Final Surfaces Numbers In
The official attendance total for Surfaces 2007, held February 7-9 in Las Vegas, was 38,246, down 5 percent from the 40,488 industry professionals who attended in 2006. The number of exhibiting companies was down only slightly: 1,065 compared with 1,070 last year. Two hundred and twenty of the exhibiting companies were NWFA members.
San Francisco School a Success
The NWFA held an Intermediate Installation, Sand & Finish School in San Francisco March 6-8. The instruction of the 84 attending students was led by NWFA Technical Director
Steve Seabaugh. Volunteer instructors included
Dennis Plaut,
3M;
Rob Johnson,
Brad Betz and
Kevin Bagley,
Basic Coatings LLC;
Pat Cooney and
Dan Lipman,
BonaKemi USA;
Jim Leon,
Campbell & Company Hardwood Floors;
Wayne Lee,
Clarke American Sanders;
Craig McIntosh, Dura Seal;
Roger H. Barker,
Fortifiber Building Systems Group;
Lon Vaughn,
Glitsa American Inc.;
Don Smithson and
Jean-Paul Pierre,
Golden State Flooring;
Matt White,
Hardwood Floor Connection;
Mathias Klein,
Klein Hardwood Flooring;
Brett Butler,
New Parks, div. of Zinsser Co. Inc.;
David Mansfield and
Mike DeFriese,
Norton Abrasives;
Mike O’Neil,
Owens Flooring Company;
Russ Watts,
Palo Duro Hardwoods Inc.;
Gary Arnold,
Powernail Company;
Nathaniel Prior,
VerMeisterUSA;
Dave Stark,
Virginia Abrasives Corporation;
Todd McDonald,
W.D. Flooring;
Tony Robison,
Washington Wood Floors Inc.; and
Dave Posey,
Wood Pro Floors. The lead distributor was
Golden State Flooring (South San Francisco, Calif.).
Manufacturer News
Junckers Hardwood Inc.’s (Anaheim, Calif.) U.S. Residential Division was purchased from the company by a team led by
Paul Walker, the previous CEO of
Junckers USA, on January 31. The new company operates under the name
Premier Flooring Solutions and offers the same products, including Junckers Solid Traditions, Nature’s Beauty and The Woodland Collection. Junckers Hardwood Inc. continues to operate in the commercial segment with a focus on large projects.
Ace Hardwood Flooring (Austin, Texas) is building a second manufacturing facility in Austin for its 1/2- and 3/4-inch mesquite flooring lines, which will double the company’s production capacity. Peter Regan and Bobby Beard will head operations at this new facility.
Mohawk Industries (Dalton, Ga.) was ranked 64th in Training Magazine’s Top 125 training organizations. In other news, the company earned membership in the Million Dollar Council of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. This council is a group of corporate partners that contributed at least $1 million to the foundation and found new and innovative ways to spread the messages of "early detection saves lives" and "only through research can a cure be found."
Preverco Inc. (St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec) has launched its new logo, which is set to debut with several of the company’s new products. For more information, visit www.preverco.com.
Distributor News
Model Hardwood (St-Edouard Lotbiniere, Quebec) has named
Canoak Flooring Ltd. (Headingly, Manitoba) and
Wood Pro of Maine Inc. (Gorham, Maine) its Top Leaders in terms of best sales increase for Canada and the U.S., respectively. Model’s award for the largest sales volume in square feet of Model products sold worldwide went to
Divine Hardwood Flooring Ltd. (Calgary, Alberta).
Floor Style Products (Hastings, Mich.) hosted its Floor Style Cruise 2007 in the Bahamas for 47 people February 11-16. General Manager James Gray and National Sales Manager Kerry Authier hosted the group, which won the trip as part of a joint promotion with BonaKemi USA (Aurora, Colo.). Floor Style Cruise 2008 is planned for February 9-15.
W.F. Taylor Co. Inc. (Fontana, Calif.) has selected Jaeckle Distributors Inc. (Madison, Wis.) as a partner in the Midwest. Jaeckle will distribute products in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Upper Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Distribution Brothers LLC (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) held a grand opening for its new location in Des Moines, Iowa, on March 9. There were product giveaways, product demonstrations and contractor clinics hosted by representatives from Basic Coatings LLC, Woodwise/Design Hardwood Products, DuraTool and Revolution Inc. For more information, call 800/973-9810.
Dealer News
Carpet One Floor & Home (Panama City, Fla.) provided the flooring in Donald Trump’s infamous boardroom for "The Apprentice: Los Angeles." The flooring comes from its Arianna line in Driftwood and Spice.
People News
NOFMA: The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association (Memphis, Tenn.) has elected
Bob Haggard of
Hassell and Hughes Lumber Co. Inc. (Collinwood, Tenn.) president for 2007.
Tommy Maxwell of
Maxwell Hardwood Flooring (Monticello, Ark.) was named vice president and
Timm Locke will continue to serve as the association’s executive vice president. Board members elected to a three-year term include
Bill Buchanan,
Buchanan Hardwood Floors (Aliceville, Ala.);
Tim Elliot,
Hardwoods of Morristown (Morristown, Tenn.); and
Doug McDaniel,
Stuart Flooring (Stuart, Va.).
ProTeam Inc. (Boise, Idaho) has promoted Matthew M. Wood to president and CEO. Wood joined ProTeam in 2005 as president and COO.
Noveon Inc. (Cleveland) has named Eric R. Schnur vice president and general manager of its performance coatings division.
Stauf-USA (Memphis, Tenn.) has added Frank Potter as director, operations and sales. Potter previously worked for Capella Wood Floors as manager, inside sales. He is responsible for the inside operations and sales of the adhesive supplier and is also the mid-America regional sales manager.
Bostik Inc. (Middleton, Mass.) has selected Jesse Haberstich as mid-Atlantic territory manager-ceramic and hardwood products. Haberstich manages Bostik accounts in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey and central/eastern Pennsylvania.
HomerWood Hardwood Flooring Company (Titusville, Penn.) has hired Jamal Mickens to lead its sales and marketing organization. He joins HomerWood from its parent company, Armstrong World Industries.
Ace Hardwood Flooring has hired the following sales representatives: J.J. Szeneri and Holly Teter for California, Paul Ashcroft for the Northwest, Bill Ford for the south-central U.S. and William Figari for the Southeast.
Powernail Company Inc. (Lake Zurich, Ill.) has named Stan Lawson of Stan Lawson & Associates (Raymond, Miss.) the 2006 winner of its "Top of the Mountain" sales award.
UFloor Systems (Greensboro, N.C.) has named Mike Summers technical director-hardwood. Summers is based in Sisters, Ore., and is responsible for assisting customers with technical support, holding training sessions, developing solutions to problems and recommending the right products or systems.
Glitsa American Inc. (Seattle) has appointed Brian Garnet sales and technical representative. Gamet is responsible for the territory from Maine to Louisiana, and he brings seven years of experience to the job.
By the Numbers
Wood flooring shipments for January 2007 totaled 36,766,000 square feet, according to
NOFMA: The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association. This is a 16 percent decrease compared with the same month last year. 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.
Remodeling activity remained steady for the fourth quarter of 2006, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ Remodeling Market Index (RMI). Current market conditions rose from the third quarter of 2006, from 47.8 to 48.2, but future expectations decreased, from 46.0 to 45.4.
On the Web
Mohawk Industries has upgraded its Web site at
www.mohawk-today.com.
Mirage/Boa-Franc (St-Georges, Quebec) has launched a bilingual virtual pressroom online at miragefloors.mediaroom.com.
HomerWood Hardwood Flooring Company (Titusville, Pa.) has refined its Web site at www.homerwood.com.
Mark Your Calendar
The NWFA will hold an Intermediate Installation, Sand & Finish School April 25-27 at the
World Floor Covering Association headquarters in Anaheim, Calif. For more information, e-mail
[email protected] or visit
www.nwfa.org.
The NWFA will hold its 22nd Annual Education Conference and 2007 Wood Flooring Expo April 10-13. Former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway will be the keynote speaker, discussing professionalism on and off the field. Online registration is still open, and on-site registration will be available. 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 www.nwfa.org.
Lenmar Inc. (Baltimore) will offer its NWFA-accredited Sand & Finish Schools March 22-23, May 24-25 and September 13-14 at its training facility in Baltimore. For more information, contact Janet Sullivan at 800/966-7020, ext. 121, or e-mail [email protected].
The National Association of Home Builders will hold its 9th Annual National Green Building Conference March 25-27 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in St. Louis. For more information, visit www.nahb.org.
Job Watch
Hawa Bamboo (Lombard, Ill.) is seeking a highly motivated and experienced hardwood flooring account representative/sales manager to sell solid, engineered and distressed bamboo hardwood flooring in the Midwest. The company’s branch in Sayreville, N.J., is also seeking an office shipping/handling person with at least two years’ experience in the wood flooring industry. Résumés should be e-mailed to
[email protected] or faxed to 732/390-1838.
NWFA Member Services
The Hardwood Publishing Company’s "Annual Forecast 2007" of hardwood market trends is available. Produced by
Weekly Hardwood Review,
Hardwood Review Global and the
Hardwood Leader, this report includes detailed forecasts of business conditions in sawmills and all major hardwood market sectors, including the molding and millwork industry, the wood component industry and international markets. The report helps buyers and sellers of hardwood lumber understand the opportunities and challenges the hardwood industry so they can strategically plan for the future. "Annual Forecast 2007" will be distributed at no charge to subscribers of the
Weekly Hardwood Review and the
Hardwood Leader. The publication is available to non-subscribers for $200. For more information, contact
Kim Young at 800/638-7206 or 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.