Issue Date:8/22/2005
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Issue Date:8/22/2005
Hardwood Floors E-News Monday, August 22, 2005 Issue 270 Next issue published September 6, 2005 Deadline for items: August 31, 2005 Send news to [email protected]
------------------------------------------------------------------------NWFA Holds Bilingual School in Quebec
The NWFA held its Intermediate Installation and Sand & Finish School August 10-12 in Quebec. The school was conducted in both French and English. NWFA Technical Director Steve Seabaugh led the instruction for the 36 attending students. Curtis Richard of Primatech Inc. gave the French instruction, and other volunteer instructors for the school included Brent Sorbet, Basic Coatings; Roy Veerkamp and Mike Kearns, BonaKemi USA Inc.; Jean-Pierre Maher, Centre Du Plancher PM Inc.; Mike Farrell and Jordan Mitten, Clarke American Sanders; Richard Poirier, Dimension International; Steve Bewsher, Dura Seal; Roberto Bonetti, Norton Abrasives; Stephane Morin, Planchers SM; Yves Godbout, Plancher Yves Godbout Flooring; and A.J. Winstead and Karl Stafflinger, Virginia Abrasives Corporation.
Columbia Flooring Acquires Malaysia Wood Industries
Columbia Flooring (Danville, Va.) has announced it has acquired Malaysia Wood Industries Sdn. Bhd. (MWI) (Sungai Petani, Malaysia). The Malaysian Wood Industries facility includes two separate production plants manufacturing prefinished engineered longstrip floating floors. The acquisition is Columbia’s first large-scale investment in an offshore manufacturing facility. “Actually owning an offshore operation with a pre-established distribution network throughout Europe and the Far East will enable us to further expand our horizons by driving Columbia’s U.S.-made product range into European and Asian markets where Malaysia Wood Industries is already well known as a highly efficient organization,†President David Wootton says.
Manufacturer News
Wolfgang Stauf has purchased Lanny Trottman’s membership interest in Stauf USA LLC (Memphis, Tenn.), giving Stauf 100 percent control of the company. The growth of Stauf USA along with that of Trottman’s other business interests, Global Market Partners Inc. and Precision Technology, led to the mutual decision, Stauf and Trottman said. Stauf USA has a new physical address: 6055 Primacy Parkway, Suite 428, Memphis TN 38119. Any questions can be directed to David Ford, vicepresident of sales and marketing, at 901/362-5091 or [email protected].
Mohawk Industries (Calhoun, Ga.) has realigned its Mohawk residential and commercial flooring businesses into two strategic business units (SBUs). Monte Thornton, president of the Mohawk Group, will head both SBUs. For the residential SBU, Tom Lape will be responsible for sales and marketing functions. Frank Peters will lead carpet and yarn manufacturing, product development and planning. This SBU will also include hard surfaces, customer operations and other support functions. For the second SBU, Commercial Flooring, Jim McCallum will head sales and marketing. Jim Prettyman will be responsible for carpet manufacturing, product development and planning. This SBU will also include customer operations as well as other support functions, led by Joe Yarbrough. For more information, contact a local Mohawk representative or call 877/ASK-MOHAWK.
Shamrock Plank Flooring (Memphis) has completed its newly redesigned manufacturing facility. The company now has the capacity to produce more than 25,000 square feet per shift and is seeking distribution for its plank flooring. Interested distributors should call Damon Graf at 800/862-4415 or Diane Pevy at 800/862-4416.
Armstrong (Lancaster, Penn.) installers certified through the Armstrong Certified Installer Program (A.C.I.P.) can now receive up to $1,000 in material cost for Armstrong branded residential sheet flooring, laminates and installation products, and $2,500 in material cost for Armstrong branded hardwood, linoleum and commercial sheet flooring and installation products to correct workmanship error. In addition, Armstrong will pay its certified installers $125 to not install obviously defective material. Currently, the A.C.I.P. has more than 5,000 installers and expects to certify approximately 2,000 installers this year. For more information, call 877/ARMSTRONG or visit www.floorexpert.com.
Selta Hardwood Flooring (Columbus, Ohio) has announced the creation of a bilingual Spanish customer service department. For more information, e-mail Gustavo Quispe at [email protected].
Historic Wood Floor Inc. (St. Louis), which specializes in restoration-style, wide-plank pine flooring, has been ranked among the top traditional companies and artisans in America by Early American Life Magazine. The magazine convened a panel of 20 experts to select the top 200 craftspeople for Early American Life’s 20th annual directory of traditional crafts, which are featured in the August 2005 issue.
Junckers Hardwood Inc. (Anaheim, Calif.) has lengthened its finish warranty from 10 to 25 years. The Junckers Lifetime Warranty & Maintenance Guide has been revised to denote the 25-year finish warranty. For more information, contact Sandra Bayless by phone at 714/777-8425 or e-mail her at [email protected].
Distributor News
Zanchet (São Paulo, Brazil), a manufacturing company with its own facilities and forests in the state of Paraná, Brazil, is looking for a distribution representative for the U.S., Canada and Europe. Zanchet exports unfinished hardwood flooring in species including Brazilian teak, Brazilian walnut, Brazilian grápia and Brazilian cherry. For more information, visit Zanchet’s Web site at www.zanchet.com.br or e-mail [email protected].
Long Floor Supply Inc. (Richmond, Va.) has opened its fourth location in Chesapeake, Va., managed by Tim Yarborough. It is located at 2133 Smith Ave., Chesapeake, VA 23320. For more information, call 877/420-8755 or 757/420-8755 or fax 757/420/8759.
Anderson Hardwood Floors (Clinton, S.C.) has appointed Omni Floorcoverings Ltd. (Mississauga, Ontario) to distribute its Appalachian brand and selected other handcrafted flooring in Ontario. For more information, visit www.omnifloors.com or call 905/670-3936.
Capella Wood Floors (Vicksburg, Miss.) has announced its product line will be distributed in New Mexico, West Texas, El Paso and parts of southern Colorado by High Mountain Flooring (Albuquerque, N.M.). For more information, visit www.capellafloors.com.
Galleher Hardwood Co. (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) celebrated its first annual “Summer Surfaces†event July 12 by converting a 7,000-square-foot area into a tented selling arena. The expo center featured more than 20 manufacturers’ booths and was visited by several hundred customers. Customers were treated to a barbeque lunch and entertained “Vegas Style†by an Elvis impersonator. Drawings were held for prizes such as a 52-inch big screen T.V. and digital cameras.
Dealer News
CarpetsPlus Color Tile (Woodstock, Ga.) held its annual summit July 10-12. The event was hosted by Fred Hoffman, owner of Home Interiors Color Tile Design Center in Green Bay and Appleton, Wis. CarpetsPlus joins forces each year with one of its members to provide training and development in a retail setting for the entire group to show how the host member’s business is managed.
Association News
Timber Flooring Association of Australia (TFAA) (Australia) recently began operation and is working to establish relationships with stakeholders in the industry. The TFAA intends to work with the Australian government to develop an Inspector Certification Program to generate inspectors who can work on complaints and provide industry-specific reports. The association has appointed Randy Flierman as its CEO. For more information, call Flierman at 61-7-3420-4173 or e-mail him at [email protected].
The Hardwood Council (Oakmont, Pa.) has released a new white paper, Getting to Green in a World of Choice, as the second installment in its Materials Matters series. This second part examines factors influencing a design’s eco-effectiveness. For more information, call 412/281-4980.
People News
Austin Hardwood Flooring (Austin, Texas) has named George Celtrick as a general partner. Celtrick has two decades of experience in the wood flooring industry, most recently as director of sales and marketing for the Derr Flooring Company’s New York/New Jersey operation. Previously, he served as vice president of sales for Harris-Tarkett.
Kunzle & Tasin US Inc. (Fort Lee, N.J.) has two new representatives: Michael Longshore and Randy Moore. Longshore will cover Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Louisiana and New Mexico, while Moore will cover southern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and Nevada. Both have extensive backgrounds in the industry.
By the Numbers
Hardwood flooring shipments in July 2005 were 42,903,000 square feet, a 4.8 percent decline from June's shipments but a 5.5 percent increase compared with the same month in 2004, according to NOFMA: The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association (Memphis). Year-to-date shipments for the first seven months of 2005 are 297,339,000 square feet, a 1 percent decline compared with the same period in 2004. Hardwood shipments for the past 12 months have totaled 515,428,000 square feet, or about a million feet higher than the same 12-month period one year ago. 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.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for August was down three points from July to 67 points. The August HMI reflects a four point declineâ€"from 76 to 72â€"in the component that measures current sales activity. The component that measures builder expectations for sales over the next six months was unchanged at 77, and the component that measures traffic of prospective buyers declined five points from 55 to 50.
Privately owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2,042,000, according to the Commerce Department. This rate is 0.1 percent below the revised June estimate of 2,045,000, but is 2.8 percent above the July 2004 rate of 1,986,000. Single-family housing starts in July 2005 were at a rate of 1,711,000. This rate is 0.5 percent above the June figure of 1,703,000.
Job Watch
Lumber Liquidators (Williamsburg, Va.) is seeking an experienced installer to answer installation questions and provide phone-based installation assistance to customers. Applicants should have excellent communication skills and may work from a home office or at the company’s headquarters. Benefits include 100 percent company-paid health and dental insurance, a matching 401(k) plan and flexible hours. Contact Kathy Hamilton at [email protected].
Glitsa American Inc. (Seattle, Wash.) is looking for a marketing specialist responsible for producing communication tools, literature and sales campaigns. At least five years’ experience is required. Résumés should be sent to Glitsa American Inc., Marketing Position, 327 S. Kenyon St., Seattle, WA 98108. Or, e-mail résumés to [email protected].
Wagner Electronics (Rogue River, Ore.) is seeking an account executive. Qualifications include experience managing and building distribution channels. A working knowledge and understanding of the wood flooring industry is preferred. Product training and presentation skills are required. Travel of 30 to 40 percent is required. This position offers an excellent compensation and benefits package. Résumés should be sent via e-mail to Irene Cardoza at [email protected].
Elegance Exotic Wood Flooring (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) is seeking qualified sales representatives for territories in the western United States. Qualifications include a wood flooring sales background, excellent customer service and follow-up skills, and a client base/leads in the applicant’s local region. Résumés or inquiries should be sent to [email protected].
Blaineville Mouldings Inc. (Quebec) is looking for U.S. sales representatives presently representing flooring manufacturers to sell traditional moldings to distributors and manufacturers in New England and the Midwest. For information, call Diane Caron, director of market development, at 800/363-6367.
Basic Coatings (Des Moines, Iowa) is looking for regional sales managers with a working knowledge and understanding of the wood floor industry and the wood floor distribution channel. A bachelor’s degree in sales, business or a related area is preferred with at least five years of direct industry sales experience or installation experience desired. Résumés should be sent by e-mail to [email protected], by fax to 419/321-9886 or by mail to Betco Corporation, Basic Sales, P.O. Box 3127, Toledo, OH 43607.
American Products of Kentucky Inc. (Cincinnati) is seeking a hardwood flooring and supplies sales representative for metro Cincinnati. The applicant must be self-motivated and aggressive with the ability to make cold calls, as well as to service and maintain current customers. Experience is a plus but is not required. Résumés should be e-mailed to [email protected].
Tell Us About It
Hardwood Floors magazine will begin publishing a brief column written by hardwood flooring contractors, retailers and distributors. We’d like to hear from you about “The best change I ever made in my business.†Tell us why you made the change, how you decided to do it, and the result. Submissions should be about 500 words and can be sent to Editor Kim Wahlgren at [email protected].
NWFA Member Services
NWFA members can now receive supplemental insurance benefits through American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (AFLAC), a world leader in guaranteed-renewable insurance, serving more than 40 million people worldwide. Supplemental policies include life, long-term care, disability, cancer indemnity, accident, recovery and dental. Plans are available for members, their spouses and children, and are paid through individual payroll deduction. For more information about AFLAC supplemental insurance, contact Joel Ehrlich at [email protected].