New Oregon Basketball Floor Unlike Any Other
"We wanted to design the most iconic television presence possible for the University of Oregon by conjuring up a highly unique and visible basketball floor design," Tinker Hatfield, vice president for design and special projects for Nike, said in a statement issued by the university. "It's inspired by our beautiful tree-covered region and the UO 1939 NCAA Championship basketball team nicknamed the 'Tall Firs.'" Hatfield told GoDucksTV, the design could "throw off" opposing teams the first time they play on it.
Commerce Dept. Opens Probe of Chinese Flooring
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) on Nov. 10 initiated antidumping duty and countervailing duty investigations of engineered wood flooring exported from China and imported to the U.S., according to a department release.
On Oct. 21 the Coalition for American Hardwood Parity (CAHP), an ad hoc group of U.S. engineered wood flooring manufacturers, petitioned the Commerce Department to a study by Catalina Research Inc. (Boca Raton, Fla.), DOC said imports of engineered wood flooring from China increased 76 percent by quantity from 2007 to 2009. In 2009, imports of multilayered wood flooring were valued at an estimated $119.7 million.
An antidumping investigation hinges on determining whether an imported product is being sold by a foreign manufacturer into the U.S. market at less than fair value; a countervailing duty investigation determines whether a foreign manufacturer is gaining an unfair competitive advantage through government subsidies. Both DOC and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) play roles in the investigations. ITC expects to make preliminary determinations on both investigations around Dec. 6. If ITC finds no reason to carry on the investigation during this preliminary determination, the investigations will be terminated.
Import Duties Could Affect Armstrong's Stock Price
Armstrong owns an engineered flooring manufacturing plant in China, and it also imports engineered flooring to the U.S. from suppliers in China. The company disclosed the risk in its latest 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Armstrong tells its investors that under U.S. law, "a U.S. importer may be responsible for the payment of any antidumping and countervailing duties." The Coalition for American Hardwood Parity (CAHP), a group of U.S. manufacturers of engineered wood flooring, filed petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) on Oct. 21 seeking the duties.
"The Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission have only just commenced their investigations," according to the filing, "and the outcome of the cases are uncertain. As a result, at this time we cannot say whether an adverse ruling is probable or estimable."
Wood flooring manufacturers in CAHP include: Anderson Hardwood Floors (Clinton, S.C), Award Hardwood Floors LLP (Wausau, Wis.), Baker's Creek (Jackson, Miss.), From the Forest LLC (Weston, Wis.), Howell Hardwood Flooring (Dothan, Ala.), Mannington Wood Floors (Salem, N.J.), Nydree Flooring (Forest, Va.) and Shaw Industries Inc. (Dalton, Ga.).
Asia Cork Partners With Ferma Wood Flooring
Asia Cork Inc. (Xi'an, China) will sell cork products in the U.S. through a partnership with Ferma Wood Flooring (Edison, N.J.), according to a release. The joint venture company will be called Elegant Cork and market products under the "Elegant Cork" and "Green Cork" brands. The products will reach the market through Ferma Wood's distribution channel. In the first half of 2011, Elegant Cork will carry 10 cork products in quantities of no less than 30,000 to 50,000 square feet; estimated annual sales are around $3 million to $5 million.
"We have long planned to enter into North American and other developed countries' markets to further utilize our cost advantage," Chen Peng Cheng, CEO of Asia Cork, said in the release. "We are also optimistic with the U.S. market demand given the competitive high quality and lower prices of our products compared to other similar products in the market."
Distributor News
Global Market Partners (Memphis, Tenn.) has been named the exclusive global marketer of Weyerhaeuser Company's (Federal Way, Wash.) Weyerhaeuser Lyptus hardwood flooring line; GMP will handle the sales, marketing, technical support and logistics for all Lyptus products. "The move is designed to provide broader support to the flooring industry and enhance the growth potential of Lyptus flooring product," according to a release.
In Memoriam
Dick Johnson, founder and CEO of Mr. Hardwoods of Jupiter, Fla., passed away in August. Following is a message from Dick's wife, Larabee: "It is with great sadness that I communicate to you that and my husband of 40 years passed away August, 2010. We joined the NWFA in 1986 when things were just beginning for the wood flooring industry. He enjoyed all the relationships he built over the years in the NWFA. I believe that his interest in people, knowledge of the products he represented, and his business acumen made him an asset to the industry." Larabee can be reached at 210 Commerce Way, Jupiter, FL 33458; She and Dick sold Mr. Hardwoods in June 2009.
Network with Peers, Win 3M Products
This week, you can win the 3M Hand-Masker dispenser and film.
This Week on the HF Blogs
Green Blog: Elizabeth reports from her trip to Malaysia and the fascinating forest research being done there
Inspector Blog: What Craig has learned about pricing inspections.
HF Forum: How do you define crawling, fisheyes and cratering?
NWFA Member Services
The NWFA's 2011 Wood Floor of the Year Contest is underway. This year's contest includes 10 categories, featuring both hand-cut and CNC/laser cut installations. Entries are limited to three per company, with no entry fee. Each entry must include the entry form, one 8" x 10" color photograph, and a digital copy of the same photograph on CD. Complete rules and entry forms are available under the "2011 Wood Floor of the Year" link at here.
