Hardwood Floors E-News - 12/27/2005

Issue Date:12/27/2005

Due to continued increases in energy, raw materials and operating costs, Robbins Inc. (Cincinnati) will increase prices effective with all new quotations and orders on or after January 1, 2006. The company expects an increase of 3 to 5 percent for its wood flooring systems and 7 percent for its synthetic flooring systems. As per Robbins’ policy, current quotes remain valid for 60 days from the original quotation date.

Patagonia Solid Wood Flooring (Buenos Aires, Argentina) has been awarded the Fundacion Exportar Award in New Markets for the second consecutive year.

Selta (Columbus, Ohio) has designated Dealers Supply North (Columbus, Ohio) as a distributor to Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana for its commercial solid wood flooring made from Lyptus hardwood with the WearMax five-year commercial wear warranty. For more information, contact Scott Veatch at [email protected].

Coast to Coast Distributors (Oldsmar, Fla.) has been appointed a full-line distributor by Green Mountain Hardwood (Portland, Maine) for its oak, merbau, maple, American cherry, walnut and pecan flooring.

Anderson Hardwood Floors (Clinton, S.C.) has appointed Mike Beavers senior vice president of marketing and merchandising. He brings more than 25 years’ experience in marketing, advertising and merchandising to Anderson.

Appalachian Flooring Ltd. (Cowansville, Quebec) has appointed Joel Eaton Northeastern U.S. sales representative. Eaton has more than 25 years of experience in the hardwood flooring industry. He can be reached at 613/623-7841.

Mullican Flooring (Johnson City, Tenn.) has added Allan Maki as IT analyst. His primary responsibility is to facilitate the accounting department’s procedures and policies by creating reports and supporting the IT infrastructure.

Erickson’s Flooring & Supply (Ferndale, Mich.) has added Bill Roberts to its sales team. Roberts comes to Erickson’s with more than 20 years in the hardwood floor covering industry. He is based out of Erickson’s Indianapolis office and can be reached at 866/963-9663 or [email protected]. Also, Erickson’s has had three salesmen—Ralph Sharp, Paul Cappetta and Ted Wysokinski—nominated for the Chicago Floorcovering Association (CFA) contest of Best Salesperson of the Year.

The overall Housing Market Index (HMI) for December declined four points from a slightly revised November number of 61 to 57, while the component measuring builder expectations for future sales held firm at 65, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo . The components for current sales and traffic of prospective buyers were each down, by four points to 63 and seven points to 39, respectively.

Housing starts increased by 5.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.123 million units in November, according to the U.S. Commerce Department . The pace was 17.5 percent above this time a year ago. Single-family housing starts rose 4.8 percent to 1.808 million units for the month, matching the record set last February. Single-family starts were up by 7.5 percent on a year-to-date basis.

Mark Your Calendar The NWFA will host its Advanced Installation School February 22-24 at the NWFA Training Center in St. Louis. There will be a separate classroom and panel for instruction in Spanish. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit https://nwfa.org/.

Mullican Flooring will offer its Mullican Tech 101 hardwood flooring classes free of charge at its headquarters in Johnson City, Tenn., in 2006. Led by Don Conner , Mullican’s technical and product development director, the classes will be held February 27-28, April 3-4, May 15-16, June 26-27, August 14-15 and November 13-14. To register, contact Tressa Samdal by phone at 800/844-6356 or e-mail her at [email protected].

The Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association (MFMA) will host its 2006 conference March 16-18 at the Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa in Fort Myers, Fla. The conference offers educational programs, expanded problem and solution exchange forums, peer networking opportunities, and product and service exhibits. For more information, visit http://www.maplefloor.org.

Erickson’s Flooring & Supply will hold its Annual Educational Conferences at each of its locations in 2006. This year Erickson's will offer training in basics and fundamentals of exotics, advanced installation skills and key business skills. The conference dates are: January 14 (Indianapolis, Ind.); January 21 (Ferndale, Mich.); February 11 (Grand Rapids, Mich.); and February 18 (Bensenville, Ill.). For more information, call 800/225-9663 or e-mail [email protected].

The 2006 Australian Timber Flooring Expo (ATFE) will take place at the Conrad Jupiters Casino September 26-27 in Gold Coast, Queensland. The ATFE is the only timber flooring event held in Australia. It will showcase the latest innovations in timber floors, sanding machines, sealants, coatings, tools, work-wear, safety equipment, floating floors, underlays, abrasives and leveling compounds. A comprehensive seminar program with leaders in the timber flooring industry in Australia will also be a feature of the Expo, and the show will be the place to vote for the 2006 Australian Timber Floor of the Year. For more information, contact GEMS Event Management by phone at 61-2-97445252, via e-mail at [email protected] or visit http://www.australiantimberflooringexpo.com.au/.