FloorCoveringNews

Invista Surfaces, a division of INVISTA Performance Surfaces and Materials (PS&M) and maker of Stainmaster carpet fibers, continues to ‘walk the talk’ of investing in the equity of its 25 year strong Stainmaster brand. At the Surfaces tradeshow, Invista will unveil two new fiber innovations to retailers; in addition, Invista will highlight some exciting Stainmaster brand extensions and brand-supporting and consumer-reaching advertising and merchandising support for its aligned retail partners.

The North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA) has recently released a report on underlayments, acoustics and laminate flooring. Floor Covering News is posting this study with the permission of NALFA.

Click below to view the study.

NALFA- Underlayment Sound Study

Elias Wilf is pleased to announce a geographical expansion of distribution of their Mannington territory into the Northeastern Region. The distribution of full Mannington Residential and Commercial products will include additional New York coverage as well as S. Connecticut.

Armstrong Commercial Flooring has been honored with a coveted 2011 GOOD DESIGN Award for its newly refreshed Marmorette linoleum flooring line with Continuum.

Deer Park, N.Y. — Salesmaster’s 50^th anniversary keeps getting better. The Northeast distributor has expanded its eight-year partnership with Mannington Mills by taking on the mill’s commercial line.

Brazilian producers of ceramic tile,  Elaine and Protobello,  have entered into an agreement to merge. The agreement was signed by CEOs Edson Gaidzinski, Jr. of Elaine and Cesar Gomes, Jr. of Portobello on December 24th.

Dalton — With the introduction of an iPad app for Karastan, now consumers can take Karastan’s full catalog wherever they go and easily match styles, colors, textures, and patterns as they shop.

Bainbridge Island, Wash. — Teragren, a North American manufacturer of environmentally-friendly bamboo flooring, panels, veneer, and worktops, recently named Caitlyn Kari as marketing communications manager, and Bryan Ripka as Northwest Regional Sales Manager.

With The Visual Display Award, AmericasMart celebrated visual excellence in both permanent showrooms and temporary exhibits at the nation’s  only global wholesale trade event of 2012: The Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market Jan. 11-18 (Temporaries: Jan. 13-17), with the Atlanta International   Area Rug Market featuring the National Oriental Rug Show taking place Jan. 12-15   (Temporaries: Jan. 13-15).

Atlanta —The Area Rug industry’s most celebrated event honoring the most spectacular introductions took place at the height of the first Market of the year, the Atlanta International Area Rug Market featured the National Oriental Rug Show, which took place Jan. 12-15 with Temporaries, Jan. 13-15.

Classen and Välinge have executed an agreement that will put an end to their legal disputes related to fold down patent rights creating a framework that allows easier access to the respective Megaloc and 5G technologies for future licenses.

HomerWood Premium Hardwood introduces Birch Run flooring, an all-American birch in a designer inspired color palette.  The new line is designed for retailers to sell to homeowners who want the quality of a HomerWood premium product at a value driven price point. Surfaces booth #S5977 

Milliken introduces the evolution of Imagine collection.  Featuring updated colorways and a new tufted base, this collection offers a flexible functionality to complement a variety of home decors.

MP Global Products, the manufacturer of the popular QuietWalk underlayment for floating wood and laminate floors and other eco-friendly fiber underlayments, recently introduced VersaWalk, a multi-use sound reduction impact isolation and insulation system designed specifically for nail-down or glue-down wood flooring, luxury vinyl tile, floating engineered wood, and laminate flooring. It’s green, high performing, and versatile – float it, nail it, or glue it.

Dalton — Shaw recently announced the company will once again be the exclusive flooring provider and sponsor for the HGTV Green Home Giveaway set for spring 2012. As the flooring partner, Shaw will provide stylish and functional floors from the HGTV HOME Flooring by Shaw collection to be featured in this highly-anticipated show home in the sustainable living community of Serenbe, Ga.

Dalton — Mohawk is pleased to announce Jeff Meadows, a 30-year veteran of the flooring industry, has joined the company as senior vice president of sales for the Home Centers and Aligned Groups (such as CCA Global, Abbey, Carpets Plus, Empire and Floors2Ceilings). Meadows will be responsible for driving positive sales growth for these key business units through his strategic leadership.

New product investments, international business are among the initiatives

Russell Grizzle

The new year brought a change at the top of Mannington Mills. Longtime CEO Tom Davis announced his retirement some time ago, and his hand-picked replacement, Russell Grizzle, took the reins Jan. 2. Grizzle, the former president of Milliken’s global flooring business, had been groomed for the position for two years, so suffice to say he is more than ready to take Mannington to new heights. Grizzle recently sat down with FCNews editorial director Steven Feldman to discuss his views and goals for the future.

Gerflor, a global leader in the design and manufacture of specialized resilient flooring, today announced it will introduce its 2012 USA Texline® Home Collection at Surfaces in booth # S6080 on January 24-26.

CoverQUIK Tile, the innovative new manufacturer and importer of revolutionary cost-saving and time-saving glass & stone tile and setting systems, will demonstrating the latest DIY techniques which will help dealers optimize selling directly to their customers.

San Diego, Calif. — DuChateau Floors unveils their new Heritage Timber Edition for 2012 – a collection that replicates the patina of reclaimed distressed building materials. With the natural look and charm of reclaimed barn wood, DuChateau Floors transforms the wood into planks of unparalleled beauty.

Houston — International Stoneworks, Houston’s premier natural stone restoration and maintenance business, will not only co-present the session, Natural Stone Refinishing from A-Azul Bahia to Z-Zimbabwe Black, but will also moderate The Essentials of Stone Maintenance Forum and participate as a panelist in the Stone Restoration Forum. International Stoneworks president, Rawi Tabbah is taking a more active role this year at SURFACES | StonExpo/Marmomacc, the largest stone and floor event of the year.

The North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA) will conduct a product demonstration on Tuesday, January 24, at 1 p.m. in conjunction with Surfaces 2012 in Las Vegas, NV.

Floor Covering News received a letter from the Maryland and Northern Virginia Floor Covering Association requesting flooring dealers to attend a hearing between the committee, Economic Matters, headed by Delegate Kelly Schultz, and the DLLR (Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation) in regard to the Work Place Fraud Act.

Florence, Ala. — Centiva will be featured on “Extreme Makeover” Friday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. on ABC. Please tune in as “Extreme Makeover,” Centiva, and many others help to rebuild seven houses in seven days in Joplin, Mo.

Tuscaloosa, Ala — Resource & Financial Management Systems, (RFMS, Inc.) providing business management software and services for floor covering operations, is holding its annual User Conference in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino on Monday, January 23, 2012.

Vancouver, Wash. — The Clean Trust (formerly known as the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC)) is pleased to announce the revised ANSI-approved S100 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Carpet Cleaning is now available. The new reference guide is the fifth edition of the S001 standard originally published in 1991 and will help cleaning professionals continue to provide high-quality service utilizing the latest techniques and technology.

Kansas City, Mont. — Jeff Bernstein, regional sales manager for ProSource of Elk Grove Village, Ill., and ProSource of Naperville, Ill., hosted two consecutive events of the company’s Installer Appreciation Day on January 4-5, 2012. Attended by over 200 people, the theme of installer certification was visible throughout.

Dairsville, Ga. — Home Legend, a leading supplier of engineered wood, bamboo, laminate, cork and luxury vinyl tile flooring, will unveil selections from its newly-acquired Baker’s Creek line at Surfaces 2012, slated for January 2012 in Las Vegas.