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Carpeting, he says, was a rat race where the retailer held the strings. So, he started to learn the wood flooring trade through seminars. Namba bit at every class that was offered nearby-sanding, finishing, machine repair, you name it.
He approached his dad, who had just started a condominium development, and asked if he could handle the hard surface installation.
"I told him I wanted to get into hardwood and tile," Namba says, explaining that at the time he was still new to the trade. "I told him if I screwed it up, he would have to pay for it. He never had to."
And with Namba's soon-to-happen rise through training schools and contests, his dad might as well have put his wallet away for good. Namba got involved with International Certified Flooring Installers Association. Their training schools propelled him to regional and national competition wins for resilient flooring and carpet. The late Chris Davis, then-World Floor Covering Association president, approached Namba after he won nationals and asked him to be a director of technical services.
He did that for awhile, became executive director and then was drawn into the training circuit again, this time with NWFA.
His business is like him-from carpet, to tile, to hardwood, Namba Services Inc. does it all.
"Pretty much anything that goes on a floor we do," Namba said.
For Namba, education may be everything.
"I think for anyone coming into this industry, the most important thing is to get involved with the association and learn the proper installation methods," Namba said. "[Trainers] have years of knowledge and experience that can launch you years ahead of what you would learn on a job site that so-and-so's uncle taught them."
If you're going to go to one of Namba's workshops, or any other NWFA instructor's for that matter, he has one bit of advice: participate.
"I see on the panels how some people sit back and are kind of nervous because they don't want somebody to laugh at them. This is the place," Namba said. "Learn by doing the mistakes on those panels. Ask these instructors questions-don't hesitate-they are there to help."
You can find John Namba at the following workshops, and he promises that if you attend, whether a seasoned veteran or otherwise, you'll walk away with something new.
- April 30-May 2: Problems, Causes & Cures | Wood Floor Repair | CP Installation Testing | Intermountain Wood Flooring (Salt Lake City)
- Sept. 30-Oct. 3: Job Site Preparation | Problems, Causes & Cures | Wood Floor Repair | Finish Application/Color | Kimbrough-Carpenter (Albuquerque, N.M.)
The NWFA Regional Instructors for 2014 are:
(back row, L-R): Jay Daniel Moore, Daniel Boone, Scott Taylor, Jason Elquest, Roy Reichow and NWFA Director of Certification and Education Brett Miller; (front row, L-R): Jon Namba, Mike Dittmer, Kjell Nymark and Joe Rocco.
