Issue Date:6/27/2005
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Issue Date:6/27/2005
Hardwood Floors E-News Monday, June 27, 2005 Issue 266 Next issue published July 11, 2005 Deadline for items: July 6, 2005 Send news to [email protected]
------------------------------------------------------------------------Manufacturer News
Zickgraf Hardwood Flooring Company (Franklin, N.C.) has purchased the Thomson Oak Flooring brand name and certain assets from Thomson Oak Flooring Company Inc. (Thomson, Ga.). “Since its founding in 1950, Thomson has established itself as one of the most respected wood flooring manufacturers in the Southeast, and our team is committed to keeping its fine reputation intact,†says Drew Hash, president of Zickgraf.
BonaKemi USA (Aurora, Colo.) has named Derr Flooring Company (Willow Grove, Pa.) its 2004 Distributor of the Year. Each year, BonaKemi recognizes distributors for consistent, high-quality customer service and efforts in promoting and selling BonaKemi products. Other awards also were presented for 2004. Floor Style Products (Sparks, Nev.) received the Outstanding Growth Award; American Products Inc. (Pineville, N.C.) earned the Outstanding Achievement Award, Finish Products; Southeastern Hardwood Distributors Inc. (Kennesaw, Ga.) was honored with the Outstanding Achievement Award, Abrasives; Hoboken Floors (Wayne, N.J.) received the Outstanding Achievement Award, Machines; and BPI Inc. (Houston, Texas) earned the Outstanding Achievement Award, Floor Care. BonaKemi also recognized 21 companies as “Distributors of Merit.â€
Loba (Ditzingen, Germany) held its first Loba School June 2 at its exclusive Illinois distributor A & B Hardwood (Chicago). As part of its support program, Loba trains clients of its distributors once a year. At the school, Loba demonstrated its new high-solid sealer, HS GlobaSeal, on Brazilian cherry. For more information on Loba products or schools, visit www.lobadur.com.
Distributor News
Lanham Hardwood Flooring Co. Inc. (Louisville, Ky.) hosted an open house for its customers on June 4. Twenty suppliers attended the event. The day consisted of educational seminars, a BBQ dinner, a live bluegrass band, and a drawing for a variety of gifts and prizes. Terry Sears, of Louisville, Ky., won the grand-prize drawing, which was a 4-wheel ATV. Total attendance was 260 people representing about 70 companies.
Contractor News
Classic Floors Inc. (Fort Wayne, Ind.) has moved to a new location, expanded its showroom and added new services. Many custom flooring, medallion, border, inlay and parquet designs can be seen at the new showroom, the only hardwood showroom in Fort Wayne, which covers more than 1,200 square feet of space, the company says. New services include rental equipment and a complete range of products for do-it-yourselfers. The company’s trained installers also do wood floor restorations, sanding and finishing. The company is located at 6215 Discount Drive, Fort Wayne, IN. For a showroom appointment or for more information, call 260/490-6412 or visit www.classicfloorsinc.com.
People News
Smith Flooring (Mountain View, Mo.) has announced that Sales Manager James “Mack†Pearson retired April 30, 2005, after 42 years at the company. He began his career at Smith Flooring in 1963 as a lumber buyer. Over the years, Pearson held a variety of positions including sawmill manager, flooring mill manager and treating plant manager before becoming sales manager in 1988. People flew in from all over the country to attend a retirement party held in Pearson’s honor. Kevin Connor, who has been working in flooring sales at Smith for the last five years, succeeds Pearson as sales manager. Connor has been with the company for 20 years and has held positions in its log yard, treating plant, sawmill and flooring plant. Connor is only the fourth sales manager the company has had in its history, dating back to 1949.
Norton Abrasives (Sanborn, N.Y.) has named Dave Mansfield market/product manager for commercial markets with responsibility for all sanding products. Mansfield was most recently the product manager for Film, but started his career with Norton 10 years ago as the floor sanding product manager. He will develop new and innovative products at the floor products manufacturing and training center in Watervilet, N.Y.
Finium (Frampton, Quebec) has announced that Barry Katz from Hoboken Floors (Wayne, N.J.) has won the Finium stair tread display contest for May/June.
In Memoriam
Bob Weseman, vice president of hard surface products for Mohawk (Dalton, Ga.), passed away on June 17 after a long battle with cancer. Weseman, a long-time veteran of the floor covering industry, had been with Mohawk for approximately five years. He was instrumental in Mohawk’s rise as a hard surface resource, structuring programs in hardwood, vinyl, laminate, and ceramic tile that are now part of the merchandise mix for many of floor covering dealers nationwide. A native of Chicago, Weseman worked for family enterprises and a beer distributor early in his career, winning numerous sales awards and a reputation as a “go-getter.†He later rose to the rank of vice president at Misco Shawnee, a major flooring distributor in the Midwest. “One of reasons he was such a success was that he did what he enjoyed, and people enjoyed having him around,†says Jim Gould, Weseman’s boss at Misco Shawnee and current marketing vice president at CCA Global. His wife, Debra, two daughters and a son survive Weseman. Funeral services were held June 22 at Countryside Funeral Home in Bartlett, Ill. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the American Cancer Society, 100 W. Palatine Road, Palatine, IL 60067.
By the Numbers
Hardwood flooring shipments for May 2005 totaled 59,116,000 board feet, up 11 percent from the 53,224,000 board feet shipped during May 2004, according to NOFMA: The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association. This is the second consecutive month for which shipments have exceeded those of the same month in 2004. The improved figures likely represent a continuation of the reaction to pent-up demand that resulted in a rise in shipment figures during April, the association says. Year-to-date shipments for the first five months of 2005 total 271,912,000 board feet, down just slightly more than 1 percent from the 275,573,000 board feet shipped during the same period in 2004. The NOFMA data is from hardwood flooring manufacturers in the U.S., corresponding to actual figures from a majority of the known producing units, plus projections representing units for which actual data is occasionally provided or not provided. The flooring shipments reported include solid prefinished and unfinished oak, beech, birch, maple, hickory/pecan, ash, cherry and walnut. Starting with the June data, NOFMA will report these figures in square feet.
Housing starts were up 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2,009,000 units in May 2005, up 1.8 percent from May 2004, according to the Commerce Department. Single-family home construction jumped 4.7 percent to 1,704,000 units for the month, 3.3 percent above May 2004.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) rose one point to 71 in June, its highest level since a similar reading in December 2004, according to NAHB. It also is the highest reading of the year to date, reflecting slight upward movement in all three component indexes, including a one-point gain in the current sales index, to 77; a two-point gain in the index gauging expectations for sales in the next six months, to 79; and a one-point gain in the index gauging traffic of prospective buyers, to 54.
Job Watch
Glitsa American (Seattle), a manufacturer of Swedish finishes, is seeking a technical representative to support its product line. Duties include, but are not limited to, testing, troubleshooting, technical writing, customer education and training. Applicants must have good communication skills and at least five years’ experience with installation and finishing, as well as good knowledge of Swedish and waterborne wood floor finishes. The position offers a competitive compensation and benefits package. Those interested should e-mail a résumé to [email protected] or mail to Glitsa American, Technical Position, 327 S. Kenyon St., Seattle, WA 98108.
Sekulic International Trading Company (Encino, Calif.) is seeking independent bamboo flooring salespeople nationwide. Salespeople earn 10 percent commission for each sale. For more information, visit www.specialflooring.com or e-mail [email protected].
Mark Your Calendar
The NWFA will hold its Sales Training Workshop Sept. 12-13 at its headquarters in St. Louis. The workshop will cover powerful, new selling techniques such as how to be in control of every selling situation; how to identify misdirected strategies; how to make your selling cycle move faster; how to gain new enthusiasm; and how to sell more, sell more easily and enjoy greater sales and profits. For more information, call the NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international), e-mail [email protected] or visit www.nwfa.org.
Cleaning Consultants (Seattle) will hold a series of Floor Care Technical Certification seminars this summer and fall. The courses will provide technical information on the proper procedures, chemicals and equipment needed to identify, clean, maintain and restore floor covering materials. The course prepares attendees to take the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) certification exam on the second day. Seminars will be held July 12-13 in Salt Lake City, Aug. 10-11 in San Francisco, Sept. 27-28 in Los Angeles and November 10-11 in New Orleans. For more information, call Jenn Adams at 206/682-9748 or e-mail [email protected].
NWFA Member Services
Consumers looking for wood flooring professionals in their area are finding them by using the NWFA’s “Find a Professional†feature at www.woodfloors.org. Data can be searched by city, state or province, zip or postal code, mileage and area code. All active NWFA members are listed on this service. For February and March alone, this feature has averaged more than 4,700 visits per month, which impacts the bottom line of NWFA members. For more information, call the NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international) or visit www.nwfa.org.