FloorCoveringNews

by Matthew Spieler

Fajardo, Puerto Rico—Twenty years ago, changes were taking place that still reverberate today: In politics, Bill Clinton and the Democrats were taking office; in entertainment, Jay Leno replaced Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show,” and in flooring, 12 flooring contractors got together to form what is today the Starnet Worldwide Commercial Flooring Cooperative.

Long-time Invista sales representative

Kennesaw, Ga.—After spending 40 years in the flooring industry where his contagious enthusiasm and optimism for work and life created strong and enduring relationships, Mack Hale passed away unexpectedly on March 22. He was 71.

Throughout the years, Hale excelled in different roles in the mill, retail and fiber communities. Most recently, he was manager, major accounts, at Invista Surfaces, where for the last decade he played a significant role in supporting its aligned distribution networks and calling on buying groups. Prior to Invista, Hale was vice president of new business development at Carpet Co-op of America. Before that, he was Mohawk’s vice president of sales and marketing.

by Emily J. Cappiello

Baltimore—It takes more than a challenging economic climate to slow the Haines Loyalty Club’s momentum. The retail group arm of the nation’s No. 1 flooring distributor saw its membership increase from 272 to its current 288, according to Scott Roy, vice president of sales, marketing and customer service, and those members grew their businesses a collective 4% compared to the distributor’s retailers outside the program, who saw declines of about 5% in overall business.

Chicago—Former Chicago mayor Richard Daley will highlight a list of four keynote presentations at this year’s NeoCon, June 11 to 13 at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart.

by Matthew Spieler

Ask people from just about any sector and they will say since December, sales have been steadily picking up. While this is welcome news for anyone who has suffered through the economic downturn, for those in the wood business, it is a breath of fresh air.

As one of the hardest categories of products—flooring or otherwise—hit by the recession thanks to being tied so closely to the housing market, among other factors, a positive growth trend could not have come at a better time. Though final figures for 2011 are not yet available, most experts said the year should have ended slightly better than 2010, which would be the first time the wood category finished in the black since 2006 when the industry reached its peak in sales at more than $2.5 billion.

Orlando, Fla.—Anyone heading to Coverings 2012 will find the greatest business payoffs if they come armed with a plan of attack. For all that the annual tile and stone show offers when the doors open at the Orange County Convention Center here April 17—with more than 800 exhibitors representing 50-plus countries, nearly 70 educational seminars, live demonstrations and countless networking opportunities—the four-day event can put even the most seasoned show attendee into sensory overload.

by Matthew Spieler

Shanghai—With the U.S. economy starting to once again show signs of life and the Asian market continuing its strong growth trend, the 14th annual Domotex asia/ ChinaFloor (DACF) was filled with plenty of optimism.

The upbeat spirit was seen by both visitors and exhibitors and across all product segments on display—even by those who were not selling or buying products. “It’s been too busy,” proclaimed Bert Van der Stock, managing director of Flooring Industries, the division that handles the Uniclic licensing for Mohawk/Unilin. “I haven’t been able to leave the booth for the entire show.”

From March Madness and the Grapefruit League to spring sales and rebates, many phrases and terms make their way into the conversation this time of year. Numerous flooring companies gear up for the season by running special springtime promotions, an annual rite of the season. Here are just a few specials being offered.

by Josh Hoffman

I am often asked, “What can I do on my own to improve my rankings on the search engines?” The answer, quite simply, is organic search engine optimization (SEO). Organic SEO is the process you go through to obtain a natural placement ranking on search engines, hopefully page one. 

Identifying problems key to finding solutions

by Louis Iannaco

With the advent of fast track building, structures and facilities are erected quicker than ever before, but the age-old problem of concrete moisture remains just that—a problem. Adhesive companies are addressing moisture issues, both in new and existing structures, with education and new technology leading the way.

Shanghai—Visitors to the 14th annual Domotex asia/ChinaFloor (DACF) show March 27 to 29 here will have far more to see as organizers have expanded not only the show’s floor space but also the context within which Asia’s largest floor covering show takes place.

With China, and all of Asia for that matter, continuing to outpace the rest of the world in overall growth, DACF will be held concurrently with China Building Construction Expo (CBC), the oldest major construction event in China, and R+T Asia, the region’s most important trade show for such things as wood plastic composites, doors, gates, roller shutters and sun protection.

Washington, DC —The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) next update to the LEED green building program, LEED 2012, will include various updates to credits within the LEED Pilot Credit Library. As a flexible, interactive mechanism for testing proposed credits in the marketplace, the Pilot Credit Library gathers real-time feedback on credit usability and ability to meet a credit’s intent.

The Pilot Credit Library was established to facilitate the introduction of new prerequisites and credits to LEED through stakeholder engagement and collaboration on the testing and analysis of proposed requirements. This process allows USGBC to refine credits through LEED project evaluations before being introduced into LEED.

As the economy continues to recover, marketers face new challenges in relating to consumers in the post-recession era. Consumers have revised their priorities and advertising needs to speak differently to these consumers if brands are to survive and thrive. So said Benoit Tranzer of the research firm Millward Brown.

by Steven Feldman

Houston—Evolve. That was the buzzword at the Flooring America/Flooring Canada convention held here just days before the start of Surfaces 2012. Throughout the three-day event, members were challenged to refocus their efforts toward meeting the needs of today’s evolving consumer.

by Ken Ryan

Ken Weisbacher, owner of Carpetland Carpet One in Cincinnati, remembers the time when five-year financing terms were the norm in the flooring industry and provided the impetus for dealers to upsell consumers.

That sweet spot has been reduced to 12 months (on average) or 18 months during the economic downturn, according to Weisbacher and others, who noted the use of financing is still very important, albeit less prevalent than a few years ago.

by Matthew Spieler

While every flooring category has been hit hard by the recession, perhaps none more so than wood—in the five years following its high water mark in 2006, the segment is down 40%. So it should come as no surprise as the economy shows signs of steady improvement manufacturers feel the slide is finally over.

by Celia Payne

Las Vegas—Surfaces 2012 presented the opportunity to shine—even brighter than the Vegas strip. The successful protagonists at the show know you must set yourself apart among a sea of introductions.

Las Vegas—When the National Floorcovering Alliance (NFA) meets here each year on the morning prior to Surfaces, one of the primary goals is to expose its members to vendors not present at the group’s two major gatherings in the spring and fall. Referred to as tier 2 suppliers, members have the opportunity to spend three hours with “specialty vendors” in a table-top trade show format, allowing them to fill in gaps and/or further differentiate their product lineup from their competition.

Las Vegas—Ron and Rich Raming came away winners in Las Vegas—something not many can say—as the owners of Midwest Interiors in Edina, Minn., took home the grand prize of a new Ford Mustang as part of All-Tile’s annual Drive-away contest. The drawing was part of the distributor’s Sell-A-Bration sales event in its Mandalay Bay ballroom during Surfaces 2012.

Port Washington, N.Y.—Safavieh has named Jenn Notaro to the newly created position of executive account manager, said Arash Yaraghi, principal.

Hackettstown, N.J. – The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) released the Kitchen & Bath Market Report for the fourth quarter. Although results convey a slight drop-off from third quarter in number of remodels and budgets, showroom visits held steady from a year ago and with marked increases from 2009 and 2010, optimism for the first quarter of 2012 remains high.

Laticrete, a global manufacturer and leader of premium installation and finishing systems for the building industry, has announced today the appointment of Ken Madison to the position of national account manager, Lowe’s.  Based in Mooresville, North Carolina, Madison will report to Ken Barnum, Laticrete director of home center sales.

Dallas — Surfaces| StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas, the leading event in the floor covering and natural stone industries, held January 24-26 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, was an impressive showcase of all of the newest and hottest products to hit the market in 2012. Hundreds of exhibitors were on hand to introduce the products that will set them apart for the upcoming year.

Houston – International Stoneworks, a natural stone restoration and maintenance business in Houston, opened its doors in 1982, and after 30 years in business, president Rawi Tabbah wants to thank his dedicated employees and clientele.  International Stoneworks is organizing an anniversary party at The Tasting Room at Houston’s Uptown Park in March. It is an occasion to celebrate the company and its loyal commercial and residential customers.

Salmon Arm, B.C. — Dinoflex, a manufacturer of resilient recycled rubber surfacing products for over 20 years, welcomes departmental changes due to steady growth. In 2011 and throughout previous years, the company have seen a steady increase in sales with the international market increasing significantly.

With the communal desire being a green product, the company’s sustainable methods has been the driving force behind Dinoflex’s steady business growth. Due to the increase in consumer demand for recycled flooring products, Dinoflex has made the following departmental changes in October of 2011:

Lancaster, Pa. – Ecore International, a leading innovator in recycled products technology, recently announced the opening of its York, Pennsylvania campus. The 500,000 square foot facility is now home to the largest, most advanced recycled rubber manufacturing operation, with the capacity to process and refine over 100 million pounds of scrap tire rubber annually, into the greenest most sustainable floor coverings currently available. In addition, this facility will house the company’s itstru technology, a patent-pending process that enables Ecore to produce the highest recycled-content flooring, as well as to research unlimited generations of new products. Ecore’s York Campus, which represents a $20 million investment, currently employs 35 skilled staff, from engineers to facility technicians.

Dalton based USFloors, a leading manufacturer of unique and sustainable flooring, has signed a global, non-exclusive, license agreement to use Välinge’s patented 2G technology for mechanical locking systems with Fold Down installation, on its Cork and wood flooring products. The Fold Down installation method is fast, easy and suitable for glue free installation as well as glue down or nail down installation methods.

Vancouver, B.C. —Nuheat is proud to announce its commitment of $10,000 to amateur competitive sport with the sponsorship of two prominent Canadian athletes: Olympic Judo Wrestler, Nick Tritton and Elite Cyclist, Lex Albrecht. This contribution will go towards both athlete’s living and training costs over the next 12 months.

Chicago — NeoCon, North America’s largest contract furnishings trade show, returns June 11-13 to Chicago’s Merchandise Mart for its 44^th year with an expertly crafted line-up of show components developed to educate, inspire and engage the design world. With more than 40,000 expected attendees, 120 CEU-accredited seminars, thousands of new products from more than 700 of the world’s top manufacturers, and perhaps the most impressive line-up of keynote speakers to date, NeoCon 2012 promises three days of pure energy bursting with new innovations, resources and networking opportunities.