Issue Date:10/27/2008
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Issue Date:10/27/2008
Glitsa Vice President Julie Russell said that it "just made sense to connect their strengths with ours." The two companies have been industry partners for more than 30 years — Rudd manufactures Glitsa's Swedish finishes and stains. "All of Glitsa's salespeople, as well as key inside individuals, will be moving over to Rudd's facility," Russell said, adding that none of Glitsa's Seattle-based manufacturing jobs will be lost in the acquisition.
NWFA Holds Three Schools in October On Oct. 7-11 NWFA hosted an Expert Installation school, followed by an Expert Sand and Finish school Oct. 13-15, at its St. Louis headquarters. The NWFA then headed west for an Intermediate Installation and Sand & Finish school Oct. 22-24 in Phoenix. NWFA Director of Technical Training Steve Seabaugh and Technical Services Advisor Frank Kroupa led both Expert schools, while Kroupa led in Phoenix. Volunteer instructors at the Expert Installation school included: Dee Lenston and Frank Szubart, BonaKemi USA; and Tony Robison, Washington Wood Floors. Volunteer instructors at the Expert Sand and Finish school included: Galen Fitzel, 3M; Mike Rocher and Cameron DeMar, BonaKemi USA; Wayne Lee, Clarke American Sanders; Trevor Hayden, Metropolitan Hardwood Floors Inc.; and Tony Robison, Timbermate USA Inc. Volunteer instructors at the Intermediate school included: Jennifer Hansen, 3M; Brian Pruitt, Basic Coatings; Jason Elquest, Blackhawk Floors; Frank Szubart, BonaKemi USA; Kirk Anderson, Dura Seal; Drew Kern, Flooring Works; Greg Mihaich, Norton Abrasives; and Ray Slusarczyk, Shadetree Custom Hardwood Floors. Virginia Hardwood Co. (Phoenix) was the sponsoring distributor for the Phoenix school.
Distributor News Lauzon Distinctive Hardwood Flooring (Papineauville, Quebec) has expanded its partnership with Patriot Flooring Supply Inc. (Pompton Plains, N.J.) by adding the Patriot North (Wilmington, Mass.) location as a distributor; the branch will cover Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
UFloor Systems Inc. (Greensboro, N.C.) has named Distribution Brothers LLC (Eau Claire, Wis.) its latest Midwest distributor. Distribution Brothers LLC held open houses in October at its three locations: Oct. 13 in Urbandale, Iowa; Oct. 15 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Oct. 17 in Eau Claire, Wis. The company gave away a 42-inch LCD TV, which was won by Jim Carlson from Mid-Iowa Floors (Ames, Iowa).
People News Preverco (St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec) has appointed four new territory managers. Dean Nixon will cover the Southeast, South and West Coast. Nixon brings 20 years of experience and was previously employed by Columbia Flooring and Mullican Flooring. David Pierce will cover New England and western New York. He joined Preverco in 2007, previously working for Mohawk Industries and as a subcontractor and retail owner. Robert Naida will oversee New York City, New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic areas. Naida has 21 years of industry experience, previously working for Columbia Flooring and Apollo Distributing. He also has experience in retail, wholesale and manufacturing. Tim Reid will oversee the greater Toronto area. Reid previously worked for Shnier. Also, Jason Austen was promoted to sales manager for Ontario. Austen has 15 years of industry experience and has worked as both a territory manager and in distribution for Preverco.
American West Flooring Inc. (El Monte, Calif.) has added Glenn Engelbrecht to its national sales staff. He can be reached at [email protected].
Lon Musolf Distributing Inc. (Vadnais, Minn.) recently hired Dave Weber as a sales manager. Weber brings 31 years of industry experience.
Robina Floors (Kennesaw, Ga.) has named Dean Nixon its vice president of sales. He brings more than 25 years of experience in the floor covering industry, including positions with Unilin, Witex, Mullican Flooring, Columbia and Mohawk. Robina's Mark Suplee was promoted to senior vice president. Suplee previously served as Robina's vice president of sales.
By the Numbers September single-family housing starts fell from the August figure of 618,000 to 544,000, a 12 percent decline, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. This is the slowest rate of new-home production since August 1982. Overall September housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 817,000, a 6.3 percent decline from the revised August estimate of 872,000. Overall starts are down 31 percent from September 2007.
Sales of new single-family homes were up 2.7 percent in September, according to the Commerce Department, but were still 33.1 percent below the September 2007 rate. Sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000, eclipsing the August figure of 452,000. The median sales price for new homes sold in September was $218,400, while the average price was $275,500. Currently, the U.S. has a 10.4-month housing supply, with an estimated 394,000 new homes available.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), which measures current sales conditions of single-family homes, fell three points to 14 in October, a new record low. This dip reflects "profound uncertainties tied to the financial market shocks of recent weeks," according to the NAHB. The HMI measures three components: perceptions of current single-family home sales, expectations throughout the next six months and prospective-buyer traffic. All three indices declined this month after upturns in September. The forecast index fell nine points to a record low of 19, while the traffic index returned to its record low of 12.
In other NAHB news, David Seiders, chief econimist for NAHB, said Wednesday during the group's Fall Construction Forecast Conference that Congress needs to provide "sorely needed" economic stimulus to encourage home ownership and limit foreclosures so the U.S. can begin economic recovery. "Things are a lot worse than any of us had anticipated six months ago," he said, but he predicted sales of new single-family homes would pick up in early 2009. Still, he admitted that the "uncertainties out there are unprecedented," and that there is a growing risk that today's major housing contraction could worsen.
FMI Corporation, the nation's largest provider of investment banking to the worldwide construction industry, has predicted 2009 as the low point for residential construction, according its annual U.S. Markets Construction Overview, released this month. In 2005 residential construction reached nearly $618 billion, accounting for 56 percent of all U.S. construction, while in 2008 it fell to $397 billion, now accounting for just 37 percent of U.S. construction, according to the report. The report predicts a 6 percent decline in 2009, citing a multitude of dooming factors, from rising unemployment and inflation, to declining property value and consumer confidence. The report was released prior to the recent weeks' financial turmoil, and FMI admits "the direction of our forecast is still correct, however, it probably does not reflect the intensity of the impact of the credit crunch." The full report is available at www.fminet.com for $135, and a webinar on the topic will be held Nov. 18; send an e-mail to [email protected] to participate.
Existing-home sales rose 5.5 percent last month in response to lower prices and interest rates, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Existing-home sales-including single-family, townhomes and condos-reached a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.18 million units, up from 4.91 million in August. This rate is 1.4 percent higher than the September 2007 rate. "Credit tightened at the end of September," said NAR President Richard Gaylord, "but the improvement demonstrates that buyers who've been on the sidelines want to get into the market to make a long-term investment in their future." Specifically, single-family home sales increased 6.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.62 million, according to the NAR. The median sale price for an existing single-family home was $190,600.
On the Web Basic Coatings (Toledo, Ohio) has launched a new Web site at www.basiccoatings.com. It contains enhanced navigational tools and improved key word search results.
Distribution Brothers LLC has updated its Web site, www.distributionbrothers.com. The new site has links to vendors and an online store.
For Sale Hardwood Floors by David LLC (Gilford, N.H.), a Lakes Region dustless sanding and finishing company, has equipment and a trailer for sale. For more information, contact Dave Mull at 603/630-4423 or [email protected].
Mark Your Calendar The China Wood International Wood Flooring Cooperation Summit will be held Nov. 12-15 at the Shanghai MinYa Hotel in the Lujiazui financial trade zone. Tours of Chinese wood factories and retail outlets will be given. An expert panel on Nov. 13 will discuss the global wood flooring market, international cooperation and the internalization of Chinese wood flooring companies. Green topics will be discussed Nov. 14, including the Lacey Act, forest certification and green products purchasing. Dave Spreen, President of Dave Spreen Enterprises Inc., will be participating in the expert panel and is also organizing an industry delegation to attend the summit. For more information, contact Spreen at [email protected].
NWFA Member Services Times are tough in our industry right now, but training is still essential to the success of your company. If you have been looking for an affordable way to train your crew and/or customers, you might want to consider hosting an NWFA member-sponsored school. NWFA will bring trained instructors to your company location to conduct the training you need. You can select from among standard offerings from NWFA schools, or the NWFA can customize a school to fit your specific need. The cost for each school is $1,500 a day plus instructor expenses. For more information, contact the NWFA at [email protected].