Issue Date:10/27/2003
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Issue Date:10/27/2003
Hardwood Floors E-News Monday, Oct. 27, 2003 Issue 223 Next issue published Nov. 10, 2003 Deadline for items: Nov. 5, 2003 Send news to [email protected]
NWFA Schools Head to Canada and California The NWFA held its Introduction to Wood Flooring School in Toronto Oct. 21-24, with NWFA Technical Director Steve Seabaugh leading the instruction. Volunteer instructors for the school included: Jim Schumacher, 3M; Brent Sorbet, Basic Coatings; Roy Veerkamp, BonaKemi; Wayne Lee, Clarke American Sanders; Bob Russell, Dura Seal; Sharon Miller, Lenmar; Paul Tsamkiranis, Naturally Hardwood & Tile; Jerry Nuckles, Nuckles Hardwood Consulting; John Cormier, Padco; Curtis Richard, Primatech; Stuart Rishe, Rishe's Custom Hardwood Flooring; Steve Sharko, SLS Sales Agency; Mary Thur, Tembec; and A.J. Winstead, Virginia Abrasives Corp. Satin Finish Hardwood Flooring Ltd. hosted the school.
Also on Oct. 21-24, an Installation, Sand & Finish School was held in Anaheim, Calif., with 35 students in attendance. Lead instructors for the school were Steve Marley, Cal Coast Hardwood Flooring and Glenn Paris, Festool. Volunteer instructors for the event were: Dennis Plaut and Glenn Werneke, 3M; Tony Pantoja, Basic Coatings; Scott Greenwood, BonaKemi USA; Steve Lima, Bostik Findley; Don Smithson, Clarke American Sanders; Terry Green, Dura Seal; Sheldon Walker, Glitsa American; Mike DeFriese, Norton Abrasives; Chad Baker, PoloPlaz; Randy Moore, Powernail; Alan Blake, Stauf-USA Adhesive; Matt White, Tom Duffy Co.; Vikki Johnson, Wagner Electronic Products; Dave Posey, Wood Pro Floors; and Jon Namba, World Floor Covering Association. The World Floor Covering Association hosted the school.
Columbia Acquires Balance of Ownership in Century Flooring Effective October 1, Columbia Flooring (Danville, Va.) purchased ownership interest in Century Flooring (Melbourne, Ark.), a manufacturer of prefinished solid wood flooring, from North Pacific Group (Nor Pac). Columbia previously had a partnership with Nor Pac in the ownership of Century. The purchase price was not disclosed. "Our four-year relationship with Nor Pac has been very successful," said David Wootton, president of Columbia Flooring. "Although there will be no change in the brands manufactured at the Century facility, following our recent acquisition of Millwood Flooring in Georgia and the ramp-up of operations in West Virginia, we needed outright ownership of Century in order to take advantage of the synergies and logistical benefits from our different operations." The Millwood and Century acquisitions have pushed Columbia's revenues past the $160 million level, Wootton said, adding, "It is our intention to continue to grow, and we will evaluate all opportunities that make sense and add value."
Manufacturer News Groupe Profor Kedgwick Inc. (Kedgwick, New Brunswick), a new finishing plant for hardwood flooring, is accepting finishing contracts for flooring manufacturers in the United States and Canada. The plant is ready to process all types of flooring. It can apply up to nine coats of polyurethane finish (with aluminum oxide) with a UV lamp baked-on process. Companies interested in subcontracting the finish of their products should contact Groupe Profor CEO M. Andre Isabelle at 506/284-2838.
Distributor News Teragren Fine Floors, Panels and Veneers (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) has named E.J. Welch (St. Louis) its distributor for both the TimberGrass and Teragren bamboo flooring brands in the Midwest territories.
Venteak Corp. (Miami) has opened a warehouse in Houston in response to increasing demand in Texas for its solid unfinished flooring and decking products. Yajaira Medina-Marshall, Venteak's strategic partner in Texas, manages the warehouse. Medina-Marshall can be contacted at [email protected] or 832/215-8550. Including this warehouse, Venteak now holds 10 warehouses in the United States and five in other countries
Southeast Hardwood Flooring Distributors Inc. (Mandeville, La.) has added three new Lauzon Retailer of Excellence dealers: Floor Store of Acadiana (Lafayette, La.), The Floor Store (Gretna, La.) and Modern Flooring (New Orleans).
People News Shenandoah Plank by Cochran's Lumber & Millwork (Berryville, Va.) recently expanded its sales force to include Ken Price. Price is a 25-year veteran of the flooring industry and currently is setting up and training new dealers/contractors to sell the Shenandoah Plank line.
PPG Industries Inc. (Pittsburgh) has appointed Patrick J. Kenny to the newly created position of business manager for its new Construction Market Team. Kenny will be responsible for directing construction-market-focused initiatives among the company's flat glass, architectural finishes and industrial finishes businesses.
By the Numbers Strip shipments totaled 56,970,000 board feet in September, down 5 percent from the 59,808,000 board feet shipped during the same month in 2002, according to NOFMA: The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association. For the first nine months of 2003, strip shipments totaled 463,062,000 board feet, down 2 percent from the 470,282,000 board feet shipped during the same period in 2002.
Builders began work on new homes and apartments at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.89 million units in September, up 3.4 percent from August, according to the Commerce Department. Single-family starts rose 3.1 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.52 million units, almost entirely offsetting a decline in August. Overall housing starts rose in all regions except the South, which posted a 1.3 percent decline. The Northeast recorded a gain of 15.1 percent, while the Midwest and West posted 8.1 percent and 4.2 percent gains, respectively.
The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI) rose four points to 72 in October, its highest level since reaching the same mark in December of 1999. Component indexes also rose. The index gauging sales expectations for the next six months rose four points to 82; the index gauging current sales conditions rose six points to 79; and the index gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose two points to 53.
On the Web Taylor Adhesives (Fontana, Calif.) has launched its new interactive Web site at www.wftaylor.com. The site features a virtual tour, a coverage calculator, installation bulletins, MSDS sheets and more.
Job Watch HomerWood Hardwood Flooring (Titusville, Pa.) is in search of a West Coast sales representative. Travel for this position is anticipated to be approximately 50 percent, and a base location in the Portland, Ore., or Nevada area is preferred. All locations will be considered. This challenging position offers a competitive salary, commission and benefits. Interested parties should e-mail a résumé to [email protected] or call 814/827-3855.
A manufacturer/distributor of engineered, prefinished Italian wood floors is seeking a south Florida-based regional representative to call on architects, designers, dealers and developers in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Candidates must have three years' previous experience in hardwood flooring and sales. The position offers salary, commission and expenses. Résumés should be faxed to 305/446-4675 or e-mailed to [email protected].
Mark Your Calendar The NWFA will hold its Installation, Sand & Finish School in Greenville, S.C., Nov. 4-7 and its Factory Finished Wood Flooring School in Miami, Nov. 11-12. For more information on these schools, visit www.nwfa.org, or call the NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international).
NWFA Member Services The Profit Planning Group has completed the 2003 Dealers and Contractors Employee Compensation Report. This report presents detailed analyses of base salary, commissions or bonuses, and benefit levels for executive positions, as well as for sales, production and administrative employees. Data is presented for the typical NWFA member, dealer/retailer and contractor with or without a showroom. To download a free copy of this report, visit www.nwfa.org and click on "Membership Services" and then on "Statistical Reports." Free copies of the report also are available by calling the NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international).