Editor's note: Mr. Reynolds passed away after this article was published. Please find his obituary here.
After more than 50 years in the wood flooring industry, Gary Reynolds-one of the original founding fathers of the National Wood Flooring Association-has completely retired from the industry. Reynolds' path in the industry took him from DuraSeal to Galleher to, eventually, starting up the U.S. subsidiary of BonaKemi (now known as simply Bona). Most recently he was a consultant with UFloor from the time of its launch in 2007 until 2013. Reynolds was on the original NWFA board of directors, from 1986-1990, and was the Membership Committee chairman when the association was just a fledgling group. "When the first few of us got together, we thought we had to figure out how to have an association so we could better market hardwood ... we thought if we could get everybody together, we could do it. It wasn't just distributors, it wasn't just manufacturers, it wasn't just contractors. To me, of all the decisions ever made, that was the key one."
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Gary Reynolds' friend Dinah Land submitted this detailed history of Reynolds' career in the industry:
Gary Reynolds, far left, at the St. Louis meeting in 1985 at which the NWFA was created.
It was 1985, and Gary Reynolds was the president and CEO of BonaKemi USA Inc. At this point, Reynolds had been in the hardwood flooring industry for 22 years, having begun his career as a field sales manager for DuraSeal finishes on the West Coast.
In that same year, Reynolds was one of 11 industry leaders who launched what would become the National Wood Flooring Association. Reynolds has been credited with making the motion at the initial meeting that ultimately led to the creation of NWFA. He was also one of the original Board members, serving from 1986-1990. Today, NWFA boasts a membership of more than 2,500.
"Before NWFA," Reynolds says, "there was no network. But we decided that if we all worked together and shared ideas, if we learned how to become partners in selling the whole industry, that's when we'd have a chance to really grow." It was this kind of thinking that made Reynolds one of the industry's leading lights.
The NWFA board of directors gathered at the 1988 NWFA convention in Kansas City (Gary Reynolds is in the front row, second from the right).
He always liked to say he was "just a peddler." But throughout his long career, Reynolds proved to be a true visionary time and again. When wall-to-wall carpet began to be included in FHA-backed home loans in 1965, sales of carpeting surged exponentially. Reynolds saw the writing on the wall. He realized that wood flooring needed to be marketed as a durable, non-depreciable, aesthetically appealing floor covering, and not just part of the building material. That insight led to robust sales of the DuraSeal brand while Reynolds was at the helm, even during a time when the market as a whole was in serious decline.
In 1971, when Minwax had bought out Pines International and the DuraSeal brand, Reynolds was part of the package. At the time, Minwax had only one small manufacturing facility in Chicago that couldn't make products fast enough for expansion into the West Coast. It fell to Reynolds, now the executive vice president of Minwax, to open up two additional facilities, in Nevada and Illinois. Those two facilities are still in operation today, producing products for the Sherwin-Williams brand.
At the Roaring '20s party at the 1988 NWFA convention in Kansas City were, from left, Keijo Hyvonen, Bonnie Holmes and Gary Reynolds.
By 1980, Reynolds had moved on to found his own company, Devco Finishes, and at the same time became president of Galleher Hardwood, which a year later led to a Denver offshoot, Denver Hardwood. With fingers in three pies, Reynolds was busier than ever. Even so, he kept his foot on the pedal, with an eye toward Europe.
Europe had much stricter environmental regulations and consequently was ahead of the U.S. in the development and manufacture of water-based products, including floor finishes. Reynolds was a pioneer in bringing these "new" waterborne finishes to the U.S. market. When California became the first state to pass low-VOC regulations in the mid-1980s, the common belief in the industry was that similar strict environmental legislation would soon be passed by the federal government, impacting the entire country. Anticipating such legislation, Reynolds decided that waterborne was the finish of the future for environmental responsibility, durability and aesthetic appeal. Consequently, Reynolds successfully negotiated a partnership with BonaKemi AB of Sweden, moved from California to Denver, Colo., and started up Bona as the U.S. subsidiary of BonaKemi AB. With his wife, Leanne, and one other employee, Reynolds grew the business such that, by the time he retired from its day-to-day operations at the end of 1998, Bona was the leading manufacturer of waterborne hardwood floor finishes in the country.
Another of Reynolds' innovations that brought change to the industry was the introduction of maintenance products (cleaners and applicators) designed specifically for hardwood floors. In today's world, with dozens of products on the market, this doesn't sound very groundbreaking. However, it wasn't so long ago that contractors could only advise their customers to clean the floors with vinegar and water! With few exceptions, there was nothing on the market for the consumer. And although other finish manufacturers could have developed a wood-friendly cleaning product, it was Reynolds who did it. One of his guiding principles was "give the people what they want." So he decided to invest in designing a cleaner that, in his words, "does for hardwood floors what Windex does for glass." It didn't take long for everyone else to come up with their own maintenance products. Reynolds had essentially created a new segment of the hardwood flooring market. He proved that entering the maintenance business was a natural extension of the product line for finish manufacturers and flooring distributors. Contractors reaped the rewards, as well, when they were able to provide their customers with a product that kept their floors looking beautiful long after the initial installation. And of course, it was the homeowner who ultimately benefited from the range of new cleaning products on the market.
In 1994, Gary Reynolds (second from right) was among the original founders inducted into the NWFA Hall of Fame.
It would take a book to document all of the "firsts" Reynolds generated, but one of his biggest contributions was to the industry as a whole: his commitment to training and education. Although major associations such as NWFA and NOFMA sponsored schools, Bona became the first manufacturer to do so. Not only did the company sponsor schools at their headquarters in Denver, it dedicated one employee and a van to present mobile training schools at distributor sites all over the country. The goal was to educate contractors on how to properly sand, stain and finish hardwood floors, and there were also lessons in how to build and market their own businesses. The schools were never intended to be a profit center, and in fact were a net cost to the company. Ever the entrepreneur, Reynolds realized the dividend would be in building the company's brand names, so it was a win-win for all parties. Eventually, thousands of contractors and distributors would "graduate" from the program under Reynolds' watch.
Gary Reynolds pictured at his desk at the BonaKemi USA offices.
Long-time colleague Mark Weglowski thinks the three main things that made Gary a great leader were his people skills, his marketing savvy and, most of all, his vision. "He was able to break down complicated issues and make them easy. And he didn't expect perfection. He just wanted people to get it right most of the time. His belief was that, if you didn't make mistakes, you weren't working hard enough. Gary also had a gift of clearly sharing his vision with his employees so that everyone knew what the company goals were. And he loved to plant seeds to get people thinking. In the early days of Bona, a group of employees met at a local restaurant. That night, he asked if we thought we could get a number of our distributors to buy a full container of product, each container costing over $100,000. Most of us thought that it wouldn't be possible. But then Gary asked, what if the container came with a trip for two to Sweden to visit the plant? And after a few more 'what ifs,' we put a plan together, written down on a cocktail napkin (later to be framed and hung in the office). Within months of implementing the plan, the sales team sold 10 containers. The seed that was planted that evening harvested about $1 million in sales, a huge amount at that time in Bona's history."
Reynolds remained in the industry in a consulting role to UFloor Systems, Inc. upon its incorporation in the U.S. in 2007. Matthias Liebert, president of UFloor, credits Reynolds with the new company's rapid growth in the market. "Gary's experience in transforming visions into successful organizations was a big part of our successful arrival in the U.S. market. I had the pleasure of working with Gary over the course of six years. During that time, Gary was invaluable in helping us to grow the Pallmann brand of wood floor finishes. By tapping into his extensive business expertise in this industry, we were able to establish our brand much more quickly than we otherwise could have. It was his very clear leadership principles and his remarkable ability to develop strategies, build teams and set goals that made him a mentor for many of our employees."
In 1999, Reynolds remarked, "I don't think the wood flooring industry has ever looked stronger. It's such an integral part of the floor-covering industry, because it's so profitable for contractors and distributors, with higher margins than carpet or resilient. And customers see that it adds value to a home." That comment still holds true today. In a recent interview, Reynolds observed that "Wood hasn't changed. Look around you. You see hardwood floors everywhere-in banks, in hospitals, government buildings and restaurants. Wood is a classic, and it's never going to go out of style."
From 1963, through 50 years of serving in key positions in the industry, Reynolds has always maintained a deep commitment to the hardwood flooring community of contractors, distributors, and industry partners. We want to thank him for the influential role he played in shaping our industry, and we wish him the best in retirement.
