Orlando—After a combined 70 years of history, FCICA, the Flooring Contractors and Certified Flooring Installers, held their first joint conference and trade show here at Rosen Shingle Creek.
The event kicked off Thursday morning with Pat Kelly (left), chairman of FCICA, and Steve Abernathy, COO of the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) welcoming members and attendees. “It’s not that we haven’t talked to each other over the years, but we just decided we are better working together,” Kelly said of holding the joint conference. “While we both have our own mission, we are pulling together in the same direction.”
Kelly added that it’s a natural synergy with contractors and installers joining forces.
FCICA is celebrating 40 years in 2023 while CFI is celebrating 30 years this year. The three-day conference includes a combined trade show as well as product demonstrations and education seminars.
Thomas Trissl, president of CEO of Schonox, delivered the opening keynote address at the convention. Trissl gave a passionate speech about living the American Dream, coming to this country in 1996 from Germany with no job and not a lot of money behind him.
What he did bring with him was a work ethic instilled in him by his father (a flooring owner/installer) and an obvious desire to take risks. He purchased an LVT factory with five employees out of bankruptcy (Centiva) and grew it into an award-winning manufacturer. It drew the interest of Tarkett, which then acquired the company.
Trissl later took over Schonox and has built that company into a technology powerhouse. “I had zero customers when I came to this country in 1996 and now we have 18,400 in our database,” he told attendees, thankful for the opportunity to fulfill his dream in the U.S., still the greatest country for entrepreneurs like him, Trissl said.
Performance Accessories played a major role at the show, sponsoring a VIP Happy Hour, the awards dinner, and offering training classes on installing Karastan LVP using its accessories.
At the VIP Happy Hour, Seth Arnold, vice president of marketing, hard surfaces, Mohawk, is flanked by Allana McInnis, brand specialist, Performance Accessories, and Jon Woodbury, senior product director, Performance Accessories.
The conference concludes on Friday.