at 706/259-4155.
Oshkosh Floor Designs, Basic Coatings, 3M and Clarke will hold their Professional Sand & Finish School on the following dates in 2003: Feb. 27-March 1 (Seattle); March 5-7 (Birmingham, Ala.); May 8-10 (Livonia, Mich.); Oct. 9-11 (Denver); and Oct. 30-Nov.1 (St. Louis). Attendees learn the basics of sanding and finishing by participating in hands-on training. The $250 fee includes a certificate, lunch each day, a T-shirt and two NWFA credits.
The Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association (Chicago, Ill.) will hold its 10th annual meeting March 8-10 at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas. The event will include a lineup of seminars, roundtable discussions and general sessions, as well as a showroom of exhibits. For more information, contact Madhuri Carson by phone at 847/480-9138, fax 847/480-9282 or e-mail [email protected].
The High Museum of Art (Atlanta) now is holding a non-traditional Impressionist exhibit focusing on images of Paris. Of particular interest to the industry is the 1873 painting "The Floor Scrapers" by Gustave Caillebotte, which usually is on display only at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. The exhibit will be in place through March 16.Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.ParisinAtlanta.org or www.high.org, or by calling the museum at 404/733-5000.
Member Services "Problems, Causes and Cures" is one of NWFA's most requested technical publications. Recently revised, this useful troubleshooting guide now includes color photography to help you identify problems you may encounter on the job. It is available to members for $5 per copy. To order, contact NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or [email protected]. Order extra copies of the eight other Technical Manual chapters, including "Water and Wood," "Maintenance and Recoating," "Ornamental Floors" and more.