Manufacturer News
Dri-Eaz Products (Burlington, Wash.) has been purchased by two private equity firms. Dri-Eaz will continue to provide equipment and education for the water-damage restoration industry and maintain its headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Burlington, along with its education and warehousing facilities in Nashville, Tenn., and Newport Pagnall, United Kingdom.
W.D. Flooring (Laona, Wis.) has purchased nearly $1 million in new equipment from Hasko (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.). This purchase, along with W.D. Flooring’s other investments, finalizes the company’s $2 million improvement plan for 2006. These additions increase the company’s flooring production to 1,250,000 square feet per month and add nearly 50 new products to its offering.
Mannington Mills (Salem, N.J.) has awarded its Stand on a Better World Awards to Olga Murray in the social category, Dana Dakin in the economic category and Ritu Primlani in the environmental category. All three women were nominated because of their work in their respective communities.
Delmhorst Instrument Co. (Towaco, N.J.) is celebrating 60 years of business. The company was founded in 1946 and has been run by the Laurenzi family since 1962.
Finewood Flooring & Lumber Limited (Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia) is celebrating 25 years of operation. This unfinished and prefinished strip and plank flooring company was founded by Peter Christiano.
Distributor News
Baillie Lumber (Hamburg, N.Y.) has purchased hardwood flooring distributors Long Floor Supply Inc. (Richmond, Va.) and Long Floor Distributing LLC (Beltsville, Md.). The management and owners of Long Floor will remain actively involved in managing the new company, which will operate as Long Flooring. The ownership change is planned for the end of the year.
Dura Seal/Fabulon (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) held a "Meet the Manufacturers Day" at Gold Coast Flooring Supply (Hicksville, N.Y.) on September 12, Premium Floors (Brooklyn, N.Y.) September 13 and Continental Wood Floors (Bridgeport, Conn.) on September 14. Attending manufacturers included Pat Danworth of Powernail, David Leibach of Clarke American Sanders and Steve Bewsher of Dura Seal/Fabulon. More than 200 contractors attended the sessions, which covered the new OTC and VOC regulations, as well as the newest finishes, nailers and sanding equipment.
Garco Clear Finishes (North Brunswick, N.J.) has added Capitol Wood Floor Supply (Hillburn, N.Y.), Reliable Floor Supply (East Orange, N.J.), Wood Floor Expo (Bronx, N.Y.) and South Coast Hardwood Supply (Charleston, S.C.) as full-line distributors.
Association News
The Australian Timber Flooring Association has purchased the five-year-old Australian Timber Flooring Expo from Polycure (Chipping Norton, NSW, Australia). The association will hold its first show in 2007.
People News
Wood Flooring International (WFI) (Burlington, N.J.) has appointed John Himes president. Himes comes to WFI with 17 years of industry experience in both sales and marketing at Armstrong World Industries and Wilsonart International. He can be contacted at 856/764-2501, ext. 115, or at [email protected].
Oshkosh Designs (Winneconne, Wis.) has added Bill Higbee as national sales director. Higbee will oversee all aspects of national sales management with new and existing customers, sales growth, distribution channels and support-related activities.
Rare Earth Hardwoods Inc. (Traverse City, Mich.) has added Bart Duzenbury as marketing and sales director. For more information, call 800/968-0074.
By the Numbers
Wood flooring shipments for September 2006 totaled 38,124,000 square feet, according to NOFMA: The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association. This is a 23 percent decrease compared with the same month last year and brings the year-to-date shipments to 378,941,000 square feet, a 4 percent decrease over the same time period in 2005. 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.
Total housing starts for September 2006 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,772,000 units, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. This is 5.9 percent below the August 2006 figure of 1,674,000 units.
New residential sales of single-family houses in September 2006 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,075,000 units, according to the U. S. Commerce Department. This is 5.3 percent above the revised August rate of 1,021,000 units but 14.2 percent below the September 2005 total of 1,253,000 units.
In Memoriam
David Lynn Jr., president of Cherokee Wholesalers Inc. (Alexandria, Va.), died August 2 after a long illness. He was 80 years old. Lynn started Universal Floors Inc. (Washington, D.C.) with his brother, South T. Lynn, in the 1950s and after building it for 12 years, left the company to start Cherokee Wholesalers in 1965. Today, Cherokee has six locations in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. His four sons, who learned the business as young boys, are now carrying on the tradition of hardwood flooring in the family. Lynn is survived by his wife Barbara, sons David III, William, Raymond and James, four daughters-in-law and nine grandchildren.
On the Web
Blue Valley Automation (Beatrice, Neb.) has launched its Web site at www.bluevalleyautomation.com.
Louisville Wood Floors (Louisville, Ky.) now has a Web site at www.louisvillewoodfloors.com.
Mark Your Calendar
A Troubleshooting Finishes School will be offered November 15 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Wood Pro (Auburn, Mass.) facility. The school will be presented by Dave Darche of BonaKemi USA (Aurora, Colo.) and is part of an ongoing education series hosted by Charles Peterson. The cost of the school is $175, which includes lunch as well as a $150 coupon to be used toward the purchase of BonaKemi products. Attendees also receive credits toward an NWFA degree. For more information, contact Peterson at [email protected].
Building Products Marketing Institute is hosting a Selling to the Building Team seminar December 8 in Chicago. This seminar will cover marketing and selling strategies for different construction professionals. For more information, visit www.bpm-institute.com.
The Midwest Builders Show & Conference produced by the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago will be held March 21-22, 2007, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. The event brings together builders, developers, suppliers and distributors to exchange home building ideas and information. For more information, visit www.midwestbuildersshow.com.
The JLC Live New England Residential Show will be held March 23-24, 2007, at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, R.I. For more information, contact Todd Russell at 800/471-2404, ext. 6397, or at [email protected].
Job Watch
Austin Hardwood Flooring (Austin, Texas) is looking for a wood flooring salesperson. The ideal candidate will have at least five years’ experience with wood flooring sales and/or installation, be self-motivated and responsible and interested in handling contractor/builder customers and other unfinished flooring prospects. For more information, contact Don Morehart at [email protected] or 512/444-9663.
For Sale
A 26-year-old wood flooring business in Santa Cruz, Calif., is for sale for $175,000, which includes $25,000 in inventory. The business also comes with a good customer service reputation, extensive suppliers and materials for custom designs, an experienced crew and several large city and school district accounts. The building lease is from month to month. For more information, call agent Erin Norton at 831/685-8866.
NWFA Member Services
Do you wonder how issues in Washington, D.C., affect you and your business? You can learn more with the NWFA Washington Report. The Washington Report is a monthly publication that highlights all the issues in the U.S. that impact the wood flooring industry. Prepared by the London & Satagaj law firm, the latest report discusses independent contractor tax issues, estate taxes and U.S. trade policy with China. The report is available to all NWFA members online at www.nwfa.org. Simply click on "Service and Supplies," select "Business Publications" and click on "Washington Report." 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].