Hardwood Floors E-News - 1/26/2009

NWFA Lobbies for Building Products, Furnishing Incentives in Stimulus The NWFA has joined several associations advocating that consumer and commercial tax incentives for the mass-scale purchase of home furnishings and building products be included in the president's economic stimulus package. The proposal calls for a temporary 10 percent to 20 percent refundable consumer tax credit for the purchase and installation of home furnishings, which would result in savings of $500 to $1,000 for the average consumer. It also calls for a 10 percent tax deduction (capped at $1,000 to $2,000) for individuals with adjusted gross incomes less than $150,000, and for couples with adjusted gross incomes less than $250,000 to purchase and install home furnishings. Additional commercial, retail and contractor incentives are proposed in the form of a 10 percent refundable tax credit for inventory purchases of building products, a deduction for bad debt, a capped tax credit for items considered to be ordinary and necessary, and a 50 percent bonus depreciation in the year of purchase for depreciable building products.

The deadline for submitting documentation of support is tomorrow: Tuesday, Jan. 27. Call the NWFA's headquarters at 800/422-4556 for more information or to receive a list of Congressional contacts and an e-mail template to send to your representatives.

Surfaces to be Held Feb. 2-5 It's expected that Surfaces 2009, to be held Feb. 2-5 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, will reflect the current economy: Projections are that there will be around 700 exhibiting companies, down from 982 in 2008 and 1,065 in 2007.

Seminars start Feb. 2, while the trade show runs Feb. 3-5. For the first time, there will be a general session to start the show on Feb. 3. The session, titled "Prevailing Through the Current Crisis — An Industry Wake-Up Call!" will be a panel of industry experts moderated by CNN's Gerri Willis. There will be several hardwood flooring-relevant seminars and Installation Showcases. (Seminars require registration and a registration fee; Installation Showcases are held in the exhibit hall and are free.) Some presentations include:

Seminars
Feb. 2, 1-4 p.m.
How to Avoid Moisture Related Problems
Speaker: Peter Craig

Feb. 2, 2-4 p.m.
Selling and Installing Hardwood Flooring
Speakers: Steve Seabaugh and Richard Poirier

Feb. 4, 8-9:30
Green Building Points: What Is The Floor Covering Industry's Contribution?
Speaker: Ephraim Senbetta, Ph.D.

Feb. 4, 4-5:30 p.m.
"Green" From Wall Street to Main Street — It is Not a Passing Fad!
Speakers: Dave Kitts, Rick Ramirez, Don Finkell, and moderator Phil Johnson

Feb. 5, 8-9:30 a.m.
Can You Hear Me Now? Combating Noise Control
Speaker: James Keene

Installation Showcases Feb. 3, 11-noon
Is Your Floor "Green" with Envy? (green substrate preparations, flooring materials, adhesives and finishing products)

Feb. 4, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Hardwood Flooring Finishes (oil-modified and water-based finishes)

NWFA Holds First 2009 School at St. Louis Headquarters On Jan. 21-23 NWFA hosted an Intermediate Installation and Sand & Finish school at its St. Louis headquarters; 26 students attended. NWFA's Rusty Swindoll and Glen Miller were the lead instructors. Volunteer instructors included: Chris Livingston, Todd McDonald, Aacer Flooring LLC; Daniel Racareanu, American Woodcraft Inc.; Rob Johnson, Basic Coatings; Mike Rocher, Bona US; Wayne Lee and Bryan Fussell, Clarke American Sanders; Keith Baier, Custom Hardwood Floors; Roger Barker, Fortifiber Building Systems Group; Mike Osborn, Glitsa American Inc.; Greg Mihaich, Norton Abrasives; Curt Sandberg, Sandberg's Custom Hardwood Floors; Johannes Boonstra, Synteko Floor Finishes; Mike Summers, UFloor Systems Inc.; and Karl Stafflinger, Virginia Abrasives Corporation.

Manufacturer News Absolute Coatings (New Rochelle, N.Y.) completed an acquisition of Star Bronze Company (Alliance, Ohio) on Dec. 31. Star Bronze is the manufacturer of Zip-Strip paint removers and Zip-Guard wood finishing products. All of Star Bronze's manufacturing operations will be moved to Absolute's New Rochelle facility; service to Star Bronze's customers is expected to continue uninterrupted.

Chickasaw Brand and Barnes Flooring are adding a facility for the new Professional Plank product line. The plant, located in Selma, Ark., will be in operation at the end of this month. The new facility will allow expansion of the company's plank offerings with more species, wider widths, longer lengths and special orders, the company says. For more information, contact Jim Duke at 800/346-3010 or [email protected], or Gene Barnes at 870/853-8288 or [email protected].

Mirage/Boa-Franc (St-Georges, Quebec) recently completed a year of celebrations in honor of its 25^th anniversary of manufacturing flooring for North American customers. Mirage started as a small shop with three workers; today it has nearly 400 employees and a manufacturing area as large as 10 football fields.

Distributor News Welco Floor Coverings (Vancouver, Canada) has added Joe Carson & Associates (Portland, Ore.) as a sales agent for Karelia Wood Floors in Washington and Oregon. Welco is the exclusive distributor of Karelia Wood Floors for western North America.

Premium Hardwoods Inc. (Auburn Hills, Mich) hosted a contractor seminar Jan. 17, 2009. "How to Manage in These Hard Times" was presented by Richard Poirier of Dimension International (Quebec, Canada). 3M, Basic Coatings, Glitsa American and Clarke American also participated.

Dealer News Strait Flooring (Sequim, Wash) was named the 2008 Mohawk Floorscapes Dealer of the Year by Mohawk Industries (Dalton, Ga.). Each year Mohawk names a recipient based on, among other criteria, sales increases, store promotion and a display of a commitment to educating about its Floorscapes dealer program. Strait Floors owners Chad Copeland and Steve Wilson accepted the award at the Mohawk Floorscapes Convention held in Orlando.

People News Cikel America LLC (Miami) has appointed Mark Kolbe regional sales manager for New England and upstate New York. Kolbe previously worked for Hoboken Floors.

By the Numbers Total housing starts in December posted a 15.5 percent decline, to 550,000 units, while single-family housing starts declined for the eighth straight month to 398,000. Both numbers are all-time lows. The single-family starts in December were a 13.5 percent decrease from November. The overall 2008 housing starts fell 33.3 percent, to 904,300.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) reached a new record low of 8 in January. All of the HMI's component indexes remained at or near historic lows this month. The index gauging current sales conditions had a two-point decline to 6, while the indices gauging sales expectations for the next six months and traffic of prospective buyers each rose a single point, to 17 and 8, respectively. Any number over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor.

Trade Show News The 21^st Domotex Hannover show was held Jan. 17-20 in Hannover, Germany. Approximately 1,350 exhibitors were at the show this year, slightly lower than last year's 1,442. The National Wood Flooring Association (Chesterfield, Mo.) had a 200-sq.-meter pavilion at the show, with the following companies exhibiting in alliance with the NWFA: Arborcraft (Johnson City, Tenn.), Bamboo Flooring Hawaii LLC (Honolulu, Hawaii), Graf Brothers Flooring Inc. (South Shore, Ky.), Great Lakes Veneer Inc. (Marion, Wis.), Diversified Foam Products (Pennsauken, N.J.), Powernail Company Inc. (Lake Zurich, Ill.), Mullican Flooring (Johnson City, Tenn.), Shamrock Plank Flooring (Memphis, Tenn.), Teak & Woods of Distinction (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.), and Robinson Lumber & Flooring (New Orleans).

On the Web Howell Hardwood Flooring (Dothan, Ala.) has launched a new Web site at www.howellflooring.com. The site highlights Howell's line of unfinished engineered products in a variety of job site finishes. Also featured is the company's made-to-order prefinished program.

Muscanell Millworks (Cortez, Colo.) has a new Web site: www.muscanell.com. The site allows access to detailed information on the company's line of solid, unfinished wood flooring and stair parts, as well as information on the company's drying process and wood sustainability.

Mark Your Calendar The NWFA will hold an Advanced Installation School Feb. 25-27, a Custom Design and Finish School March 10-13, and a Wood Flooring Basics School March 17-20. All schools will be held at NWFA headquarters in St. Louis, and NWFA scholarships are available for all technical schools. Furthermore, the Advanced Installation and the Custom Design and Finish schools are prerequisites for attending the NWFA's Expert Installation and Expert Sand & Finish schools. For more information, e-mail [email protected], visit www.nwfa.org, or call 800/422-4556 (USA), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international).

Basic Coatings will hold an Advanced Pro School March 30-April 3, a Distributor School May 11-13, and a TyKote Recoat School June 1-3. All programs will be held at the company's Toledo, Ohio, training center. Contact Kellie Smithson at 800/247-5471, ext. 3798 to reserve a spot. For more information and detailed course descriptions, visit www.basiccoatings.com.

Job Watch A premier national manufacturer of polyurethane wood floor finishes is looking for full-time factory sales representatives. Preferred candidates will have three to five years of experience calling on hardwood flooring distributors, hands-on knowledge of floor finishing techniques, and basic knowledge of computer programs like Word, Excel and e-mail. Travel is required. In addition to a salary, employees are eligible for bonuses, 401(k) savings, car allowances and medical benefits. Candidates should e-mail a resume, salary requirements, educational and work history, and customer references to [email protected].

WoodCareUSA LLC (Atlanta) is looking for commission-based, independent sales representatives to introduce its WOCA hardening-oil finishing system in several regions. Contact John Thafvelin at 800/242-8160 or [email protected].

NWFA Member Services The NWFA is dedicated to advancing the wood flooring industry through continuing education and training. Our technical training schools are recognized throughout the world as an important learning opportunity for wood flooring professionals. To continue to provide the highest-quality programs available, we are asking for your support in making these schools possible. You can help by offering personnel assistance, by offering the use of your tools and equipment, or by donating your products, including wood, fasteners, adhesive, abrasives, finish, etc. For more information, contact the NWFA.