Convention Attendance Figures Released
The 23
rd Annual NWFA Conference and Wood Flooring Expo held in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., March 25-28 attracted 3,411 wood flooring professionals, including 85 people attending the Inspector Symposium. The expo featured 577 booths occupied by 306 companies. Attendance was down 2.6 percent from last year's show in Denver, which attracted 3,502 attendees, as well as 321 exhibiting companies.
NWFA Travels to the City by the Bay
The NWFA held an Advanced Intermediate Installation and Sand & Finish School in San Francisco April 8-11. Technical Director
Steve Seabaugh led the instruction of 34 students. Volunteer instructors included
Dennis Plaut, 3M;
Avi Hadad, Avi's Hardwood Flooring;
Rob Johnson, Basic Coatings;
Pat Cooney and
Mathias Klein, BonaKemi USA Inc.;
Sheldon Walker, Clarke American Sanders;
Craig McIntosh, Dura Seal;
Mike Osborn, Glitsa American Inc.;
Don Smithson and
Jean-Paul Pierre, Golden State Flooring;
Brett Butler, Lenmar Inc.;
Greg Mihaich, Norton Abrasives;
Donald Bouchard, Perfection Home Flooring;
Gary Arnold, Powernail Company;
Chuck Garvey, Timbermate USA Inc.;
Larry Subervi, UFloor Systems Inc.; and
Todd McDonald, W.D. Flooring. The lead distributor was
Golden State Flooring (South San Francisco, Calif.).
Manufacturer News
Wolfgang Stauf, president of
Stauf Adhesives (Siegen, Germany), has moved to the U.S. to expand the
Stauf-USA Adhesive LLC (Memphis, Tenn.) division. Stauf products have been on the U.S. market for six years, and the U.S. division has reported the greatest growth of all of Stauf's business units within the past five years, the company says.
Oshkosh Designs (Winneconne, Wis.) has received a Gold ADEX award from Design Journal for its Radiance medallion.
Solida Cork and Bamboo (Mississauga, Ontario) has been nominated for the Green Log Home & Lifestyle Awards presented by Precision Craft and Mountain Architects. Solida was chosen for its environmentally responsible flooring alternatives.
Distributor News
Lauzon Distinctive Hardwood Flooring (Papineauville, Quebec) has selected
Patriot Flooring Supply Inc. (Pompton Plains, N.J.) as its distributor for New York City, Long Island, Connecticut and the northern half of New Jersey down to Mercer and Monmouth counties.
Sean Stewart, founder of Ochoco-International LLC, has started stewartfloor llc (Chicago), an exotic wood flooring importing company selling to U.S. distributors. Stewartfloor has inventories located in Baltimore, Chicago and Oakland, Calif., as well as prefinished inventories in North Carolina. For more information, visit www.stewartfloor.com or call 866/780-7839.
People News
BonaKemi USA (Aurora, Colo.) has appointed
Tom McNeil national retail/distribution manager for the U.S. and Canada. McNeil previously worked for Saint-Gobain Abrasives Inc.
On the Web
WoodFloorsOnline.com Inc. (Jacksonville Beach, Fla.) has added a portal for users to access general wood flooring information, products and additional resources.
DriTac Flooring Products LLC (Carlstadt, N.J.) has launched a new site at www.dritac.com.
Atlas Lumber Company (Chino, Calif.) has a new blog available at www.atlaslumber.com/current-news.asp.
Mark Your Calendar
A to Z Wood Flooring Inc. (Eagan, Minn.) will host its 2
nd Annual Wood Flooring Expo April 16-17 at its Eagan location. More than 20 vendors are slated to attend, with demonstrations to be given by representatives from
Clarke American Sanders,
Glitsa American and
3M. For more information, call 651/366-6001 and ask for the sales department.
Mannington Mills Inc. (Salem, N.J.) will hold hardwood/laminate training courses April 20-24, September 21-25 and November 9-13 at its facility in Salem. To register, call 800/356-6787.
NeoCon World's Trade Fair, a conference and exposition for interior design and facility management, will be held June 9-11 at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. For more information, visit www.mmart.com.
Basic Coatings LLC (Toledo, Ohio) is offering its Basic Pro Schools June 9-12 and October 13-16 at its training facility in Toledo. Its Basic TyKote/Recoat Training will also be offered in Toledo April 14-16, July 14-16 and November 17-19. To register, contact Kellie Smithson at 800/247-5471, ext. 3798.
Floorstyle 08 will be held June 29-July 1 at the ExCel Centre in London.The show runs concurrently with the Tile & Stone show, but focuses on wood flooring, laminate and other floor coverings. For more information, visit www.floorstyle08.co.uk.
The NWFA will hold a Wood Flooring Basics School September 16-19 at its training facility in St. Louis. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.nwfa.org.
The 2008 EcoHome Expo & Conference will be held October 23-24 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit www.ecohomeexpo.com.
NWFA Member Services
The NWFA's newest Contractor Profit Report, "Making Money in a Tough Market," is now available. Written by
Dr. Al Bates, the report examines two key issues, including the impact of a recession and the actions that contractors might elect to take to survive the sluggish market. The report also provides specific strategies that can both negatively and positively impact your bottom line in a tough market. The full report is available online at
www.nwfa.org. Simply click on the "Services and Supplies" link, select "Statistical Reports," followed by the "Profit Improvement Reports" link. For more information about the program, 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].