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Rick Coates Joins Galleher Corporation
Rick Coates, who for the past 20 years has served as vice president and general manager of distributor Golden State Flooring, has been named senior vice president at distributor Galleher Corporation (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.).
"We are thrilled to have Rick be part of our team," said Galleher President Jeff Hamar. "He has an exceptional record of success, and his leadership, experience and relationships will be of enormous value to Galleher."
"The opportunity Jeff and Todd Hamar made available to me along with the tremendous talent and resources of Galleher created a situation I had never envisioned," Coates said. "I look forward to working with the entire Galleher team to build a great business in the years to come."
Coates will work at Galleher's San Jose branch, overseeing that location and another of the company's branches in Sacramento. He will join the company's board of directors and "will certainly be aware of and involved with most all of our activities," including the planned opening of another branch in northern California "in the very near future," Jeff Hamar said.
The Hamar family purchased Galleher in 1980 and sold the company to Itochu Group (Tokyo) in 2007; in April 2010 brothers Jeff Hamar and Todd Hamar bought back Galleher. The distributor comprises 11 warehouses and services all of California, Arizona and Nevada. For more information, Jeff Hamar can be reached at 562/356-4610, and Galleher's San Jose branch can be reached at 408/280-0222.
NWFA to Offer Webinars on Green Issues
The NWFA will offer a slate of webinars on green issues geared at wood flooring professionals next month. Jason Grant, a sustainable forestry consultant, will explain LEED credits available for wood products, FSC certification and the NWFA Responsible Procurement Program (RPP) on Dec. 2 with the webinar "LEED, FSC & the NWFA RPP." Jan Stensland, who has more than 20 years' experience in green building, will discuss the relationship between indoor air quality, CARB and EPA compliance, and product certifications on Dec. 9 with the webinar "Indoor Air Quality and Wood Flooring." Last, Anne Middleton, outreach coordinator for the Forest Campaign at the Environmental Investigation Agency, will discuss the Lacey Act, illegal logging and how to exercise "due care" with the webinar "Illegal Logging and Lacey Compliance."
Each hour-long webinar costs $75 to view and will begin at 2 p.m. CST. Discounts are available for NWFA members and for viewing all three sessions. For more information, call 800/422-4556 (U.S. and Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international), e-mail [email protected], or visit www.nwfa.org.
Cork, Bamboo Flooring Prevalent at Greenbuild 2010
Greenbuild 2010 attendance as of Wednesday had already topped 25,000 and was expected to surpass the 27,373 record attendance in 2009, according to event organizers. The event was held Nov. 17-19 in Chicago and attracted more than 1,000 exhibiting companies. Cork and bamboo flooring products of all types were the flooring focus at the show. The drive among bamboo flooring manufacturers seemed to be to offer products that resemble more traditional wood flooring species like oak and hickory. Wood flooring manufacturers who do not offer cork or bamboo products focused on their FSC-certified products.
Former Secretary of State and retired Gen. Colin Powell delivered the keynote address the morning of Nov. 17, attracting a crowd of more than 10,000 people. That same day the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), the organizer of Greenbuild, released information on LEED Automation, a computer app designed to streamline the LEED building certification process. Greenbuild 2011 will be held in Toronto and take place about a month earlier than usual, on Oct. 5-7.
California Begins Enforcing Prop 65
Enforcement has begun on California's Proposition 65, prompting the NWFA to issue a technical alert Wednesday to notify wood flooring contractors doing business there. The proposition requires that wood products sold in that state carry a warning label saying wood dust can cause cancer. People who violate the act could face fines of $2,500 per day per violation. Wood dust was added to the list in December 2009. Proposition 65 staff can be reached at [email protected].
The label reads, "Drilling, sawing, sanding or machining wood products generates wood dust, a substance known to the State of California to cause cancer. Avoid inhaling wood dust or use a dust mask or other safeguards for personal protection."
Spontaneous Combustion Destroys Cottage
A cottage in Eldon Township, Ontario, was destroyed by fire Monday after oil-soaked rags-used in refinishing the cottage's floors-combusted, according to an assistant fire chief who investigated to the incident. The home was empty during the fire. The incident was reported by myKawartha.com. Assistant Fire Chief Ron Raymer told the news outlet the cottage's owner had recently refinished the cottage's wood floors; fumes from the rags built up heat and then ignited. It was unclear exactly what kind of finish the homeowner used. Raymer said the incident could have been avoided had the rags been soaked in a bucket of water or left outside to dry instead of being balled up.
EU, Vietnam Discuss Legal Timber
Representatives from the European Union (EU) and Vietnam will meet Nov. 29-30 in Hanoi, Vietnam, to discuss implementation of the EU's Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), Western Europe's equivalent to the United States' Lacey Act. News of the meeting was first published at Eco-Business.com.
EU delegates hope Vietnam will participate in a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to ensure only legally harvested wood products will enter the EU when the FLEGT takes effect in January 2012. For the first nine months of 2010, Vietnam has exported $475 million in wood products to the EU.
Negotiations between the EU and Vietnam are the latest in a string of discussions EU representatives are holding throughout Asia, including Thailand.
People News
Bostik Inc. (Middleton, Mass.) has added two people to its Consumer & Construction Division. The company has named David Umbarger technical service manager, and Doug Katze production manager-floor covering & ceramic installation solutions. Before joining Bostik, Umbarger worked with the Henkel Corp., where he coordinated a global team of engineers providing technical solutions to digital printing customers. Katze worked 20 years with Henkel Corp., most recently serving as global marketing manager for the firm's electronic adhesives division. In these positions, both Umbarger and Katze will report directly to Robert McNamara, director of marketing and sales in Bostik's Consumer & Construction Division.
By the Numbers
Housing Starts Down in October
According to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce, single-family housing starts in October dipped 1.1 percent to an annual rate of 436,000 units; the revised September figure was 441,000 units. A 43.5 percent decline in multi-family home starts caused overall housing starts to dive 11.7 percent, from a revised September mark of 588,000 units to 519,000 units in October.
"Home builders continue to be very cautious about starting new projects at this time," said Bob Jones, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), in a statement. "That said, in markets where consumer demand for new homes is reviving, builders are finding it almost impossible to obtain construction financing, and this frustrating situation is producing an unnecessary drag on both new home production and economic growth."
Overall, home starts are down 1.9 percent from the October 2009 rate of 529,000 units.
Builder Confidence Ticks Up in November
Builder confidence improved slightly in November, according to data released by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB). Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved slightly, rising 1 point to 16 from a downwardly revised level of 15 in the previous month. The seasonally adjusted index shows a reading over 50 when more builders view conditions as good than poor-something that hasn't been the case since April 2006.
"Though the gains have been incremental, the fact that builder confidence has improved over the past two months is encouraging," said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones in a statement.
The HMI is composed of three component indices. The component gauging sales expectations over the next six months rose 2 points to 25; the component gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose 1 point to 12; and the component gauging current sales conditions held unchanged at 16.
Correction
In the members-only version of the Hardwood Floors 2011 Resource Book, the following inspectors who became certified in 2010 should have been included in the list of NWFACP-certified inspectors:
Jason Austen........Preverco Inc. (St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QC)
Brian Bailey........Bailey's Hardwood & Laminate Flooring Service (Knightdale, NC)
Mark Brown........Carpet Arts Inspection Service (Ellicott City, MD)
Eric Butler........Butler Flooring Solutions (West River, MD)
Richard Carriere........Rick Carriere Contracting (Barrie, ON)
Dan Caufman........Hardwood Specialties Inc. (Woodinville, WA)
Peter Eckert........Sani-Tech Services Ltd. (Victoria, BC)
Matt Gantz........McSwain Carpet & Floors (Cincinnati, OH)
Matt Goff........Happy Hardwood (Acworth, GA)
Christopher Hildreth........Tree Lovers Floors Inc. (San Francisco, CA)
Josh Hutchens........Elite Flooring and Interiors (Winterville, NC)
Todd Isaacs........Fitz Flooring (Calgary, AB)
Dave Jensen........Sunwood Distributors (Midvale, UT)
Patrick Jones........Classic Floors Inc. (Fort Wayne, IN)
Richard Lariviere........Tarkett Canada (Farnham, QC)
Marc McCalla........Craftsman Hardwood Floors Inc. (Santa Clarita, CA)
Keith McCue........Derr Flooring Company (Edison, NJ)
Don McGreanor........Superior Hardwood Floors LLC (Wichita, KS)
Owen Pigott........Resmark Group LLC (Herndon, VA)
Daniel Racareanu........Flooring Contractor Inc. (Naperville, IL)
Mark Reagan........MR Inspections (Groveland, MA)
Terry Rickerson........Tom Duffy Company (Valley Springs, CA)
Miguel Scannone........Goodwin Heart Pine Company (Micanopy, FL)
Dan Schultz........Authority Inspection Services (Pontiac, MO)
Ron Shukyn........CFS Creative Flooring Solutions Ltd. (Burnaby, BC)
Matthew Skowron........Floor Detective, The (Lake City, FL)
Mark Taggart........Home Floors Galore LLC (Virginia Beach, VA)
Luc Theoret........LRT Hardwood Services (Alexandria, ON)
Thomas Werner........Charleston One Source LLC (Mt Pleasant, SC)
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 the 3M Hand-Masker dispenser and film.
This Week on the HF Blogs
Contractor Blog: Wayne counts his blessings.
Green Blog: Elizabeth shares images from her visit to the Malaysian jungle.
Inspector Blog: How do you inspect ugly?
HF Forum: Converting moisture content for bamboo.
NWFA Member Services
The NWFA has redesigned and relaunched its consumer web site, www.woodfloors.org. The site features improved navigation, updated content and numerous photos highlighting beautiful wood floors installed by NWFA members. The site helps educate consumers about the many benefits of wood flooring, including its beauty, style, durability, value and environmental benefits. Consumers can learn about both solid and engineered floors; how strip, plank and parquet floors differ; how different finishes can impact the look and maintenance requirements of a floor; and even how wood floors are environmentally superior to other flooring options. They also can view numerous photos that identify the type, style, species, and finish of each floor. Using the Design-a-Room feature, they can try different wood species in different room settings to get a feel for how they might look in their own home. In addition, when they make the decision to buy, they can search for professional installers in their area using the Find a Professional or Product feature. Searches can be conducted by city, state or province, zip or postal code, proximity, area code, country, or even by individual name or company name.