Tarkett Acquired by New Stream Capital
The North American group of
Tarkett International (Nanterre Cedex, France) has been acquired by private investment group
New Stream Capital (Ridgefield, Conn.) for an undisclosed price, according to
The Johnson City Press. This acquisition encompasses
Tarkett Wood's (Johnson City, Tenn.) three facilities. The new company will operate under the name of
ArborCraft and will revive Harris and Floorcraft brands, according to the report. As of press time, no one at either company could be reached for comment.
Hoboken Chapter 7 Case Dismissed; Inventory to Be Liquidated
Delaware District Judge Christopher S. Sontchi has dismissed
Hoboken Wood Flooring LLC's (Wayne, N.J.) Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. The company abruptly shut down November 5 and filed for Chapter 7 on November 7, citing lack of funds to pay for restructuring through Chapter 11. Northern New Jersey newspaper
The Record reported that Hoboken has no assets beyond those owed to the bank and other secured lenders and has no money to pay for the administration of Chapter 7, so its assets will be liquidated to pay the company's secured creditors. Primary among these secured creditors is
Wachovia Bank National Association (Charlotte, N.C.), which is suing Hoboken for seizure of its assets as compensation for $66 million in secured debts.
LiquiTec, the liquidation arm of
AccuVal Associates Incorporated (New York), has been retained by Wachovia to liquidate the inventory. More information on the liquidation can be found by contacting
Bob Gaudiosi at
[email protected] or a liquidation sales agent at 800/570-1946, ext. 121.
Suppliers left stranded by Hoboken's closing are continuing to select different distributors in the area, and Patriot Hardwood Floors and Supply has announced it is expanding (see Patriot story below). Somerset Hardwoods (Somerset, Ky.) has named distributors Apollo Distributing Company (Fairfield, N.J.) in New Jersey, Connecticut and New York; Bayard Sales Corp. (Philadelphia) in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and parts of Virginia and West Virginia; and NRF Distributors (Augusta, Maine) in Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and parts of New York and Pennsylvania. Mirage/Boa-Franc (Saint-Georges, Quebec) has added Apollo Distributing Company for New York City, northern New Jersey and western Connecticut, and has also added Derr Flooring Co. as a distributor for New York City, northern New Jersey and western Connecticut.
Armstrong Expands Patriot Hardwood
Following Hoboken's closing,
Armstrong Flooring Products (Lancaster, Pa.) is expanding
Patriot Hardwood Floors and Supply Inc. (Wilmington, Mass.), a distributorship that was part of Armstrong's acquisition of Triangle Pacific in 1998. Patriot's new territory includes Connecticut, New York and parts of New Jersey north of Ocean County, in addition to its former territory of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. A new branch location will be selected shortly in New Jersey. The company has hired eight additional salespeople-many of whom are former Hoboken employees-for this new branch, according to
Paul Murfin, vice president of sales at Armstrong Flooring Products. Patriot carries Bruce, Armstrong, Robbins and HomerWood, as well as a range of unfinished hardwood brands. Armstrong will retain its distributors on the East Coast, including
Belknap-White (Mansfield, Mass.) for Bruce, Armstrong and Robbins Hardwood;
Derr Flooring (Willow's Grove, Pa.) in New Jersey and New York as a Bruce Hardwood distributor; and
Apollo Distributing (Fairfield, N.J.) for Armstrong Hardwood.
In addition, Armstrong has expanded its distribution in the South with Johnson Wholesale (Atlanta) as a Bruce distributor in Florida, Georgia and southern Alabama. Cain and Bultman (Jacksonville, Fla.) will distribute Robbins hardwood in Georgia, in addition to the full line of Armstrong products.
In other company news, Armstrong Holdings Inc., the former parent company of Armstrong World Industries Inc. (Lancaster, Pa.), has established a timetable for its dissolution. December 5 will be the last day of trading common stock, and no further trading or transfers will be recognized after this date. On December 12, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company will begin distributing the $28 million in assets to shareholders. Following this distribution, Armstrong Holdings Inc. will file Articles of Dissolution and will cease to exist.
Lumber Liquidators Chairman Sells Stock
Lumber Liquidators Inc. (Toano, Va.) chairman
Thomas Sullivan sold 4.1 million shares of stock at $11 each November 15, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company's initial public offering opened November 8 at $11 a share and had fallen to $8.50 a share as of press time, a nearly 23 percent drop since the IPO. Sullivan could not be reached for comment.
Manufacturer News
Cefla Finishing Group (Imola, Italy) has acquired
Cattinair Finishing (Pont de Roide, France), a manufacturer of rotary sprayers.
Mapei Corporation (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) has started building a 79,000-square-foot addition to its Garland, Texas, plant, which will double the plant's size. The company will also start construction on a 115,000-square-foot plant in Millville, N.J., in early 2008.
Distributor News
Capitol Wood Floors (Hillburn, N.Y.) and
Premium Wood Floors (Brooklyn, N.Y.) have merged. The combined business will provide six locations distributing throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Sol Weiss, owner of Capitol, is the brother of
Aron and
Lazar Weiss, owners of Premium Wood Floors. "Our ability to provide a quality service to the wood flooring professional has gotten stronger with this merge," Aron Weiss says. The combined companies will open a 25,000-square-foot distribution branch featuring a 10,000-square-foot pro shop in Totowa, N.J.
EarthSource Forest Products/Plywood and Lumber Sales Inc. (Oakland, Calif.) has opened a 2,200-square-foot showroom called The Urban Jungle for a range of sustainable and environmentally healthy exotic wood products. Most of these products are FSC-certified, all are manufactured with low-emitting adhesives and finishes and some are comprised of salvaged raw materials. The showroom is located at 1618 28th St. in Oakland. For more information, call 510/208-7257.
Floor Style Products (Hastings, Mich.) is now a distributor for Oshkosh Designs (Winneconne, Wis.) medallions and borders.
Higuera Hardwoods (Poulsbo, Wash.) has opened a 12,000-square-foot distribution facility in Poulsbo. For more information, call 360/779-4050.
People News
Lauzon Distinctive Hardwood Flooring (Papineauville, Quebec) has hired
Vincent Dagnault as its senior marketing director-merchandising. Dagnault previously worked for Procter & Gamble. The company has also added
Gabrielle Lamirande-Gauvin as merchandising manager.
Clarke American Sanders (Springdale, Ark.) has hired Sheldon Walker as sander manager for the West. Walker has more than 20 years of experience in the hardwood flooring industry and previously worked for Glitsa American.
Lenmar (Baltimore) has added Brett Butler to its sales team. Butler previously worked at New Parks as national accounts manager. He can be contacted at 713/899-2229 or brett.butler@insl-x-com.
Larry Shideler, who founded ProTeam Inc. (Boise, Idaho) in 1987, has retired from active management and will remain with the company as chairman.
Accord Flooring (Boca Raton, Fla.) has added several former Hoboken Wood Floors employees to its sales team: Douglas Borges for regional sales in southeast Florida, Leigh Sterrett for regional sales in southwest Florida and Rick Lewis for regional sales in the Jacksonville area.
Schafer Hardwood Flooring Company (Tecumseh, Mich.) has hired Ed Westfall as distribution sales manager for the company's Kalamazoo, Mich., showroom. His territory includes western Michigan and Indiana. He can be contacted at 517/403-2814 or at [email protected].
Kelly-Goodwin Company (Tukwila, Wash.) has added Dan Harrison as a salesperson. He is based out of the company's Portland, Ore., location and covers parts of southern Oregon. Harrison can be reached at 800/452-1647 or [email protected].
Association News
The
Australian Timber Flooring Association held its inaugural ATFA Convention in Melbourne, Australia. More than 1,000 hardwood flooring professionals attended the exhibition and conference October 11-12.
Christine Coates of
Coates and Associates (Novato, Calif.), past president of the NWFA, was a featured speaker, and
Daniel Boone of
Everwood Floors Inc. (DeLand, Fla.) handled demonstrations. The association will hold two conventions in 2008. For more information, visit
www.atfa.com.au.
The China Forestry Industry Association and China Wood International Inc. held the third annual China Wood Flooring Export & Import Conference in Hangzhou, China, October 28-30. The conference attracted more than 200 international and domestic wood professionals, including immediate past chairman of the NWFA Joe Audino. For more information on next year's show, visit www.chinawood.org.
Mark Your Calendar
The NWFA will hold a Wood Flooring Basics School March 4-7 at its training facility in St. Louis. For more information, e-mail
[email protected] or visit
www.nwfa.org.
BonaKemi USA Inc. (Aurora, Colo.) will offer several sanding and finishing schools next year for hardwood flooring professionals and beginners at its training facility in Monroe, N.C. The dates of the schools include February 26-29; April 15-18; June 2-6 (beginners only); July 15-18; August 12-15; and November 11-14. For more information, contact Betty Jo Hargrave at 303/923-6632.
UzBuild, an exhibition for the building and interiors industry, will be held March 4-7, 2008, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. For more information, call 44-207-596-5004.
By the Numbers
Total housing starts for October 2007 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,229,000 units, according to the
U.S. Commerce Department. This is 3 percent above the September 2007 figure of 1,193,000 units, but 24.5 percent below the October 2006 rate of 1,560,000 units.
The overall National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) remained unchanged at 19 in November from October. The index gauging current sales conditions remained at 18, while the index gauging sales expectations for the next six months declined a single point to 25. The index gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose two points to 17.
Job Watch
Augusta Lumber (Waynesboro, Va.) is seeking experienced salespeople to promote its Montebello line of prefinished hardwood flooring. The company offers a full compensation package. Résumés should be e-mailed to
[email protected].
Greyne Custom Wood Co. (Baltimore) is looking for an operations manager/plant manager to produce products, oversee order fulfillment and manage inbound raw materials. The ideal candidate will speak both English and Spanish, have a wood background and enjoy working in a changing environment. Résumés should be e-mailed to [email protected].
Harco Clear Coatings (Northern Brunswick, New Jersey) is looking for sales agents in the U.S. to call on distributors and retailers of floor finishes. For more information, contact [email protected].
Correction
The previous issue of
Hardwood Floors' E-News incorrectly stated the position
Aacer Flooring LLC (Peshtigo, Wis.) is seeking to fill. The correct position title is vice president of manufacturing. For more information, contact
[email protected].
NWFA Member Services
Are you looking for an affordable way to train your crew and/or customers? Consider hosting an NWFA-Member Sponsored School. Schools available include the Factory Finished Wood Flooring Installation School, the Wood Flooring Installation School and the Wood Flooring Sand & Finish School. The cost of each school is $1,500 a day plus instructor expenses. For more informatio n, contact the NWFA 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.