Armstrong Holdings to be Dissolved in Fourth Quarter
More than 95 percent of shareholders approved the Plan of Dissolution, Distribution and Winding Up for
Armstrong Holdings Inc. (Lancaster, Pa.). The company’s assets include $27 million in cash and 40.5 million outstanding Armstrong Holdings Inc. shares, which the board of directors hopes to distribute to shareholders as soon as the fourth quarter of 2007. This is the final result of Armstrong's emergence from bankruptcy, which it declared at the end of 2000.
In other company news, Armstrong World Industries reported second quarter 2007 net sales of $920.6 million, 4 percent higher than the $884.1 million reported in the same time period in 2006. The operating income grew to $94.2 million from $82.1 million in the second quarter of 2006. Wood flooring net sales of $211.7 million in the second quarter of 2007 decreased 5 percent from $222.6 million the prior year. This decrease is primarily attributed to the housing market slowdown, which more than offset the benefit from previous acquisitions. Reported operating income for the first two quarters was $159.7 million compared with $129.3 million for the same time period in 2006. Adjusted operating income of $155.7 million increased 22 percent compared with adjusted operating income of $127.4 million in the prior year period.
Manufacturer News
National Paint Industries (North Brunswick, N.J.) has purchased the assets of
Harco Chemical Coatings (Brooklyn, N.Y.) for an undisclosed price. Harco management will remain unchanged, with
Herb Wallenstein acting as vice president of Harco. Harco will continue to produce and distribute products from its facility in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mohawk Industries (Dalton, Ga.) has partnered with Global FloorCare Solutions (Atlanta) to establish Mohawk Authorized Service Centers across the U.S. to provide floor care, including hardwood refinishing. For more information, call 866/879-6732, ext. 3083.
Clarke American Sanders (Springdale, Ark.) has awarded Eric Hartness of Hartness Floor Construction (Statesville, N.C.) a Super 7R Edger. Hartness won the edger after a drawing to promote the Clarke Pride Program, the company’s new customer service plan.
Distributor News
Floor Style Products Inc. (Hastings, Mich.) held a grand opening for its new 15,000-square-foot facility located at 9100 Yellow Brick Road in Rosedale, Md., on July 16. Several vendors attended, including
Basic Coatings,
BonaKemi USA,
Clarke American Sanders,
Lägler,
Lenmar Inc.,
Norton Abrasives and
Wagner Electronics. The phone number at the new branch is 410/780-8130.
Retailer News
Floor to Ceiling has acquired the
World of Floors (Macomb, Mich.) franchise for an undisclosed price. World of Floors founder,
Emil Pedick, will remain as president, reporting to Floor to Ceiling CEO and President
Steve Sindlinger. World of Floors operates 17 stores in lower Michigan, plus a showroom in Wilmington, N.C., and has plans to open another in Florida.
People News
Green River American Hardwood (Great Barrington, Mass,) has hired
Scott Burega as director of national accounts and business development. He previously worked for Hoboken Floors.
Mark Your Calendar
Brickman Consulting Inspector Training Services (Norwell, Mass.) and
BonaKemi USA will hold an Advanced Inspection for Hardwood class at the BonaKemi facility in Monroe, N.C., August 13-17. For more information, e-mail
[email protected].
Clarke American Sanders will host a sanding seminar October 2-4 at its facility in Springdale, Ark.
Decorative Flooring (Port St. Joe, Fla.) will hold a Wood Floor School September 13. Each student will leave with an inlay and the knowledge of how to make one using scrap material. For more information, call 877/229-7720 or visit www.woodfloorschool.com.
The International Scientific Conference on Hardwood Processing will be held in Québec City, Quebec, September 24-26. For more information, visit www.ischp.ca.
Blastrac Global (Oklahoma City) will hold Surface Preparation Academic Resource Center classes September 18-20, October 23-25 and November 27-29 at its facility in Oklahoma City. For more information, call 800/256-3440 or visit www.blastrac.com.
The NWFA will hold an Expert Sand and Finish School October 8-10 at its training facility in St. Louis. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.nwfa.org.
By the Numbers
Residential sales of single-family houses in June 2007 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 834,000 units-its slowest pace in more than four years, according to the
U.S. Commerce Department. This is 6.6 percent below the revised May rate of 893,000 units and is 22.3 percent below the June 2006 estimate of 1,073,000.
Job Watch
Heritage Wide Plank Flooring (Riverhead, N.Y.) is seeking an experienced molder operator as well as experienced regional salespeople for areas outside of Long Island. For more information, call
Catherine Lanieri at 631/727-5260 or e-mail
[email protected].
Revamp Your Image
Hardwood Floors needs real dealer/contractor marketing pieces to be redesigned by professional design expert for its Sharper Image column. To have a piece considered for a redesign, hardwood flooring contractors and dealers should send in their newspaper ads, magazine ads, Yellow Pages ads, direct-mail pieces or company brochures to Redesign, Hardwood Floors, 4130 Lien Road, Madison, WI 53704.
NWFA Member Services
Applications for NWFA degrees will be due earlier than usual for 2008-February 1-since the NWFA’s 2008 Convention will be held March 26-29. You can earn credits toward the degrees by attending NWFA schools, participating in the NWFA Convention as an Education Package attendee, serving on an NWFA committee, winning an NWFA Wood Floor of the Year Award, winning an Xtreme Wood Flooring Makeover award, serving on the NWFA Board of Directors and more. Degrees will be presented during the 2008 Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 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.