Issue Date:3/21/2005
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Issue Date:3/21/2005
Hardwood Floors E-News Monday, March 21, 2005 Issue 259 Next issue published April 4, 2005 Deadline for items: March 30, 2005 Send news to [email protected]
------------------------------------------------------------------------NOFMA/NWFA/MFMA Holds Basic Wood Flooring School The NOFMA/NWFA/MFMA Basic Wood Flooring School was held last week at the NWFA headquarters in St. Louis, and 75 students learned about installing, sanding and finishing all types of wood floors. NWFA Director of Technical Training Steve Seabaugh and NOFMA's Mickey Moore led the school assisted by NWFA Assistant Director of Technical Training Rusty Swindoll and instructors Galen Fitzel, 3M; Brent Sorbet and Leonard Chapman, Basic Coatings; Eric Heronema and Dee Lenston, BonaKemi USA; Wayne Lee, Clarke American Sanders; Bill Costello, Dura Seal; Randy Wirtz, Glitsa American; Bob Goldstein, Kleist Inc.; John Dailey, Midwest Restoration and Inspection Service; Nick Motto, Motto's Carpet Inc.; Don Conner, Mullican Flooring; Glen Miller, David Vinson and John Rider, NOFMA; Richard Wheeler Sr., Porta-Nails Inc.; Curtis Richard, Primatech Inc.; Tony Miraldi, Somerset Wood Products Inc.; Floyd Shelton, Superior Floor Co. Inc.; and Vikki Johnson, Wagner Electronic Products.
Mannington Mills Announces Plans to Expand Wood Manufacturing Facilities Mannington Mills (Salem, N.J.) has announced plans to expand both capacity and capability at its facilities in Epes, Ala., and High Point, N.C. The $35 million expansion project will more than double Mannington's current hardwood manufacturing capacity.
According to Kim Holm, president of residential business at Mannington, the expansion will allow the company to keep up with the rapid growth of its engineered prefinished floors and handle forecasted continued growth in the category. "Throughout the process, there will be no loss of capacity. We'll be fully operational," says Doug Brown, Mannington's vice president of operations for wood and laminate. The company plans to complete the expansion by the end of 2005.Manufacturer News Owens Flooring Company (Shawano, Wis.) has completed the move to its new 120,000-square-foot manufacturing plant, which is up and running. Soon, the balance of the new machinery will arrive, and with it will come more production capacity and improved product availability, the company says. The company's new address is 105 Plank Road, Shawano, WI 54166. The phone and fax numbers remain the same: 888/675-9663 (toll-free), 715/524-6070 (customer service), 715/526-7740 (sales) and 715/524-3204 (fax).
As of March 10, 2005, Kährs International (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) has a new certification number registered with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The number, SA-COC-1409, certifies Kährs International as a full member of FSC under the new October 2004 regulations. To learn more about the FSC or to verify Kährs current certification, visit www.fsc.org. For more information, contact Kährs at 800/800-5247. BonaKemi USA (Aurora, Colo.) has completed $1.7 million in capital improvements to its Pueblo, Colo., plant. Phase one, which included the installation of new process equipment, piping, upgrading and expansion of bulk storage capabilities and additional holding tanks, will increase capacity for BonaKemi's Woodline and DriFast product lines. Phase two, which began in the first quarter of 2005, includes installing a new packaging line and further process optimization. Improvements to the Pueblo facility help the company to meet increasing demand for its products, anticipated future demand and future product development, including the production of new products in the solvent-based and specialty coatings lines, the company says. Ointon International Inc. (Atlanta), a manufacturer of Russian oak, American red oak and Brazilian cherry in China, recently added a new coating line with state-of-the-art sanding and coating technology, the company says. For more information, e-mail [email protected]. Cikel Brasil Verde's Flooring Division (Curitiba, Brazil) soon will open a new plant in the south of Brazil, which will run both FSC and non-FSC flooring. The flooring will be finished with eight coats of finish, as well as a filler coat to ensure that material is available in large quantities at the highest quality, the company says. The 3/8-inch thick, five-ply, 3-inch-wide, rotary engineered flooring will be available in several stain colors and more than five species. The flooring will have a 2-mm wear layer and will be available in 4-foot lengths. For more information, e-mail [email protected].Distributor News Horizon Forest Products (Raleigh, N.C.) held an NWFA Distributor Installation and Sand/Finish School in Raleigh March 2-4. On the first day, 25 students were trained on the basics of hardwood flooring installation, and on the next two days, students received sanding and finishing instruction. NWFA Director of Technical Training Steve Seabaugh led the school, while Russ Watts of Palo Duro, Mark Mukosiej and Bob Burton of BonaKemi USA, Steve Crawford of Dura Seal, Don Conner of Mullican Flooring and Dick Hedrick of Somerset Hardwood Flooring assisted. Horizon Forest Products plans to hold more schools at its other locations throughout the year.
Swedish wood flooring manufacturers Forbo Hardwood and Siljan Wood Products have appointed National Wood Products (Salt Lake City, Utah) to distribute their products out of Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Sacramento, Calif. Siljan Wood Products is Europe's largest solid wood flooring manufacturer, it says, and Forbo Hardwood offers a line of engineered hardwoods in 11 species, three grades and with either a UV-acrylic or UV-oil finish. In addition, National Wood Products has announced that April 1, 2005, will be the start date for the Forbo/Siljan Sweden Mill Trip Promotion for its displaying dealers. The promotion runs from April 1, 2005, through April 31, 2006. The trip is scheduled for seven days and five nights and will include visits to Forbo's and Siljan's wood flooring plants. It also will include activities in and around the city of Stockholm. For more information, contact National Wood Products at 800/826-0344. Kährs International has named Tom Duffy Company (Fairfield, Calif.), a division of B.R. Funsten & Co. , the exclusive distributor of Kährs Hardwood Flooring to the northern California and northern Nevada markets. Adleta Corp. (Dallas) has announced that in addition to the Stauf Distributor of the Year 2004 award mentioned in the last issue of Hardwood Floors' E-News, the company also received Pinnacle Interior Elements' Distributor of the Year award for the second year in a row. Adleta is a full-line distributor covering Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, northern Mississippi, western Tennessee and eastern New Mexico.People News BonaKemi USA has promoted Kirk Roberts to vice president of its worldwide Floor Care Division. Roberts will oversee the Floor Care Division of BonaKemi AB in Mälmo, Sweden. His responsibilities will include directing all new product research and development for BonaKemi floor care products. Roberts will continue working at BonaKemi USA's corporate headquarters in Aurora and will continue to have responsibility for BonaKemi USA's floor care revenue and profitability. Roberts most recently served as the company's vice president of new business development. In addition, BonaKemi has added Mark Pacacha as director of commercial sales. With more than 22 years of experience in the flooring industry, Pacacha will oversee BonaKemi USA's growing commercial business. He most recently served as the resilient product manager for floor covering distributor BPI.
Hardwood Flooring Distributors (Seattle, WA), a division of Goodfellow Distributors, has named Jim Goss the branch manager in Spokane, Wash. Goss, formerly with Woodwise/Design Hardwood Products, has more than 25 years' experience in the wood flooring industry, as well as experience as a lead instructor at multiple NWFA and NOFMA technical schools. Goss can be reached by phone at 509/893-1340 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Columbia Flooring (Danville, Va.) has appointed Donna Millard business unit manager for unfinished hardwood flooring. She will be responsible for expanding sales of unfinished solid hardwood flooring and related products. Millard will be based at Columbia's hardwood flooring plant in Ellijay, Ga. Venteak Corporation (Miami) has named Edward Halvorssen its national sales manager. Halvorssen most recently served as a marketing and sales manager in retail sales for a national distributor. He can be reached at 877/VENTEAK or [email protected].By the Numbers Strip shipments in January 2005 totaled 52,217,000 board feet, down 4 percent from the 54,507,000 board feet shipped in January 2004, according to NOFMA: The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association.
The National Home Builders Association (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) remained unchanged in March from an upwardly revised reading of 69 in February. Both the current sales and future sales component indexes remained on par with their February readings of 76 and 79, respectively, while the component gauging traffic of prospective buyers edged up a single point to 51. Housing starts in February increased 0.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.195 million units, setting a new 21-year-record for the second month in a row, according to the Commerce Department. The rate of single-family starts reached 1.775 million units, also a new record for the second month in a row. The pace was 0.3 percent above the January rate and 16.7 percent above February 2004.Job Watch A growing flooring manufacturer is seeking a sales manager to run a distribution center, retail outlet and sales staff in the Washington, D.C., area, as well as two outside sales professionals for territories in northern Virginia. The company offers a competitive pay and benefits package to experienced candidates. Interested parties should send a résumé and three professional references to Hardwood Solutions, Attn: HR, P.O. Box 1528, Waynesboro, VA 22980, fax to 540/946-9168, or e-mail to [email protected].
Akzo Nobel Coatings Inc. , manufacturer of Synteko Floor Finishes, has an opening for technical sales representative to develop new accounts and serve distributors and contractors throughout the northeastern United States. Applicants should be a high school graduate or equivalent with a post-secondary education or equivalent experience. A minimum of five-plus years of sales experience and sales development, with three years related to after-market floor finishes is preferred. Travel is required, and the company prefers Albany, N.Y., home-based candidates. Interested parties should e-mail [email protected]. The Woods Company Inc. (Chambersburg, PA.) a manufacturer of reclaimed wood flooring, is seeking an experienced production supervisor. Applicants should possess strong industrial, woodworking machinery experience and production supervisory experience. The work week is four 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday, during the daylight shift. The position offers benefits compensation and a competitive salary based on experience. For more information or to submit a résumé, e-mail [email protected].Mark Your Calendar Southeast Hardwood Flooring Distributors Inc. (Mandeville, La.) will sponsor a "Bona Day" school at its Mandeville location April 21. All attendees will receive a Bona T-shirt, a Bona certificate and a coupon worth $150 off a $500 purchase of Bona products. The school will feature the use of Bona water-based finishes, sealers, stains, as well as the Prep recoat system and Bona sanding and finishing equipment. The school will be taught by a Bona representative. For more information, call Frank Macaluso at 800/332-3054.
Coverings 2005 will take place May 3-6 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The floor covering show will offer a range of targeted educational seminars on topics such as doing business with homebuilders and green building, and will provide attendees with information on products, trends, materials, distribution, installation and more. For more information, call 703/683-8500 or visit www.coverings.com. Owens Flooring Company will sponsor a Glue-Down Sand/Finish School June 15-17. The school, held in conjunction with NWFA, will cover all elements of flooring installation over concrete subfloors, and also will include a tour of Owens' new facilities in Shawano. For more information, call Jane Bubloz at 715/524-6080 or e-mail [email protected]. The National Association of Floor Covering Distributors (NAFCD) will hold its 34th Annual Meeting, titled "Diminished Boundaries, Expanded Opportunities," Oct. 21-23 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Fla. The meeting will feature a lineup of speakers focusing on a wide range of business-related subjects, a full slate of informative and interactive breakout sessions, and several networking and social events. For more information, call 312/321-6836, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.nafcd.org.NWFA Member Services About a year ago, the NWFA released its first-ever television advertisement. Since then, hundreds of NWFA members have customized this ad for only $75 to air in their local viewing area, driving business directly to them. Now, the NWFA is taking this unique program one step further. The NWFA has prenegotiated advertising rates on behalf of its members with The Oprah Winfrey Show, the #1 talk show in syndication with more than 30 million viewers every day. Beginning immediately, NWFA members will have an opportunity to advertise one time per week in their local market with a customized 30-second television ad during the Oprah show for as little as a few hundred dollars per 10-week period. Best of all, you won't need to handle the negotiations yourself. The NWFA will provide your station with the customized tape, the advertising rates are already negotiated, the time slots are flexible, and there is nothing left to do but sit back and watch. To find out more about advertising on the Oprah show, visit www.nwfa.org and click on the "Advertise on Oprah" link, or contact the NWFA at 636/519-9663 (local and international), 800/422-4556 (U.S.) or 800/848-8824 (Canada).