Hardwood Floors E-News - 3/6/2006

The NWFA kicked off its school year with the Advanced Installation School held February 22-24 at the NWFA Training Center in St. Louis. NWFA Director of Technical Training Steve Seabaugh and Frank Kroupa, NWFA technical advisor, led the instruction of 45 students. Ricardo Pairazaman of Woods of the World LLC, who is also a technical advisor for the NWFA, led the bilingual instruction for four Spanish-speaking students. Volunteer instructors included Daniel Racareanu, American Woodcraft Inc.; John Lessick and Matt Bechtel, Apex Wood Floors Inc.; Rob Johnson, Basic Coatings; Chuck Crispin, Birger Juell Ltd.; Dee Lenston and Gene Jarka, BonaKemi USA Inc.; Charles Peterson; Wayne Lee, Clarke American Sanders; Timothy McCool, Cornerstone Flooring Inc.; Jamie Lupresto, Diamond Flooring; Reed Maddray, Maddray Flooring LLC; Evandro Carvalho, Maximum Hardwood Floors Corp.; Michael Dittmer, Michael Dittmer Wood Floors; Tom Peotter, Oshkosh Designs; Mark Scheller, Scheller Hardwood Floors Inc.; Tony Robison, Spectra Flooring RC; and Karl Stafflinger, Virginia Abrasives Corporation.

Surfaces 2006 attracted a record-breaking 40,588 retailers, manufacturers, distributors, architects, designers, builders and installers from around the world. This was a 6 percent increase over 2005. Exhibitors were also out in record numbers with 1,070 companies, an increase from 1,054 in 2005. In addition, 2,808 visitors attended conference program sessions, an increase of 14 percent from 2005.

Green River Lumber Inc. (Great Barrington, Mass.) is now Green River-American Hardwood. The company operates under new CEO Randy Stertmeyer.

Glitsa American (Seattle) is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Glitsa Gold Seal System. The company recognized the anniversary of the conversion varnish at Surfaces, and will recognize it at the 2006 NWFA Convention, as well.

Global Tech (Kent, Wash.) is looking for distributors for its overstock of finished and unfinished solid 3/4 inch oak flooring. For more information, contact Michael by phone at 253/479-0087 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Teragren LLC (Memphis, Tenn.) has named BPI Inc. (Memphis) its southeastern U.S. flooring distributor.

Microm de Colombia Internacional Ltda. Cl. (Bogota, Colombia) has increased its production of mahogany, jatoba, cumaru and sapan wood flooring and board strips, and is seeking additional distributors for the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.colombiantropicalwoods.com or contact Edgar Torres by phone at 57-1-6221663, or by e-mail at [email protected].

Erickson's Flooring & Supply (Ferndale, Mich.) has opened a warehousing facility in Kalamazoo, Mich., which will increase the company's total warehouse space by 40 percent. For more information, e-mail [email protected].

Lon Musolf Distributing Inc. (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) held an installation seminar February 15 at its Waukesha, Wis., location. Galen Fitzel of 3M (St. Paul, Minn.) led the instruction of more than 60 flooring professionals.

Erickson Decorating Products Inc. (Bolingbrook, Ill.) has moved to 490 W. North Frontage Road, Bolingbrook, IL 60440. The new facility serves as the administrative center, centralized shipping and receiving, Internet fulfillment and installer education center. The company's new Central Flooring Distribution LTD division will also operate out of this facility. For more information, call 877/771-8787.

Green River-American Hardwood has promoted Jill Barrett Johnson to vice president of operations. Barrett Johnson has worked for Green River since 1992. The company has also promoted Paul Mihlek to director of sales.

Precision Technology LLC (Memphis) has appointed Brett Wheeler vice president of sales. Wheeler is responsible for the overall sales results of the company, as well as key account responsibility in the western U.S. and western Canada.

Sabra International Inc. (Miami Beach, Fla.) has named Bob Goldstein technical director for the U.S. He assists customers with installation, sand and finish questions, and works with the Sabra sales force in the field. Goldstein has more than 40 years of experience in wood flooring and is an NWFA Certified Wood Flooring Inspector. He can be reached at 305/868-3663.

The Australian Timber Flooring Association has elected the following to its new board of directors: Robert Clague, president; David Aikins, vice president; Cameron Luke, treasurer; Tony Reed, secretary; Ray Brice; Paul Kiely; Colin Menday; Malcolm Johnston; Kendall Waller; and David Hayward.

Wood Pro Inc. (Auburn, Mass.) has named Fred Timberlin branch manager of its Albany, N.Y., location. Timberlin began as a driver for the company. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 866/766-1200. In addition, Leonard Poole has been named branch manager of Wood Pro's Jacksonville, Fla., store. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 877/419-2077.

Michelman (Cincinnati) has hired Talia Collins as senior research chemist responsible for new business development and Michelle Nilsen as senior research chemist responsible for performance additives. Both hold doctorate degrees in organic chemistry.

Global Tech has added Michael Goria as sales executive. Goria has several years of wood sales and technical experience.

Sales of new single-family homes fell 5 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.233 million units in January, following upward revisions to the November and December rates, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. The January sales rate was 3.3 percent above the same month a year ago.

Less than one month remains to submit NWFA XTreme Makeover Contest entry forms. The contest will be held during the NWFA's Convention in Baltimore. Entry forms and fees are due by March 15. For more information, contact the NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international), or by e-mail at [email protected].

The NWFA, together with the WFCA, will hold an Intermediate Installation, Sand & Finish School April 11-14 in Anaheim, Calif. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit https://nwfa.org/.

Lon Musolf Distributing Inc. will hold a sanding and finishing workshop on March 15 at its Vadnais Heights location. For more information, call 651/484-3020.

Plyquet Group (Bremen, Germany) is seeking a regional manager for the Midwest and Northeast. This position requires three years experience in wholesale or manufacturing, preferably in wood. The responsibilities include working with distributors and importers, opening new accounts and pursuing trade show leads. The interviews for the position will take place at the NWFA Convention in Baltimore. Résumés should be sent to [email protected].

Erickson's Flooring & Supply is looking for a highly motivated sales executive to work out of its Indianapolis location. This position will pioneer and service key retail accounts, and the candidate must have excellent sales, verbal and presentation skills. A strong understanding of the retail sales environment is essential, and prior flooring sales experience is a plus. Salary, benefits and bonuses are competitive and commensurate to qualifications and experience. Résumés should be sent by fax to Attn.: Branch Manager at 317/915-9663 or by e-mail to [email protected].

Pacific Imports International (Honolulu) is seeking energetic marketing and business development professionals. The positions will be based in San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco, with training to take place at the company's Honolulu, East Coast and Asia offices. Pacific Imports offers incentive programs, benefits and opportunities for advancement. Résumés should be sent to [email protected].

Mirage/Boa-Franc Inc. (St. Georges, Quebec) has an opportunity for an experienced sales representative to cover the Pacific Northwest. This is a Seattle-based position with a competitive compensation program. Résumés should be sent by e-mail 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. For more information, visit the Web site at http://www.owensforestproducts.com and click on "Join Us." Résumés should be e-mailed to [email protected] or faxed to 715/524-6084.

For the first time, Hardwood Floors will feature a special Product Focus exclusively for exotic wood flooring. All manufacturers of exotic wood flooring that are 1/2-page or larger advertisers in the June/July issue will receive a free editorial and color photo. The advertising deadline is May 5. For more information, contact Assistant Editor Michelle Desnoyer by phone at 800/722-8764, ext. 139 or by e-mail at [email protected].

The NWFA will hold two three-hour Sales Training Workshops during its 2006 Convention in Baltimore. Both sessions will take place April 26. One session will be for salespeople and managers in manufacturing and distribution, and will be an abbreviated version of the NWFA's new one-and-a-half day Sales Training School to be offered in September. The second session will be for dealer/contractors and retail salespeople, and will be an introduction to the 2006 Web-based training designed for those seeking wood flooring product knowledge. 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) or by e-mail at [email protected].