Issue Date:5/30/2006
NWFA Hosts Bilingual School
The NWFA held a bilingual Intermediate Installation, Sand & Finish School May 24-26 in Hartford, Conn. The school attracted 53 students, led by NWFA Technical Director
Steve Seabaugh.
Woods of the World LLC's Ricardo Pairazaman led the Spanish instruction. Volunteer instructors included
Jim Schumacher,
3M;
Kathleen Freeman,
Absolute Coatings Inc.;
Avedis Duvenjian,
Archetypal Imaginary Remodeling;
Rob Johnson,
Basic Coatings;
Darin Nesline,
John Fairbanks and
Dave Darche,
BonaKemi USA Inc.;
Paul Mierzejewski,
Bruce's Floor Sanding & Refinishing LLC;
David Leibach,
Clarke American Sanders;
John W. Saunders,
Connecticut Wood Floors LLC;
James Prentice,
Cornwall Hardwood Floors;
Steve Bewsher,
Dura Seal;
Roger H. Barker,
Fortifiber Building Systems Group;
Charles Peterson,
The Int'l Parquetry Historical Society;
Craig Dupra and
Janet M. Sullivan,
Lenmar Inc.;
David Mansfield,
Norton Abrasives;
Tom Peotter,
Oshkosh Designs;
Richard A. Wheeler,
Porta-Nails Inc.; and
Jeferson Verardi,
Verardi & Company Custom Wood Floors. The lead distributor was
Hoboken Floors (Wayne, N.J.).
Manufacturer News
Blastrac Global (Atlanta) has opened a 10,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oklahoma City for its testing labs and call center.
Distributor News
TRB Flooring Company (Wilmington, N.C.) has appointed two distributors for its Nature's Charm prefinished exotic flooring line:
Sawmill Hardwoods (Richmond, Calif.) and
Pekin Hardwood (Pekin, Ill.).
Preverco Inc. (St-Augustin-de-desmaures, Quebec) has added four distributors. Southeast Hardwood Flooring Distributors Inc. (Mandeville, La.) will cover Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama south of Birmingham and the Florida panhandle; Gulfstream Flooring Distributors (Jacksonville, Fla.) will cover the state of Florida; Norman D. Lifton Co. Inc. (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) will cover New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia; and First Grade Hardwood Supplies Inc. (Homer Glen, Ill.) will cover northeastern Illinois and the metro Chicago area. For more information, contact Jean-Sébastien Roy at 418/878-8930 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Dealer/Contractor News
Maximum Hardwood Floors Corp. (Coral Springs, Fla.) has moved to a 4,700-square-foot warehouse and showroom located at 3884 N.W. 124 Ave., Coral Springs, FL. The new showroom opens to the public in mid-June.
People News
Maximum Hardwood Floors Corp. has appointed
Alisson Carvalho as partner. He is also the technical director and field manager.
Basic Coatings Inc. (Des Moines, Iowa) has named Tim Stephens product manager. Stephens will develop and test new products, increase customer awareness and offer sales support. He brings more than 10 years of experience in the coatings industry to the company.
Oshkosh Designs (Winneconne, Wis.) has named Jill Eaton sales representative for its Midwest territory. Eaton joined the decorative inlay company in 1996 and previously worked as production manager for the company. She can be reached at 920/376-0792.
By the Numbers
New home construction in April was at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.849 million units, according to the
U.S. Department of Commerce. This is 11.1 percent below the April 2005 rate of 2.079 million units. The pace for 2006 is down 0.8 percent from the same time last year. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 1.535 million units, 5.6 percent below the March rate of 1.626 million units.
The overall National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for May declined six points from April's rate of 51 to 45, the lowest mark since mid-1995. The indices measuring current sales and sales expectations for the next six months each fell five points, to 50 and 54, respectively. The index gauging traffic of prospective buyers also dropped, from 39 to 32.
Remodeling activity increased for the first quarter of 2006, according to the National Association of Home Builders' Remodeling Market Index (RMI). Current market conditions rose from last quarter's 46.6 to 48.1, and future expectations also increased, from 47.5 last quarter to 48.9. The RMI for owner-occupied units rose from 48.9 in the fourth quarter of 2005 to 53.8.
Mark Your Calendar
The NWFA will hold an Intermediate Installation, Sand & Finish School June 28-30 in Las Vegas at the Carpenter's International Training Center. This is a bilingual school with a separate panel for Spanish-speaking students. For more information, e-mail
[email protected] or visit www.nwfa.org.
Lon Musolf Distributing Inc. (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) will hold its 3rd annual fishing tournament on Wednesday, June 21, at White Bear Lake, Minn. The company will give away more than $1,000 worth of prizes. For more information, call 651/484-3020.
The International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair-USA, sponsored by American Home Furnishings Alliance, Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America and the Woodworking Machinery Industry Association, will be held August 23-26 in Atlanta. This show features more than 1,400 exhibitors representing all aspects of the woodworking industry. For more information, visit www.iwf2006.com.
Job Watch
Augusta Lumber (Waynesboro, Va.) is seeking an energetic person with a minimum of five years' general management experience for COO. Working under the direction of the CEO and owners of the company, the COO implements changes to achieve higher levels of growth, profitability and quality within a successful family-owned business. For more information, contact
Terry Campbell at 540/946-9150 or e-mail
[email protected].
Loba GmbH & Co. KG (Ditzingen, Germany) is looking for a technical sales manager for the U.S. The ideal candidate will have sales and contracting experience, as well as good presentation skills to lead sand-and-finish schools and product training. This position requires travel 60 percent of the time. Résumés and salary requirements should be e-mailed to [email protected].
Dean Hardwoods Inc. (Wilmington, N.C.) needs a take-charge person to manage a new distribution warehouse. Résumés should be faxed to 910/763-3748.
Aacer Flooring (Peshtigo, Wis.) is looking for a qualified sales representative for the eastern United States. Candidates should have a minimum of three years' experience in the wood flooring industry and good organizational skills. This position requires frequent travel to support and promote Aacer at various events. E-mail résumés and salary requirements to [email protected]. For more information, contact Gary Zander, director of distribution sales, at 877/582-1181.
The Woods Company Inc. (Chambersburg, Pa.) is seeking a self-motivated inside sales representative. This position requires a minimum of two years' sales experience in the floor covering or wood products industries, and organizational, customer service and people skills are a must. The Woods Company offers daytime office hours, a competitive salary and a strong benefits package. Résumés should be sent to [email protected].
Business Opportunity
A fast-growing, Shanghai-based European/Chinese flooring manufacturer is looking for a motivated entrepreneur to set up a joint-ownership sales office in the United States. Candidates should have a proven track record of successful sales assignments in the flooring industry for the past 10 years. Contacts with distributors and frequent travel are required. Applicants should have an entrepreneurial personality, be willing to build an office/distribution center from scratch and expand business for the company in North America. For more information, e-mail
[email protected].
Resource Book Reminder
All NWFA members should look for their
Hardwood Floors Resource Book update forms in the mail the week of June 5. Please review your form carefully and make any corrections to ensure your company is listed correctly in the
2007 Resource Book.
Correction
The last issue of
Hardwood Floors E-News incorrectly listed the volunteer instructors for the NWFA Engineered Installation and the Subfloor Solutions Schools. The volunteer instructors for the Engineered School should have been listed as
Frank Szubart,
Harmony Source Inc. and
Charles Peterson,
The Int'l Parquetry Historical Society. The volunteer instructors for the Subfloor Solutions School should have been listed as
Sam Elliot,
Dayle Moore and
Steve Lima,
Bostik Inc.;
Alan Blake,
ElkCorp;
Roger H. Barker,
Fortifiber Building Systems Group;
Frank Szubart,
Harmony Source Inc.;
Charles Peterson,
The Int'l Parquetry Historical Society;
Brent Stoller,
Interstate Supply Company; and
Dave Posey,
Wood Pro Floors.
NWFA Member Services
Looking for information on specific wood species? The NWFA has one-page, high-gloss sheets for a variety of wood species that provide information about color, grain, Janka hardness, dimensional stability, workability, country of origin and availability. The sheets are free for NWFA members. To order, 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
www.nwfa.org.