Issue Date:5/18/2009
NWFA Holds Subfloor Prep/Solid Glue-Down School The NWFA hosted a Subfloor Prep & Solid Glue-Down on Concrete School May 13-15 at its St. Louis headquarters. At 32 students, it was the largest subfloor school yet. The NWFA's Director of Technical Training Steve Seabaugh led the instruction. Volunteer instructors included: Todd Schutte and Chuck Garvey, Bona US; Dayle Moore and Steve Lima, Bostik Inc.; Robert Moffett, Ceno Group; Mark Long, Chemque Inc.; Roger Barker, Fortifiber Building Systems Group; Trevor Hayden, Metropolitan Hardwood Floors Inc.; Nick Motto, Motto's Flooring; Bob Sweezey, Stauf-USA Adhesive LLC; and Mike Summers, UFloor Systems Inc.
Manufacturer News Satin Finish Hardwood Flooring Ltd. (Toronto) consolidated its western and Ontario customer service departments in Toronto as of May 1. It will operate from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST and can be reached at 800/267-2846 or by fax at 416/747-1327.
Distributor News Wood Pro Inc. (Auburn, Mass.) has moved into a new 13,000-square-foot building, complete with a store, showroom and warehouse; the company will hold an open house this summer. Its new address is: 421 Washington St., Auburn, MA 01501. For more information, call 508/832-3291 or fax 508/832-7147.
ChilCo Diversified LLC (Akron, Ohio) is now a distributor for Sika Corporation (Lyndhurst, N.J.) in Ohio and western Pennsylvania. ChilCo's Mike Childress can be reached at 330/714-6900 or [email protected].
Retailer News Lumber Liquidators Inc. (Toano, Va.) had a profit of $5.1 million, or 19 cents per share, during the first quarter of 2009 as sales increased to $123.9 million, 8 percent higher than the first quarter in 2008. Same-store sales, however, declined 5.8 percent; the company opened 10 new stores during the quarter. For the year, the company expects a single-digit decline in same-store net sales while it also plans to open 30 to 36 new stores.
People News EcoTimber (Richmond, Calif.) has named Dale Payton-Engle its new CEO; he replaced Lewis Buchner on May 1. Payton-Engle has held the positions of COO and CFO since joining EcoTimber in May 2008.
Robina Floors (Kennesaw, Ga.) has named John Mitchell regional sales manager for the western United States. Mitchell was previously employed by Schlage Lock Company.
Harris Wood (Johnson City, Tenn.) has named John Stopka a manufacturers representative for Illinois and Wisconsin; Stopka has 19 years' experience in the flooring industry.
On the Web Mannington Wood Floors (Salem, N.J.) has launched a new dealer Web site at www.makingitmannington.com. It offers customized content and a lead generation program for One Mannington and Platinum Plus dealers, downloadable product brochures, and a link to the Mannington Image Gallery.
Norton Abrasives (Worcester, Mass.) has launched a new Web site at www.nortonfloorsanding.com. It includes new product information, FAQs and an electronic catalog.
In Memoriam Walter Tobin, former owner of Tobin Distributing (Palatine, Ill.), passed away April 8; he was 88 years old. Tobin was a lifelong hardwood flooring distributor and parquet manufacturer. In the late '70s he sold his business and moved to Buckville, Ark., where he continued to manufacture parquet patterns; he did this until his health forced him to quit. He was an instructor at the first NOFMA School, held in Memphis, Tenn.
Mark Your Calendar The NWFA will hold an Intermediate Installation and Sand & Finish School June 3-5 in Riverside, Calif., and an Engineered Glue Down School in Folsom, Calif., June 26. For more information, e-mail [email protected], visit www.nwfa.org, or call 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada), or 636/519-9663 (local and international).
Basic Coatings (Toledo, Ohio) and Lon Musolf Distributing Inc. (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) will host a Basic Coatings Cookout on May 27th in Vadnais Heights from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Basic's Josh Neuberger will give a seminar on Basic's products. Food will be served and a raffle will be held.
Tradeshow News More than 1,200 people attended the NAHB National Green Building Conference, held May 8-10 in Dallas; event organizers said the number of attendees "exceeded expectations." Financier T. Boone Pickens delivered a keynote presentation, and 95 companies exhibited products. Next year's show will take place May 16-18, in Raleigh, N.C., at the Raleigh Convention Center.
Job Watch Allan Nery is seeking a position in sales. He previously worked for BR-111 Imports & Exports Inc. as commercial department national sales manager, and as architecture and design community director for six years. He resides in Virginia Beach, Va., and can be reached at [email protected] or 757/761-4300.
Floor Leaders (Coral Springs, Fla.) recently launched www.floorleaders.com, an employment Web site for the floor covering industry. Candidates looking for a position can search available positions by location, compensation levels, job function, product category or market segment. The company was founded by Robert Goldberg, a former executive at both Hoboken Floors and Pro Source Wholesale Floorcoverings.
NWFA Member Services NWFA Certified Professionals has partnered with the International Certified Floorcovering Installers Association (CFI) to train certified flooring sales counselors. Under the new partnership, CFI will conduct educational training for wood flooring sales counselors, with the NWFACP providing all testing materials, including an on-line exam. Students who attend the classroom sessions and pass both the tests will be awarded a dual CFI/NWFACP sales counselor certification. For more information, e-mail [email protected], visit www.nwfacp.org, or call 866/418-5408 or 636/728-1922 (local and international).
