Hardwood Floors E-News - 3/3/2008

The final Surfaces numbers are in, affirming that attendance was down for the 2008 show, held January 30-February 1 in Las Vegas. A total of 34,540 floor covering professionals attended the show-a drop of 9.6 percent from 2007-with 982 exhibiting companies. There were more than 216 NWFA-member companies exhibiting. Surfaces 2007’s figures included 38,246 attendees and 1,065 exhibiting companies. Surfaces 2009 will switch to a Tuesday-through-Thursday format, to be held February 3-5. In 2011, the show will move to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, in the Wednesday-through-Friday format, where it has a three-year commitment. The NWFA held its Custom Design & Craftsmanship School, formerly the "Advanced Installation School," at its training facility in St. Louis February 27-29. Technical Director Steve Seabaugh led the instruction of 27 students and was assisted by Frank Kroupa, technical advisor of the NWFA. Volunteer instructors included Daniel Racareanu, American Woodcraft Inc.; Rob Johnson, Basic Coatings; Mike Rocher, BonaKemi USA Inc.; Wayne Lee, Clarke American Sanders; Jamie Lupresto, Diamond Flooring; Michael Dittmer, Michael Dittmer Wood Floors; Roland Ives and Russell Ables, MicroGraphic Innovations Inc.; Tom Peotter, Oshkosh Designs; Daniel Boone, Powernail Company Inc.; Brad Swindoll, Radical Floor Designs; Mark Scheller, Scheller Hardwood Floors Inc.; Chuck Garvey, Timbermate USA Inc. and Lägler; and Tony Robison, Washington Wood Floors. Additional companies that donated materials included Somerset Wood Products (Somerset, Ky.), Allegheny Mountain Hardwood (Emlenton, Pa.), Stuart Flooring (Stuart, Va.) and W.D. Flooring (Laona, Wis.). Clear Lake Lumber (Spartansburg, Pa.) has created a new flooring division, Clear Lake Living, which will service the independent dealer with premium hardwood flooring products through a dealer-direct program.

Ark Floors (Irwindale, Calif.) will be moving into a new 70,000-square-foot facility located at 10775 Lower Azusa Road, El Monte, CA 91731, on March 15. All other contact information remains the same.

Koetter Woodworking (Borden, Ind.) has received chain-of-custody certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). For more information, contact Mike Taylor, director of sales, at 812/923-8875.

Clarke American Sanders (Springdale, Ark.) held its first 2008 "distributor sales institute" February 19-21. For more information on future events, visit www.americansanders.com.

Armstrong Wood Floors’ (Lancaster, Pa.) Premier Performance Hardwood Flooring was named a winner in the Home Magazine 2008 American Building Product Awards. The winners were selected based on innovation, durability and practicality.

Mohawk Industries (Dalton, Ga.) awarded $50,000 to Todd Wenner of Lima Carpet Corporation (Avon, N.Y.) at its ColorCenter convention in Orlando, Fla. February 14-17. Wenner won when he rolled dice that spelled out "Mohawk." Mohawk also named House of Floors (Albuquerque, N.M.) its 2007 National Dealer of the Year.

Richard Marshall Fine Flooring (Los Angeles) has launched its Plant-a-Tree Program in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation. The company now offers clients the opportunity to have a tree planted in their name.

Patriot Flooring Supply (Wilmington, Mass.) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open its 95,000-square-foot pro shop in Pompton Plains, N.J., on February 26. Pompton Plains Mayor Nick Capotes was in attendance.

Lon Musolf Distributing Inc. (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) held a Sanding and Wood Products workshop at its location in Vadnais Heights on February 13. More than 150 people attended, including industry veterans Lon Musolf, Jerry Sagstetter, Duane Gullickson, Gene Hughes, Fred Hertenstein, Joe Garcia and Bill Brenner. Vendors included 3M, Basic Coatings, BonaKemi USA, Lägler, North Wood Flooring and Timbermate. Paul Sagstetter of Northland Hardwood Floors (Cottage Grove, Minn.) won the raffle for a 50-inch plasma TV.

Anderson Hardwood Floors (Clinton, S.C.), an independent operating division of Shaw Industries (Dalton, Ga.) has selected John Patterson as vice president of sales. Patterson has more than 35 years of experience in the industry and formerly worked for companies including Mannington Mills, Columbia Flooring and Scandian Wood Floors.

US Plank Flooring (Portsmouth, Ohio) has added James Gerlach to its sales team. Gerlach previously worked for Columbus Wood Products. He covers the Columbus, Ohio, area and can be reached at 614/402-0530.

Armstrong Floor Products research scientist Brain Beakler has been elected vice president of the Engineered Hardwood Flooring Division of the Hardwood Plywood & Veneer Association.

Accent Hardwood Flooring Inc. (Durham, N.C.) has moved to 601 Foster St., Durham, NC 27701. The company’s other contact information remains the same. Long Floors (Beltsville, Md.) has two openings for experienced wholesale sales representatives in the northern Virginia area. These positions require a minimum of five years’ wholesale experience. Résumés should be sent to [email protected].

Berger-Seidle America LP (Atlanta) is looking for commission-based sales representatives for several U.S. territories. Résumés should be sent to [email protected] or 678/417-6273.

A dealer/contractor located on the East Coast is seeking a wood flooring manager and salesperson for metro New York City. This position entails project management from specifying and ordering through installation and finishing. The ideal candidate will be knowledgeable of all aspects of hardwood flooring, and must be able to read blueprints. Outside sales experience is a plus. Résumés and salary requirements should be sent to [email protected].

Blue Evolution Limited (Shropshire, England) is looking for a U.K. national hardwood flooring sales manager to be based in Midlands or at a satellite office. This position is responsible for supplying solid hardwood flooring into the trade, DIY and Internet markets and pays £30,000-£40,000. Résumés should be sent to [email protected] or to 29a High Street, Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV16 3DG.

The NWFA will hold an Intermediate Installation, Sand & Finish School June 18-20 in Riverside, Calif. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.nwfa.org.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center and the U.S. Forest Service will host one-day seminars to help manufacturers of eastern hardwoods. The dates for the seminars include Mach 6 in Princeton, W.Va.; March 24 in Asheville, N.C.; and April 4 in Williamsport, Pa. For more information, contact Ronda Oglesby at [email protected] or 301/430-6262.

The RadTech UV & EB Technology Conference and Expo will be held May 4-7 in Chicago. This show is directed toward professionals using or supplying UV- or EB-curable materials. For more information, visit www.radtech2008.com.

Housing starts for January 2008 were at a seasonally adjusted 1,012,000 units, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. This is 0.8 percent above the December 2007 figure of 1,004,000 units but 27.9 percent below the January 2007 rate of 1,403,000 units.

New residential sales of single-family houses in January 2008 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 588,000 units, the slowest pace since February 1995, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. This is 2.8 percent below the revised December rate of 605,000 units and is 33.9 percent below the January 2007 estimate of 890,000 units.

In the previous issue of Hardwood Floors’ E-News, the headquarters location of Supex Bond Inc. should have been listed as Montreal, Quebec.

Also in the previous issue, the incorrect phone number was listed for Installers Warehouse (Rochester, N.Y.). It should have read 585/224-1402.

Online voting is now underway for the NWFA Wood Floor of the Year contest. To vote, visit www.nwfa.org, click on the "Floor of the Year" link, and cast your votes in each of the 23 categories. You must have your NWFA member number to vote. Voting will be available until 5 p.m. (Central) on Thursday, March 13. Or contact the NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international) or by e-mail at [email protected].