Manufacturer News
Houtwerf B.V. (Holland) has acquired
Forest Brand Floors (Louisville, Ky.) for an undisclosed purchase price. This purchase includes the headquarters in Louisville and a warehousing facility in Atlanta. The newly formed company,
Forest Brand Floors Inc., will be a co-manufacturer and importer of a wide range of flooring. For more information, e-mail
[email protected].
Elegance Exotic Wood Flooring (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) has purchased a distribution center in Fontana, Calif. The new facility features 460,000 square feet of warehouse and office facilities and 70 docks. For more information, contact Michele McPherson at 909/484-7676.
BonaKemi USA Inc. (Aurora, Colo.) has received Greenguard Children and Schools Certification for hardwood and hard surface floor care products by the Greenguard Environmental Institute.
Southern Staircase (Alpharetta, Ga.) purchased Stair Parts Inc. (Adairsville, Ga.) on May 10.
Distributor News
Capitol Wood Floors & Supplies (Hillburn, N.Y.) held a grand opening for its new branch at 130 Scott Road in Waterbury, Conn., on June 27. Waterbury Mayor Michael Jarjura attended the opening, along with several vendors including
Absolute Coatings,
Basic Coatings LLC,
BonaKemi USA,
Delmhorst Instrument Co.,
Glitsa American,
DriTac Adhesive Group,
T.C. Dunham Paint Co.,
Galaxy Floor Sanding Machines,
GrillWorks,
Harco International,
Powernail Company,
Somerset Hardwood Flooring,
Virginia Abrasives and
Woodwise/Design Hardwood Products. For more information, call 845/369-3738, ext. 261.
Synteko Floor Finishes (Pontiac, Mich.) has added Distribution Brothers LLC (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) as a distributor.
People News
Award Hardwood Floors (Wausau, Wis.) has hired
Dick Schumann as vice president of sales. Schumann previously worked for Columbia Flooring.
Michael Wise, previously vice president of sales, has been appointed national director of key accounts.
Jill Kort, who has been with the company since 1997 as marketing assistant and customer service manager, has taken the position of marketing manager.
Supexbond Inc. (Montreal, Quebec) has appointed John Lipka U.S. West Coast regional sales director. Lipka works out of Los Gatos, Calif., and can be reached at 408/395-7696, by cell at 408/309-9066, or by e-mail at [email protected].
David Hayward has joined the Australian Timber Flooring Association as a technical advisor. He was previously with the Australian Standards Committee for Timber Flooring.
Importer/Exporter News
Viking International Marketing Inc. (Middleboro, Mass.) has consolidated its Brazilian operations into one office in Porto Alegre RS, Brazil, led by
Watson Paladini. For more information, call 55-51-3333-2650, or e-mail
[email protected] or
[email protected].
Association News
The NWFA has received its first APEX Grand Award for its work on the NWFA 2007 Convention Campaign. Apex is an international competition sponsored by Communications Concepts Inc. and recognizes excellence in publication work by professional communicators.
By the Numbers
Total housing starts for June 2007 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,467,000 units, according to the
U.S. Commerce Department. This is 2.3 percent above the May 2007 figure of 1,434,000 units, but is 19.4 percent below the revised June 2006 rate of 1,819,000.
On the Web
The
North American Association of Floor Covering Distributors (NAFCD) (Chicago) has redesigned its Web site at
www.nafcd.org.
Mark Your Calendar
ProTeam (Boise, Idaho) will hold an open house and celebration for its 20
th anniversary on August 17 at its headquarters. For more information, contact
Laurie Birrer at 208/377-9555.
The NWFA will hold an Expert Installation School October 2-6 at its training facility in St. Louis. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.nwfa.org.
The Australian Timber Flooring Association will hold its 2007 ATFA Conference October 11-12 at the Pavillion Convention Center in Sydney, Australia. Christine Coates of Coates and Associates (Novato, Calif.), past president of the NWFA, will be a featured speaker. For more information, visit www.atfa.com.au.
Correction
The previous issue of
Hardwood Floors’ E-News should have noted that all 586 Listone Giordano showrooms are owned by independent dealers.
NWFA Member Services
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[email protected] or visit
www.nwfa.org.