Hardwood Floors E-News: November 8, 2010

Report Finds Greenwashing Rampant

More than 95 percent of consumer products are guilty of committing at least one offence of "greenwashing," a term used to describe unproven environmental claims, according to the report "Sins of Greenwashing." The report was released last month by TerraChoice, an environmental-marketing company. TerraChoice's study found that the number of products claiming to be green increased by 73 percent since 2009. TerraChoice visited retail outlets throughout the U.S. and Canada and inventoried every product that made a green claim; they found 5,296 products. The company looked whether green products committed any of its "7 Sins of Greenwashing," including fibbing, offering no proof and being vague about environmental qualities.

TerraChoice looked at 729 building products typically found at big box DIY retail outlets. About 70 percent of those products provided no proof for their green claim, and about 70 percent provided vague claims. TerraChoice also found that there were 108 percent more green building products in 2010 than there was in 2009. The full report can be viewed here.

TerraChoice is owned by Underwriters Laboratories, an independent product-safety certification organization; both TerraChoice and Underwriters Laboratories offer green-certification programs.

Powderpost Beetles Make the News

A powderpost beetle claim made it all the way to the San Francisco Bay-area local TV news this week. After a woman sought the help of ABC affiliate KGO-TV, an Oakland flooring mill replaced her defective floor four years after it was installed; the floor was found to have been infested with powderpost beetles. Don White Lumber Company made an insurance claim on the floor and handed over a $16,000 check to homeowner Barbara Matteucci, and workers replaced her ash floor with an oak floor. Mill owner Don White said, "It's the only time in 138 years in business that this has happened. It's a rare kind of occurrence, but you plan for it and you take care of your customers." After discovering powderpost beetles burrowing throughout her dining room floor, an exterminator told Matteucci the floor had most likely been infested with beetles before it was installed. The complete story from KGO-TV can be found here.

Wood Flooring Contractor Faces Jail Time

A Washington State wood flooring contractor has four months to pay $12,500 in restitution or face up to a year in jail, according to a story from The News Tribune. Daniel Clarence Medlock, 38, failed to return down payments to customers, wrote bad checks and continued to work after his business license was revoked. Medlock recently pleaded guilty to first-degree theft and three counts of operating a business post-revocation.

According to The News Tribune, it all started in March 2009 when Medlock, who was self-employed and doing business as Cutting Edge Hardwood Floors, was charged with theft for pocketing a $5,600 down payment for hardwood floors that were never installed. An initial investigation found that Medlock had been a "suspended contractor" since February 2009. Then, in September 2009, Medlock's certificate to do business was revoked; he was forced to stop operating the business or face criminal action. He continued to offer bids and completed installation projects, collecting more than $1,600 in retail sales tax that went unreported to the Department of Revenue. If Medlock repays all of the money by March, prosecutors will recommend a four-month jail term, to be served on work release.

NWFA Holds Final School of 2010

The NWFA ended its 2010 technical education schedule with a sold-out Intermediate Installation, Sand & Finish School in Vancouver, British Columbia, Nov. 3-5; 27 students attended. NWFA's Frank Kroupa led the course, and volunteer instructors included Vittorio Weber (Admirable Flooring, a division of WS Home Solutions Inc.), Craig McIntosh (Dura Seal), Lon Vaughn (Glitsa, a division of Rudd Company), Kjell Nymark (Nordic Hardwood Floors), Mike Peterson (Peterson Hardwood Floor Co.), Daniel Boone (Powernail Company Inc.) and Hunter Culbert-Steele (Raincoast Floors).

NWFA Pavilion Filling Quickly for Domotex Germany

The NWFA Pavilion is nearly full for the Domotex Germany show to be held Jan. 15-18 in Hannover, Germany. Space remains for one 12-square-meter booth within the Pavilion. Participating NWFA members include Advantage Trim & Lumber, Basic Coatings, Diversified Industries/The Floor Muffler, Graf Brothers Lumber & Flooring, Great Lake Veneer, Mullican Flooring, Robinson Lumber Co., Shamrock Plank Flooring, Tresca Exotic Hardwood Flooring, Wagner Electronics, and W.D. Flooring. Domotex Germany brings together major flooring suppliers from throughout the world to showcase their products. The 2010 show boasted more than 1,400 exhibitors in 13 halls, and more than 38,000 attendees from 82 countries. For more information, contact NWFA's Jan Landon at [email protected].

Manufacturer News

Mohawk Industries' (Calhoun, Ga.) net income rose 50 percent during the third quarter of 2010, while net sales decreased roughly 5.3 percent. The company reported third quarter net income of $51 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, compared with $34 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, during the third quarter of 2009. Mohawk's net sales for the third quarter of 2010 were $1.3 billion, compared to net sales in the third quarter of 2009 of $1.4 billion. Mohawk's full third quarter results can be viewed here.

Armstrong World Industries' (Lancaster, Pa.) wood flooring net sales fell 14 percent as the company's overall net income also fell in the third quarter of 2010. The company reported wood flooring net sales of $119.8 million in the third quarter, compared to $140.1 million in the prior year's quarter; this segment had a reported operating loss of $13.3 million in the third quarter, compared to income of $11.2 million in the third quarter of 2009. Armstrong's third quarter net income of $24.6 million, or $0.42 per diluted share. This compared to net income of $64.4 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2009. The company's Armstrong's full third quarter results can be viewed here.

Distributor News

Goodfellow Inc. (Delson, Quebec) reported net income for the fiscal year 2010 of $12.7 million, or $1.48 per share, compared with net income of $7.5 million, or $0.87 per share during fiscal 2009. Net sales for its fiscal year ended Aug. 31 were $504.5 million, compared with $437.9 million in 2009. The company reported fourth quarter net income of $4.9 million, or $0.57 per share, down from $5.3 million, or $0.62 per share, during the fourth quarter of 2009. Sales for the fourth quarter increased to $147.4 million from $125.3 million during the year-ago period. "The fourth quarter was marked by a colossal effort to grow our market share, taking advantage of our healthy inventories," said Goodfellow President and CEO Richard Goodfellow. The full report can be viewed here.

Dealer News

Lumber Liquidators' (Toano, Va.) net income plummeted 44.8 percent to $4.3 million, or 15 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2010. "Our performance in the third quarter reflects declines in productivity both at the store-level and in the flow of product through our warehouse following implementation," said President and CEO Jeffrey W. Griffiths in a statement. The company's net income in the third quarter of 2009 was $7.8 million, or 28 cents per diluted share. The company's net sales increased $6.7 million, or 4.7 percent, to $147.2 million in the third quarter from $140.5 million last year. The company's same-store net sales rose 7.3 percent. According to a story from the Associated Press, Lumber Liquidators missed Wall Street's expectations for this quarter, causing the company to alter its 2010 forecast; analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.32 per share from revenue of $161.5 million. The company now expects fourth quarter 2010 net earnings per diluted share of $0.21 to $0.27, and full year earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.93 to $0.99. Meanwhile, fourth quarter 2010 net sales should hit $151 million to $157 million, bringing its full year net sales within the range of $618 million to $624 million. The company's full third-quarter results can be viewed here.

People News

John Alford is now a partner with A Step Above Flooring & Installations (Cincinnati). Alford can be reached at [email protected], 513/889-3915 (phone) or 513/889-3647 (fax).

Cort Dunlap of Hardwood Inspections (Seattle, Wash.) has become the first person to receive all possible certifications from NWFA Certified Professionals (NWFACP). They include: Wood Flooring Installer, Wood Flooring Sand & Finisher, Wood Flooring Sales Counselor, Wood Flooring Inspector, and Commercial Inspector. Dunlap can be reached at [email protected], 206/331-8360 (phone) or 425/582-7001 (fax).

Network with Peers, Win 3M Products

Network with hardwood flooring contractors and other wood flooring professionals on the new HF Forum, an online discussion forum. Ask questions and provide feedback for your colleagues on anything related to wood flooring. Using the forum is easy: Just register and post. Every week the HF editors will pick their favorite post, and that person will win useful products from 3M, including epoxy wood floor repair kits, safety kits and the new Hand-Masker line of products.

This week, you can win a 3M epoxy wood floor repair kit.

This Week on the HF Blogs

Contractor Blog: Wayne tries to show to a young man why math matters.

Green Blog: Elizabeth offers some formaldehyde facts to dispel consumers' fears.

Inspector Blog: Craig reports back from adventures in Fiji.

HF Forum: How to restore a prefinished floor after the wrong maintenance products?

NWFA Member Services

The NWFA's newest Distributor Profit Report, "The Siren Song of Inventory Reductions," is now available. Written by Dr. Al Bates, the report examines two key issues: inventory versus sales, which provides an analysis of the relationship between inventory reductions and sales declines, and inventory reduction opportunities, which provides a review of how inventory can be reduced without impacting sales volume. To get the full report, visit www.nwfa.org and click on the "Services and Supplies" link, then "Statistical Reports," then "Profit Improvement Reports."