Hardwood Floors E-News - 2/6/2006

By all indications, Surfaces 2006 was the biggest show yet. There were 1,070 exhibiting companies, 227 of which were NWFA members-both up from last year’s record-breaking numbers. While final numbers were not yet available, attendance also appeared strong, with more than 40,000 people making the trip to the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas. These numbers seemed to coincide with exhibitors who were happy with the traffic. "We had a lot of good leads; quality leads," said Mark Murphy, U.S. sales manager for Saint Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec-based wood flooring manufacturer Preverco. "We’re extremely happy with the show.” That sentiment was echoed by Jim Gray, general manager of Hastings, Mich.-based Floor Style Products. "It was a tremendous show for Floor Style. I felt the attendance was down, but the quality of the contacts was twice as good," he said, adding that the number of attendees interested in wood flooring had definitely increased. Surfaces 2007 will be held February 7-9.

Longtime laminate flooring manufacturer BHK of America (Central Valley, N.Y.) introduced two wood flooring lines at Surfaces 2006. Its Moderna Solid Wood and Engineered Wood Flooring Systems are both floating wood floors with a "click" installation system. The solid line is offered in two colors, while the engineered line has four colors. Both offer BHK’s Limited Lifetime Structural Integrity Warranty.

Hardwood flooring shipments reached 527,241,000 square feet in 2005, the highest level for shipments since before 1966,the year the Federal Housing Administration approved the use of wall-to-wall carpeting in new home construction, according to NOFMA: The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association. Shipments for the month of December 2005 were approximately 41,384,000, 3 percent lower than the same month's shipments in 2004. NOFMA attributes the strong annual numbers to the enduring popularity of wood floors and the continual strength of new home construction and residential remodeling. 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.

3M (St. Paul, Minn.) welcomed President George W. Bush for laboratory tours on February 2. The president recognized the company for its leadership in research and development in his remarks to employees about America’s global competitiveness. Bush saw firsthand how 3M’s nanotechnology-based products address the needs of 3M customers and the nation.

Armstrong World Industries Inc., (Lancaster, Pa.) the operating subsidiary of Armstrong Holdings Inc., is in the process of scheduling a hearing for a court to consider confirming a modified plan of reorganization. The "Modified Plan" will be similar to Armstrong’s previously filed Fourth Amended Plan of Reorganization, except it will eliminate the distribution of warrants to shareholders of Armstrong’s parent company. This change will uphold a previous ruling stating that issuing warrants under the Fourth Amended Plan violated the "absolute priority rule" of the Bankruptcy Code. Armstrong first declared bankruptcy at the end of 2000.

BonaKemi USA Inc. (Aurora, Colo.) held a two-day Bona Training School at Floor Style Products’ Dania Beach, Fla., location January 10-13. More than 20 contractors attended the school. Bona’s representatives included J.J. Derman, Tony Ziola and Training Supervisor Dee Lenston.

Kentucky Wood Floors (Louisville, Ky.) introduced its Mount Vernon Collection at Surfaces 2006. To celebrate the new flooring line, which is reminiscent of George Washington's famed estate, a George Washington impersonator appeared at the company's booth on Wednesday morning.

Chinafloors Timber Shanghai Co. (Shanghai, China) has increased wood flooring production to more than 1 million square feet per month. Along with this increase, the company has extended both its entry-level and high-end wood flooring product lines. For more information, contact Karel Vervaet at [email protected] or call 86-21-6913-2230.

Buckwold Western Ltd. (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) acquired Wanke Cascade (Portland, Ore.) on January 31. Wanke’s three centers will bring Buckwold’s total number of distribution centers to nine and extend its territory from Western Canada to the Pacific Northwest.

Mirage/Boa-Franc Inc. (St. Georges, Quebec) recognized three of its distributors for the most effective results in training, merchandising and sales growth at its annual Spirit Awards at Surfaces in Las Vegas on February 1. The ceremony featured a silent auction that raised more than $21,000 for the Ryan Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding research and supporting those with mucopolysaccharidosis, or MPS I. The winners were Hoboken Florida Distribution Center (Orlando, Fla.) for training, Superior Products Inc. (Elkridge, Md.) for merchandising and Alberta Hardwood Flooring (Edmonton, Alberta) for sales growth.

Lauzon Distinctive Hardwood Flooring (Papineauville, Quebec) has added three distributors. Dealers Supply Company (Durham, N.C.) will cover North Carolina, South Carolina and Eastern Tennessee; Readers Wholesale Distributors Ltd. (Houston) will be responsible for Southern Texas and Louisiana; and Elias Wilf (Owings Mills, Md.) will serve as sole distributor for all of New Jersey, New York City and Long Island.

Special Hardwood Products (Lithonia, Ga.) was appointed to be the exclusive U.S. representative of TTWoodCare A/S’s (Hadsund, Denmark) Trip Trap and Timberman penetrating and hardening oil finishes. Special Hardwood also offers hands-on training seminars at its location outside Atlanta. For more information, call 800/242-8160 or e-mail [email protected].

Karelia (West Vancouver, British Columbia) has chosen Welco Lumber Corp. (Vancouver, British Columbia) as its distributor in the western U.S., which includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, Hawaii, California, Nevada and Arizona.

Lon Musolf Distributing Inc. (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) held a hardwood flooring workshop at its headquarters on January 18. Daniel Boone led the class of 200 installers on many topics including acclimation, wood grading and how to be a better installer.

Clarke American Sanders (Springdale, Ark.) has divided and expanded its Sander Department into Rental and Professional Sanders. Dick Nosiglia will lead the rental division as sales director. Mike Farrell has been appointed sales director of professional sanders. Clarke has also added an export sales manager, Rick Quinn, who will be based in Miami and can be reached at 479/200-4468 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Additionally, Clarke has hired Matt Bingham as sander sales specialist for the northwestern U.S. His territory includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. He can be reached at 801/302-8162. A.J. Winstead has been appointed sander sales specialist for the Southeast. He will be responsible for Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida and can be reached at 804/622-1617. Bryan Fussell has relocated to Houston to better serve his territory, which includes Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He can be reached at 281/360-5816. Clarke has also added Kelvin Bennett as project engineer. He has nearly 15 years of engineering experience.

Basic Coatings (Des Moines, Iowa) has named Hal Koller national sales manager. Koller will manage Basic Coatings’ national sales force, and develop and implement sales strategies and programs. Koller previously worked as director of sales and product development for Aacer Flooring. Koller can be reached at 419/725-3920 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Lauzon Distinctive Hardwood Flooring has added three representatives to its sales team. D.C. Mangimelli will cover the southern states and work with Coast to Coast Flooring Distributors (Oldsmar, Fla.) and Readers Wholesale Distributors Ltd. Chris Reohr will be responsible for the Northeast market and work with NRF Distributors Inc. (Augusta, Maine). Michael Wilkerson will cover the South Central region and work with Ohio Valley Flooring (Cincinnati) and Dealers Supply Company.

FN Profiles Inc. (Greensboro, N.C.), a subsidiary of Neuhofer Holz (Zell am Moos, Austria), has reorganized its sales structure. Todd Mackenzie is now sales manager for U.S. sales and marketing, Edward Gottschick is in charge of U.S. customer service and Monika Schorn is in customer service at its Austria location.

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) (Washington, D.C.) has elected the following members to its board of directors: Robert A. Reynolds Jr., chairman; Raymon A. York, chairman-elect; C.S. "Chip" Hornsby, first vice chairman; Randy Lindberg, second vice chairman; Robert N. Taylor, secretary; Dirk Van Dongen, president and CEO; Donald L. Frendberg, chairman of the NAW Association Executives Council (AEC); G.A. Taylor Fernley chairman-elect of the AEC; and Henry W. "Rick" Doyle III, past chairman of the AEC.

Total new single-family home sales for 2005 reached a record 1.282 million units, up 6.6 percent from the 2004 record of 1.203 million units, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. For December alone, new home sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.269 million units, up 2.9 percent from November’s pace of 1.233 million units, but down 6.6 percent from the October pace.

USG Corporation (Chicago) has launched a Web site, www.getmoldfacts.com, which provides information about controlling mold in buildings and homes.

The NWFA will hold its Wood Flooring Inspection School March 6-10 at its training facility in St. Louis. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit https://nwfa.org/.

Lon Musolf Distributing Inc. will hold a workshop at its Waukesha, Wis., location February 15. Galen Fitzel from 3M will present the latest installation techniques. Lon Musolf is also raffling off an ATV at both of its locations, and those who attend its workshops have a greater chance of winning. For more information, call 866/513-5634.

Hardwood Plywood and Veneer Association (Reston, Va.) will hold two workshops and a convention in the next three months. Its "Hardwood Plywood Grading & Sales Workshop-Building Knowledge and Skill Leads to Better Profits" will take place Tuesday, March 21, in Newark, N.J. Its convention will be held April 23-25, in Myrtle Beach, S.C., at the Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort, and its second plywood grading and sales workshop will be Wednesday, May 24, at the Holiday Inn in Kansas City, Mo. For more information, call 703/435-2900 or visit http://www.hpva.org.

The 2006 Traditional Building Exhibition and Conference will be held April 5-8 at Navy Pier in Chicago. This show features more than 85 educational seminars, workshops, tours and special events focused on preserving the past and building the future. For more information, visit http://www.traditionalbuildingshow.com.

Contracting company Sandmasters Inc. (Saukville, Wis.) is seeking a director of sales and marketing. This individual will be responsible for scheduling, assigning work, expediting, costing jobs accurately, advertising, sales planning and cultivating new business relationships. Candidates should have at least an associate’s degree in business or management, a valid driver’s license and proof of insurability, and strong computer and management skills. In addition, candidates should be able to demonstrate strong writing, interpersonal and leadership skills. Résumés should be sent to [email protected].

Lumber Liquidators Inc. (Toano, Va.) is looking for an experienced hardwood flooring installer. The selected candidate will answer installation and technical questions for customers and company personnel. Applicants should have more than 10 years of hardwood flooring installation experience, strong problem solving abilities and exceptional communication skills. Lumber Liquidators offers comprehensive health insurance and a 401(k) plan, but no relocation expenses. Résumés and salary requirements should be sent to [email protected].

Owens Flooring Company (Shawano, Wis.) is seeking a qualified and experienced sales/technical representative for the East Coast. The ideal candidate will have an extensive background in wood flooring sales and a knowledge of both prefinished and unfinished hardwood flooring, as well as experience in installation, sanding and finishing. Résumés should be sent by e-mail to [email protected] or by fax to 715/524-6084.

NWFA members can receive scholarships to advance their technical education. The NWFA Scholarship Program was established to provide financial assistance for the education and training of professionals in the wood flooring industry. Scholarships are available for NWFA schools only. For more information, contact the NWFA by phone at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international), by e-mail at [email protected] or visit https://nwfa.org/.