Issue Date:3/29/2004
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Issue Date:3/29/2004
Hardwood Floors E-News Monday, March 29, 2004 Issue 234 Next issue published April 12, 2004 Deadline for items: April 7, 2004 Send news to mailto:[email protected] Manufacturer News Clarke American Sanders (Chesterfield, Mo.) has launched its new customer service campaignâ€" "The Pride Program." As part of the program, the company is offering a 60-day satisfaction guarantee, which applies to certain machine models if the equipment does not perform to the customer's satisfaction due to a defect in mechanical design, workmanship or parts. In addition, the Quality Management System on the company's Web site at www.americansanders.com allows customers to communicate directly with the factory in Springdale, Ark. The company says it is committed to responding to its customer comments within two business days. Also as part of the program, Clark is giving away a free edger every quarter in a random drawing of all returned warranty cards. Distributor News Teragren LLC (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) has named Butler Johnson Corporation (San Jose, Calif.) its flooring distributor for Northern California. For more information, call 800/776-2167. Finium (Frampton, Quebec) now is manufacturing moldings for Model Hardwoods (St-Edouard de Lotbiniere, Quebec), offering prefinished moldings with a perfect color match for all Model flooring stain colors and species. Eliminating the need for Model to stock moldings, Finium has instituted "just-in-time delivery," shipping product to Model within two to three days, it says. Junckers Hardwood Inc. (Anaheim, Calif.) has appointed West Source Enterprises Inc. (Calgary, Alberta) to serve as its agent for western Canada, responsible for all Junckers sales in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. West Sources' primary focus will be calling on architects and designers; however, to develop the residential side of the area's business, West Source will be aligning itself with a few exclusive dealers in each of the provinces. In addition, Junckers has named MacAllister & Associates Ltd. (Apache Junction, Ariz.) its agent for the state of Arizona and has entered into a distribution agreement with FSC Flooring Distributors Inc. (Sheboygan, Wis.) for the states of Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa. FSC has exclusive rights to distribute Junckers' solid hardwood flooring, moldings and accessories in this territory. Welson & York Inc. (City of Industry, Calif.) has added Décor Dimensions International Inc. (Cheyenne, Wyo.) as its sales agency for the states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, western Nebraska, Wyoming, as well as El Paso, Texas. Clair or Marcy Hoover can be reached at 307/640-4523. In addition, Welson & York is searching for sales agencies in various parts of the eastern United States. Interested parties should call Gary Adcox at 877/918-1118. Bricking Hardwood Flooring Distributors Inc. (Austin, Texas) has purchased a new, 10,000-square-foot facility that will include office space, a warehouse and a showroom for contractors. Bricking Hardwood will move into the facility in June and will continue to focus on serving wood flooring contractors in central Texas and the surrounding states, it says. The new facility also will showcase a completely restored and functional 1941 Chevrolet delivery truck. For more information, call 512/832-9303. Contractor News Amber Flooring (Emeryville, Calif.) has opened a new showroom in Danville, Calif., at 409 Sycamore Valley Road in the Danville Livery & Mercantile Center. The showroom features a wide variety of flooring options with many finished wood species samples. For more information, call 925/820-5110, visit www.amberflooring.com or fax 925/820-5120. The showroom is open Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Agency/Consulting News Floormasters International (Saugus, Mass.), a company offering educational information and training to the wood floor finishing industry, has a new address and contact information: Bill Price, Floormasters International, 12 Pranker Road, Saugus, MA 01906; 781/941-2218; fax 781/941-2219; e-mail [email protected]. Randy Prewitt, a former director of technical training for the NWFA and a 30-year veteran of the flooring industry, has started Florteck Consulting (St. Louis, Mo.), a firm designed to develop on-site technical training programs for the wood flooring industry. Florteck also offers mediation/arbitration services for contractors and other businesses, as well as marketing services for manufacturers not currently represented by distribution in Missouri or Illinois. Prewitt can be reached at 314/606-5805 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Dean A. Nichol has started East to West/Architectural Products Inc. (East Northport, N.Y.). East to West is a multi-line agency providing all levels of flooring material to national accounts in retail, hospitality, corporate facilities and more. In addition, consulting services are provided to manufacturers entering the commercial flooring arena, including strategic marketing systems, sales campaigns and sales force placements. People News Aaron Rickman has been named plant manager at Mullican Flooring's newly acquired Bluegrass Specialty Flooring (Bowling Green, Ky.) operation. Rickman had worked at the company's Ronceverte, W. Va., operation since 1996 where he served as a night shift supervisor. The Bluegrass operation was built in 1998 and manufactures 21/4-inch solid, unfinished red oak and white oak flooring. The facility employs 48 people. Southeast Hardwood Flooring Distributors Inc. (Mandeville, La.) has hired Tracy Foret as its salesman for Louisiana. Foret previously was employed with Congoleum and Readers. DriTac Adhesive Group (Brooklyn, N.Y.) has appointed David Clarkson to the position of Southeast regional sales manager and Wade Hagan to the position of Southwest regional sales manager. Both Clarkson and Hagan come to DriTac with experience in the hardwood flooring and adhesives industry. Clarkson's background includes positions with Hartco, J.J. Haines Inc. and Franklin Adhesives. He will be responsible for sales and service to all DriTac distributors in the Southeast region, including North Carolina, South Carolina, central and east Tennessee, northern Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Hagan comes to DriTac with many years of experience in servicing national accounts at Bruce Hardwood Floors and Universal Wood Floors. He will be responsible for the Southwest region, including Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, central and southern Mississippi, Arkansas and western Tennessee. By the Numbers In February 2004, strip shipments totaled 51,646,000 board feet, up 9 percent from the 47,342,000 board feet shipped during the same month in 2003, according to NOFMA: The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association. For the first two months of 2004, 106,153,000 board feet have been shipped, up 11 percent from the 95,616,000 board feet shipped during the same period the previous year. Sales of new single-family houses in February 2004 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,163,000, according to estimates released jointly by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 5.8 percent above the revised January rate of 1,099,000 and is 24.4 percent above the February 2003 estimate of 935,000. Two regions posted sales increases for Februaryâ€"the West, with a 28.5 percent gain, posted the largest increase, and the Northeast posted a 12 percent gain. The South declined 1.2 percent from the month before and the Midwest rate dropped 10.6 percent. Housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,855,000, down 4.0 percent from the revised January estimate of 1,932,000, according to the Commerce Department. February 2004 housing starts were 13.1 percent higher than the February 2003 rate of 1,640,000. Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 1,489,000, down 4.1 percent from the January figure of 1,553,000. The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index for March remained unchanged from February's reading of 64; however, two out of three of the HMI's component indexes slipped in March. The index gauging sales of new single-family homes fell two points to 69, while the index gauging sales expectations for the next six months declined three points to 70. Meanwhile, the index gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose two points to 48, indicating some slight improvement in the flow of visitors to model homes over the last month. The greater Atlanta area, which recorded 53,750 single-family housing permits last year, led the nation in housing activity for the 13th consecutive year, according to the NAHB. Rounding out the top five housing markets for single-family permits were the metropolitan areas of Phoenix-Mesa, with 46,590, Riverside-San Bernardino with 35,730, Houston with 33,970 and Washington, D.C., with 30,760. The total issuance of single-family permits across the country for 2003 was 1.444 million, according to the Commerce Department. Job Watch Bamboo Advantage Inc. (Boston) is searching for independent sales representatives in the Tri-State (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) and New England (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine) areas. Responsibilities include working with and generating sales from interior designers, architects, builders, contractors and developers, as well as communicating with and educating installation contractors. The ideal candidate will have a minimum of five years' experience in sales, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and hardwood flooring or related industry experience. Qualified candidates should submit a résumé to Bamboo Advantage Inc., Attn: Carlos Verrier, by fax at 617/670-1837 or by e-mail at [email protected]. For Sale Millwork of Idaho (St. Anthony, Idaho) is for sale. The business includes a 12,400-square-foot building on four acres of land, two Weinig molders and other equipment valued at $150,000. The company manufactures Douglas fir flooring and custom flooring for other flooring companies, as well as wood doors and adjustable wood stilts. The company, which was started in 1946 as a family-owned business, has sales throughout the United States and has been at its St. Anthony location since 1982. The business is listed with Great Western Business Systems (972/980-9969 or gwbs.com). For more information, contact Lawrance Nielsen or Catherine evenings at 208/356-8248 or e-mail [email protected]. On the Web Goodwin Heart Pine (Micanopy, Fla.) has launched a new Web site at www.heartpine.com. The site features an interactive game where viewers can "color" a longleaf heart pine forest and its native animals; a history about how all 90 million acres of the longleaf forest was cut to extinction to build America; guides on how to install, finish and maintain wood floors; and a gallery of antique wood floors. Floormasters International has a Web site at www.floormasters.com that includes ShopTalk, a bulletin board that owner Bill Price has hosted since 1999. Professional floor finishers discuss products and procedures with input from manufacturers from all areas of the industry. The site maintains 11,000 archived postings. Mark Your Calendar The NAHB's Building for Boomers & Beyond: Seniors Housing Symposium 2004 will be held April 14Ð16 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The event includes education programs on how to design, develop, market and sell to the 50-plus market; the latest research and trends; and the lucrative senior rental-property market. For more information, visit www.nahb.com Astana Build 2004 will be held May 19Ð21 in Astana, Kazakhstan, and will feature building and finishing materials, millwork and woodwork, interior and design materials, building equipment and construction instruments and more. More than 250 companies from 18 countries took part in Astana Build 2003. Also, Kazbuild 2004: The 11th Kazakhstan International Exhibition of Construction and Interiors, Heating and Ventilation will be held at the Atakent Exhibition Center in Almaty, Kazakhstan Sept. 8Ð11. The show features exhibitors from all sectors of the construction industry. For more information on these events, contact Maria Barnish at the ITE Group Plc at 44-20-7596-5169 or e-mail [email protected]. NWFA Member Services The NWFA 2004 Education Conference and Wood Flooring Expo, to be held April 14Ð17 in Charlotte, N.C., will include exhibits by several member service companies. Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity by visiting the booths of these member services: Freightquote.com, Tek-Collect Debt Collection and The Hartford for Business Risk Insurance. NWFA members can save $5 per day and up to $25 off of car rental during the NWFA convention. Hertz Corporation offers members a special convention price, plus the standard member discount. This special offer is valid April 5Ð25, 2004. Mention your CDP number and the Special Price PC number when making an advanced reservation. Present your Member Savings Card or your Membership Card for identification at the time of rental. Contact the NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international) for your special numbers and your Member Savings Card. Make your reservation online at www.hertz.com, or call 800/654-2240.Read Next