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Armstrong World Industries Inc. (Lancaster, Pa.) wood flooring net sales in the first quarter of 2008 declined 20 percent compared with the same quarter in 2007, from $199.2 million in 2007 to $160.3 million in 2008. The company attributed the decrease to the slump in residential housing. Reported operating income for wood flooring in the first quarter was $2.5 million compared with $8.4 million in the first quarter of 2007. Adjusted operating income was $2.8 million, down from $8.4 million for the same quarter in 2007. The company reported that operating income declined because lower sales volume and higher promotional expenses more than offset improved manufacturing productivity. Overall, Armstrong World Industries Inc. reported first quarter 2008 net sales of $828.2 million, down 4 percent from $863.4 million in the same period for 2007. The NWFA hosted an Advanced Installation and Sand & Finish School in Hartford, Conn., May 6-9. NWFA Technical Director Steve Seabaugh led the instruction, while volunteer instructors included: Jim Schumacher, 3M; Rob Johnson, Basic Coatings; Gregg Bethune and David Darche, BonaKemi USA Inc.; Jeff Marcum, Cherryhill Mfg. Corp.; Mike Farrell, Clarke American Sanders; Steve Bewsher, Dura Seal; Dave Posey, Floor Style Products; Charles Peterson, The Int'l. Parquetry Historical Society; Craig Dupra, Lenmar; Greg Mihaich, Norton Abrasives; Tom Peotter, Oshkosh Designs; Dick Ayers, Porta-Nails Inc.; Pat Donworth, Powernail Company; Johannes Boonstra, Synteko Floor Finishes; Augustine Trevor Langdon, T & J Flooring Plus; Chuck Garvey, Timbermate USA Inc. and Lägler; and Woody Hilscher, UFloor Systems Inc. The lead distributor was Leese Flooring Supplies Inc. (Manchester, Conn.). Lumber Liquidators' (Toano, Va.) net sales increased 24.5 percent to $114.5 million in the first quarter of 2008 from $92.0 million in the first quarter of 2007. The company opened nine new stores during the first quarter of 2008. Comparable store net sales increased 7 percent for the quarter. Non-comparable store net sales increased $16.1 million and represented 71.3 percent of the total increase in Lumber Liquidators' sales. Gross margin rose to 35 percent in 2008's first quarter compared with 33.2 percent in the same period in 2007. Arborcraft Floors (Johnson City, Tenn.), the parent company of the Harris Wood brand, has selected Design Flooring Distributors Inc. (Pompano Beach, Fla.) for distribution in Florida.

Pacific Floor Products (Eugene, Ore.) has added Beavertooth Oak (Medford, Ore.) as a distributor for Wearmax water-based finishes.

Parquets Dubeau Ltd., a division of Lauzon International Inc. (Papineauville, Quebec), has formed a distribution partnership with Mohawk Industries (Dalton, Ga.), which will distribute Eterna wood flooring in the mid-Atlantic and New England regions.

Schafer Hardwood Flooring Company (Tecumseh, Mich.) has announced that Columbia River Hardwoods (Vancouver, Wash.) is its exclusive distributor of the company's solid hardwood flooring to Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and Northern California.

A to Z Wood Flooring Inc. (Eagan, Minn.) hosted its 2nd Annual Wood Flooring Expo April 17 at its Eagan location. More than 200 customers attended, and participating vendors included: Clarke American Sanders, Dean Hardwoods, Duratool, Festool, Hallmark Flooring, Haro Flooring, Glitsa American, Green River Wood Flooring, Kentucky Wood Floors, Koetter Wood Working, Natural Cork, Norton Abrasives, Old Western Paint/Poly Var, Owens Flooring Company, Ozark Mountain Hardwoods, Powernail Company, ProTeam, Seasons Wood Flooring, Stanley-Bostitch, Vintage Prefinished Hardwood Flooring, Wolf Sanders and Woodwise/Design Hardwood Products. Prizes raffled off included a 10-inch Wolf floor sander won by Don Christie of Christie's Floor Sanding (Minneapolis) and a Clarke EZ Sand won by John Schott of Schott's Hardwood Flooring (Rochester, Minn.).

North Wood Flooring LLC (Coleman, Wis.) has been recognized as Lon Musolf Distributing Inc.'s (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) vendor of the year for 2007. Lon Musolf President Steve Merila made the announcement and presented North Wood's Tom Bieberitz with the award at Lon Musolf's open house on April 23. Shamrock Plank Flooring (Memphis, Tenn.) has named James (Jim) R. Lennon director of flooring sales in the Shamrock Plank Flooring Division. Lennon was previously at Armstrong World Industries for 13 years, including his position as national accounts field sales manager. Lennon can be reached at 800/473-3765, ext. 1110.

Mannington Mills (Salem, N.J.) has named Zach Zehner vice president of commercial hard surfaces. Zehner has been with Mannington's residential division since 2003.

Loba-Wakol LLC (Kannapolis, N.C.) has appointed Don Jewell technical sales manager of its wood floor finishes and adhesives. Jewell managed his own installation company in Minnesota for the past 10 years.

US Plank Flooring (West Portsmouth, Ohio) has added Clark Delabar to its sales team. Delabar has worked with US Plank for two years as lumber buyer. He may be reached by cell at 740/505-7686, at the office at 877/297-5265, ext. 26, or at cdelabar@usplankflooring.com.

Clarke American Sanders (Springdale, Ark.) has hired Rob Clements as a project engineer. He previously worked at Zeus Engineering and Consumer Testing Laboratories.

SeaPort Hardwoods & Flooring (Clackamas, Ore.) has added Ted Gilb to its sales staff. Gilb has 14 years' experience in the industry and previously worked at Cascade Pacific for 12 years. According to the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI), the current market conditions indicator for the first quarter of 2008 increased to 41.8 from 40.9 in the fourth quarter of 2007, while the future expectations measure showed no change from the previous quarter at 37.9. Any number over 50 indicates that the majority of remodelers view the market conditions as improving; the RMI has been running below 50 since the final quarter of 2005. The Hardwood Flooring Summit, organized by The Claims Advisor (a member of NWFA and WFCA), will be held August 14-17 in Atlanta. The educational conference will feature speaker sessions and 45 breakout classes, as well as expert panels and debates. A course on claims photography and inspection-report writing, to be held August 12-13, is included with registration to the summit. For more information, call Dan Blake at 877/888-1013 or visit www.woodconference.com.

Decorative Flooring (Port St. Joe, Fla.) will host a Custom Installation class August 14-15 at its location in Port St. Joe. For more information, call 877/229-7720.

The NWFA will host an Advanced Intermediate Installation, Sand & Finish School in Atlanta August 26-29. For more informa tion, e-mail installationschools@nwfa.org or visit www.nwfa.org. Powernail Company Inc. (Lake Zurich, Ill.) is looking for a regional sales manger for two territories: Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas; and Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Requirements are at least five years' experience selling products to hardwood flooring distributors and/or five years experience working as/for a flooring contractor, a willingness to travel up to 75 percent and a reputation for integrity and honesty. Compensation is commensurate with experience and ability. Résumés with a salary history should be sent to Mark Weglowski at mweglowski@powernail.com; he can be reached at 303/478-1704.

Owens Flooring Company has openings for territory sales managers for the East Coast and South Central states. Experience with prefinished and unfinished flooring is a must and travel is required. The company offers excellent benefits. Résumés should be sent to jbubolz@teamowensinc.com. In the April 1 edition of Hardwood Floors' E-News, the location of Arte Flooring should have been listed as Ripon, Quebec. Are you looking for an affordable way to train your crew and/or customers? Consider hosting an NWFA member-sponsored school at your company locations. Schools available include the Factory Finished Wood Flooring Installation School, the Wood Flooring Installation School and the Wood Flooring Sand & Finish School. The cost for each school is $1,500 a day, plus instructor expenses. For more information, contact the NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international), by e-mail at info@nwfa.org or visit www.nwfa.org.