The latest Principles of Wood Flooring school was held in Elk Grove Village, Ill., last week, Feb. 18-21. Distributor E.J. Welch Company hosted the school; the company has created a custom training facility specifically to host NWFA schools, CFI certification training and other events.
The facility drew praise from NWFA President and CEO Michael Martin: "E.J. Welch came to us, asked us what we needed for training and then went above and beyond to build out a facility to support industry training in Chicago."
Columbia Flooring donated the wood.
NWFA Regional Instructor Michael Dittmer, of Michael Dittmer Wood Floors (Putnam, Ill.), led instruction with the help of the following instructors:
Johannes Boonstra (Rubio Monocoat USA LLC) Dave Erickson (UFLOOR Systems Inc.)Jason Gasperich (Connor Hardwoods)Gene Jarka (Powernail Company Inc.) Mike Kearns (Primatech Inc.)Larry LeFevre (DuraSeal)Steve Lima (MAPEI Corporation)Brett Miller (National Wood Flooring Association)Matt Thrane (Gehl Flooring)
The following Partners in Education provided product, equipment and instruction:
3M (St. Paul, Minn.) ATOM Ventures LLC-Gork's GoodFilla (Chicago)Bona US (Aurora, Colo.)Clarke American Sanders (Plymouth, Minn.) Connor Hardwoods (Arlington Heights, Ill.)Delmhorst Instrument Co. (Towaco, N.J.)DuraSeal (Chagrin Falls, Ohio)Fortifiber Building Systems Group (Fernley, Nev.)Lignomat USA Ltd. (Porland, Ore.)MAPEI Corporation (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association (Deerfield, Ill.) Norton Abrasives (Watervliet, N.Y.)Padco Inc. (Minneapolis)Powernail Company Inc. (Lake Zurich, Ill.)Primatech Inc. (Quebec, Canada)Rubio Monocoat USA LLC (Oxnard, Calif.)UFloor Systems Inc. (Aurora, Calif.)Wagner Meters (Rogue River, Ore.) Weyerhaeuser Company (Elkin, N.C.)
Here are some photos from the school, courtesy of E.J. Welch Company:
