Issue Date:10/13/2008
Log in to view the full article
Issue Date:10/13/2008
The ITC, an independent, nonpartisan, fact-finding federal agency, completed the report at the request of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. The full report is available at hotdocs.usitc.gov/docs/pubs/332/pub4032.pdf. For more on the report, see the upcoming December 2008/January 2009 issue of Hardwood Floors.
Manufacturer News Künzle and Tasin SPA (Milano, Italy) is expanding operations in North America with K&T North America Inc. (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.) The North American operation will be led by President Ryan Tremere. With this expansion, Künzle and Tasin plans to partner with North American warehouses to bolster expansion, reduce lead times and improve its parts availability and service. For further information, contact Tremere at [email protected].
Vermeister (Mornico Al Serio, Italy) has opened a new facility in Mornico Al Serio. The company held a grand opening Sept. 12 that attracted about 800 people from 22 countries. The facility contains more than 20,000 square feet of production area and 5,000 square feet of laboratories.
After a four-year absence, Armstrong World Industries (Lancaster, Pa.) will return to Surfaces in 2009, albeit in a smaller capacity. The company will not have a booth, but it will host a Product Showroom open to attendees on Feb. 4 from noon to 5 p.m. and on Feb. 5 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Surfaces began offering the Product Showrooms—meeting rooms within the convention center—last year. Surfaces 2009 will be held Feb. 3-5.
Amorim Industrial Solutions (Trevor, Wis.), manufacturer of Wicanders cork flooring, won the "Interior Design NeoCon Green Star Award" at NeoCon World's Trade Fair 2008. The award recognizes sustainable products.
Distributor News ArborCraft Floors (Johnson City, Ind.) has named Swiff-Train Company (Corpus Christi, Texas) a distributor of the Harris Wood brand in Texas, Oklahoma and part of Arkansas, sharing that state with Bolick Distributors (Baton Rouge, La.). For more information, contact Scott Page at [email protected]. Also new to the ArborCraft Floors distributor list is Gilford Flooring Inc. (Jeffersonville, Ind.), which will distribute Harris Wood in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. For more information, contact Rob Purkins at [email protected].
Job Watch Basic Coatings (Toledo, Ohio) is seeking a regional sales manager for its Midwest operations, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri. Qualified applicants will have a working knowledge of the hardwood flooring industry, including distribution. The individual will be responsible for regional product growth and training distributors. Interested individuals should e-mail a resume to [email protected], fax to 419/321-9886, or mail to Basic Sales, P.O. Box 3127, Toledo, OH 43607.
A Northeast distributor is seeking a manager for one of its distribution centers in the greater Boston area. The ideal candidate will have great leadership skills and management experience. He or she will be responsible for sales, inventory control, branch budgets and profitability. This is a salary-plus-profitability bonus position offering great benefits. Resumes should be sent to [email protected].
Brigitte Bernard is seeking a position in sales and management in the U.S. market. She has 11 years of experience in flooring accessories and would like to move into hardwood floors. She was formerly territory manager at Finium for six years and covered the East Coast and Midwest. She is based in Quebec City and can be reached at 418/878-5540 or [email protected]. She has dual citizenship in Canada and the United States.
Mark Your Calendar On Oct. 15-17 Basic Coatings will hold a sanding, finishing and installation class at its Toledo, Ohio, training facility. Similar classes will be held Oct. 23 at Praters Inc. (Chattanooga, Tenn.); Oct. 29-30 at Golden State Flooring (San Francisco); Nov. 4-5 at Norton Abrasives (Albany, N.Y.); and Dec. 3-4 at Wood Pro Inc. (Boston). On Nov. 18-19 the company will hold a Basic TyKote/Recoat training course, also at its Toledo facility. Contact Kellie Smithson at 800/247-5471, ext. 3789, to reserve a spot.
By the Numbers The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 10-city and 20-city home price indices both fell at record rates in July. The indices reached declines of 17.5 percent and 16.3 percent, respectively. Despite these losses, the pace of decline is slowing, particularly throughout the previous 3 months. From November 2007 to April, the rates of decline were approximately 6 percent to 6.5 percent, whereas from May to July, the rates fell about just 2.2 percent. Officials, however, could not forecast an end to declines. "There are signs of a slowdown in the rate of decline across the metro areas, but no evidence of a bottom," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's. The S&P housing indices analyze housing sales information from large metro areas across the U.S.
NWFA Member Services There are just two more chances in 2008 to attend an NWFA Intermediate Installation and Sand & Finish School. The first is Oct. 22-24 in Phoenix. The second is Nov. 12-14 in Minneapolis. The three-day school is set up in a modular format so that you can attend the entire school or only the days that will best serve your needs. Students attending this school will receive a moisture meter and three credits toward an NWFA degree. The cost to attend either school is $197 per day, or $590 for all three days. Lunch is included. For more information, 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 by visiting https://nwfa.org/.