Fund Created for Bill and Pat Price After Tornado
Among the hundreds of homes in central Florida destroyed by tornadoes last Friday was the home of longtime industry veteran
Bill Price Sr. and his wife,
Pat. Both Bill and Pat escaped unscathed, but their home, cars and personal belongings were all lost. Industry friends and participants on Bill's Web site,
www.floormasters.com, have started a fund for Bill and Pat to help them recover from the disaster. Those who would like contribute to the fund may make a payment by using PayPal on the www.floormasters.com site (click on the link that says "
Support Floormasters.com, Donate Today"), or business checks or personal checks (with a notation on the check "To Bill Price") may be sent with a business card to:
Paul Mierzejewski, 34 Cadbury Place, Naugatuck, CT 06770. Questions about contributions should be directed to Mierzejewski at 203/723-0328 or 203/910-0888 or at
[email protected].
NWFA Holds First School of 2007
The NWFA held its first 2007 Intermediate Installation, Sand & Finish School in Denver January 24-26. NWFA Technical Services Advisor
Frank Kroupa led the instruction of 61 students. Volunteer instructors included
Chris Livingston,
3M;
Brad Betz and
Rob Johnson,
Basic Coatings LLC;
Mike Rocher,
Dave Erickson,
Dee Lenston and
Matthew Hudson, BonaKemi Inc.;
Kirk Anderson and
Tom Heese,
Dura Seal;
Roger H. Barker,
Fortifiber Buildings Group;
Cameron DeMar,
Glitsa American Inc.;
Tom Anderson,
Kimbrough-Carpenter Inc.;
Mike DeFriese,
Norton Abrasives;
Tom Peotter,
Oshkosh Designs;
Russ Watts,
Palo Duro Hardwoods Inc.;
Dave Stark,
Virginia Abrasives Corporation; and
Dave Posey,
Wood Pro Floors.
Denver Hardwood Company (Denver) was the lead distributor.
Manufacturer News
Signature Innovations LLC dba IGALA Wood Floors (Wood Dale, Ill.) has relocated to an 18,500-square-foot facility located at 1171 Landmeier Road, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007. The new phone numbers are 847/758-9600 and 866/554-4252, and the fax number is 847/758-9696. The company’s 3,600-square-foot showroom and design center will open in March.
Chinafloors Shanghai Ltd. (Shanghai, China) has opened a U.S. sales office in Atlanta. Perry Coker is president of the North American operation. Coker previously was senior vice president of residential sales for Tarkett. For more information, visit www.chinafloors.com.
Mirage/Boa-Franc (St-Georges, Quebec) has been selected as one of the 20 best Canadian small companies to work for by the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail, in partnership with Queen’s Centre for Business Venturing and Hewitt Associates. A total of 120 companies were considered.
Cape Fear Riverwood (Wilmington, N.C.) supplied wood salvaged from the Cape Fear River for the National Homebuilder Mainstream GreenHome in Raleigh, N.C., funded by Cherokee Investment Partners’ (Raleigh, N.C.). Cherokee sustainably revitalizes environmentally impaired properties.
Distributor News
Timeless Forest Products Inc. (Tyrone, Ga.) has opened a new 12,000-square-foot facility located at 65 Ellen Sims Court, Newnan, GA. The phone number is 770/683-9244 and the fax number is 770/683-9245.
DriTac Adhesive Group (Brooklyn, N.Y.) has chosen Sea-Pac Sales (Seattle) to distribute its products to the Northwest. Sea-Pac has distribution points in Seattle; Spokane, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; and Boise, Idaho.
EZ Tread (New Castle, Del.) has selected LAJ Wood Products Inc. (Hayward, Calif.) as its distributor for the San Francisco area.
Garco Clear Finishes (North Brunswick, N.J.) has added the following distributors: Latham Paint Center (Latham, N.Y.); Premium Wood Floors (Maspeth, N.Y.); Gleco Paint Supply (Mt. Pocono, Pa.); and TEC Products Inc. (Carteret, N.J.).
Association News
The National Institute of Certified Floorcovering Inspectors has launched its national hotline to answer both residential and commercial questions regarding flooring problems and failures. The number for the East Coast is 516/558-3277; the West Coast number is 213/992-2269; and the number for the central states is 312/281-2628. Technical information can also be found at
www.nicfi.org or by e-mailing
[email protected].
People News
Columbia Flooring (Danville, Va.) has named
Greg Pray president and
Lance Rooney vice president sales marketing.
Mountain Lumber Company (Ruckersville, Va.) has hired Mark N. Glover as chief operating officer.
Finium/Fini UV International Inc. (Frampton, Quebec) has appointed Julie Vachon inside sales agent and Mélanie Joy in charge of customer service and order entry.
Burkle North America Inc. (Charlotte, N.C.), a manufacturer of woodworking technologies, has added Sven Kramer as sales engineer at its Charlotte office.
Design Flooring Distributors Inc. (Pompano Beach, Fla.) has appointed Mitchell Delay sales representative to the west coast of Florida. Delay is responsible for Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and surrounding areas. He can be reached at 941/518-7211 or 800/300-7442, ext. 2024.
Wood flooring manufacturer Ribeyron Ltd. (Ripon, Quebec) has appointed René Rocheleau sales director. Rocheleau has 23 years of experience in the wood flooring industry. He is responsible for warehousing and customer service.
By the Numbers
Wood flooring shipments in 2006 were down 8 percent compared with 2005, dropping from 527,241,000 to 483,145,000, according to
NOFMA: The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association. Wood flooring shipments for December 2006 totaled 33,174,000 square feet, a 20 percent decrease compared with the same month 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.
New residential sales of single-family houses in December 2006 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,120,000 units, according to the U. S. Commerce Department. This is 4.8 percent above the revised November rate of 1,069,000 units but is 11 percent below the December 2005 estimate of 1,259,000.
Mark Your Calendar
The NWFA will hold a NOFMA/NWFA/MFMA Basics School at its expanded training facility in St. Louis March 20-23. For more information, e-mail
[email protected] or visit
www.nwfa.org.
The Australian Timber Flooring Association will hold three-day Floor Inspector Training programs in Brisbane, Australia, March 12-14 and in Melbourne, Australia, March 26-28. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.atfa.com.au.
Clarke American Sanders (Springdale, Ark.) has revised the dates of two of its three-day training schools. They will be held May 22-24 and October 2-4, not May 1-3 and October 9-11, as previously published.
Domotex Asia/Chinafloor will be held March 28-30 in the Shanghai New International Expo Center. For more information, visit www.domotexasiachinafloor.com.
In Memoriam
Craig Lampe, former vice president of
Wanke Cascade (Portland, Ore.) and 33-year industry veteran, died January 17 after more than three years battling cancer. Lampe headed Wanke’s sales and marketing team for 25 years until his retirement in 2003. Previously, he held the position of western regional sales manager for
Congoleum Corp. (Mercerville, N.J.). He was active in flooring associations nationwide. Remembrances may be sent to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 2141 Rosecrans Ave., #7000, El Segundo, CA 90245 or can be made through
pancan.com.
Keep on Trucking!
Hardwood Floors is looking for photos of your company vans, trucks or trailers for its June/July 2007 dealer/contractor marketing contest. A professional branding expert will pick the best one, the winner will receive a
Hardwood Floors T-shirt, and a photo of the winning vehicle will appear in the magazine. The deadline for submitting a photo of your company vehicle is Friday, March 9. If you are a hardwood flooring dealer or contractor and think you have a great company van, truck or trailer, mail a photo of your vehicle (printed copies only, please-no digital files) to: Company Vehicles, Hardwood Floors, 4130 Lien Road, Madison, WI 53704.
NWFA Member Services
In November, the NWFA’s membership reached a milestone by crossing the 4,000 mark. You can receive recognition for helping our association grow. For each person you refer to the NWFA resulting in new membership, you will receive $25 off your dues. If 16 new members join as a result of your referrals, your membership dues for the year are free. In addition, members who recruit four new members in a given year (April to April) receive a Golden Mallet Award. Additional awards are presented for recruiting two new members in subsequent years. 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].