NWFANational Wood Flooring Association
    
The ultimate source of information for wood flooring professionalsServices & SuppliesEducation & SchoolsMember NetworkingCalendar of EventsConvention & ExpoCertificationAbout NWFAJoin & Renew
NWFA

Previous Issues

   Sheoga Hardwood Flooring and Paneling Inc

E-News is an electronic newsletter distributed by Hardwood Floors every other week. Current and previous issues are archived and can be requested electronically. You also can subscribe to E-News, and submit a news item for publication.

Issue Date:2/2/2004

Hardwood Floors E-News: Monday, April 29, 2002

Hardwood Floors E-News
Monday, February 2, 2004
Issue 230
Next issue published February 16, 2004, 2003
Deadline for items: February 11, 2004
Send news to editors@hardwoodfloorsmag.com

Denver Hardwood to Acquire Misco Shawnee
Denver Hardwood Company (Denver) and its affiliated group of flooring distributors under the Hamar Group of companies will acquire the assets of the Midwest's largest flooring distributor, Misco Shawnee (Earth City, Mo.). Doug Hamar, president and CEO of Denver Hardwood Company, and Jim Gould, chairman of the board of Misco Shawnee, say the acquisition will create one of the 10 largest flooring distribution companies in the nation and will result in a distribution network that covers two thirds of the United States from Ohio to the Pacific Coast. Denver Hardwood and its affiliated group of flooring distributors distribute hardwood, laminate and ceramic flooring products in the Rocky Mountains, Pacific Northwest and Southwest. Misco Shawnee distributes primarily hardwood, laminate and vinyl in eight Midwestern states and, through its national distribution arm, DSI, it services buying groups, home centers and flooring manufacturers across the country.

Both companies cite mutual benefits for the acquisition. "We are confident that the combined efforts or our companies will help us all realize an even greater level of customer service and market share," said David Rowe, vice president of Denver Hardwood and director of distribution operations for the Hamar Group. "The addition of Misco Shawnee not only gives us a greater footprint, but it also gives us national distribution capabilities through Misco's division, Distribution Services," he said. Misco's president, Randy Gum, said that "Denver offers immediate access to a wide array of hardwood flooring products and expertise." Over the last year Misco had increased the company's hardwood flooring selections, recently introducing Misco's own hardwoods collection, Shawnee Hardwoods. "Denver Hardwood and the Hamar Group will enable us to realize our full potential; we will enjoy a much larger platform from which to launch new products," Gum said. "At the same time," Gould said,"all of our vendor partners and customers will benefit from this pairing of companies." Denver Hardwood will gain access to national distribution as well as a new global perspective. "DSI is currently in active negotiations for several international and national market opportunities," Gould added.

Columbia Flooring Buys Appalachian Precision Hardwood
Columbia Flooring (Danville, Va.) has reached an agreement with International Industries (Gilbert, W. Va.) to purchase full ownership interest in solid prefinished hardwood flooring manufacturers Appalachian Precision Flooring and Appalachian Custom Dry Kilns (both in Holden, W. Va.). The agreement was effective December 31, 2003, and a purchase price was not disclosed. Columbia has had a successful partnership with International in operating facilities since 1999. "It was an important partnership in expediting our company's overall plan for growth, and the end result–outright Columbia ownership–is what both parties had ultimately hoped for," said Columbia President David Wootton, adding that the close partnership enabled a quick agreement. "We recognize hardwood flooring is a cornerstone of Columbia's business, whereas lumber is one of ours. It is logical this change should take place now," said International Industries President and CEO Gary White. International will continue to supply green lumber to the Holden plant. Columbia's buyout of International's interest in the Holden facilities gives Columbia 100 percent ownership of all four of its North American hardwood flooring plants and is the third acquisition the company has completed in the past 90 days. Other mills are located in Danville, Va.; Melbourne, Ark. and Ellijay, Ga.

Investment Group Buys Capella Hardwood Flooring
A Jackson, Miss.-based investment group headed by Richard M. Lingle has signed a letter of intent to acquire the Anderson-Tully Engineered Wood division from Anderson-Tully (Vicksburg, Miss.), including the Capella Hardwood Flooring brand. Shannon Fuller has been named the CEO for Capella Wood Floors. Anderson-Tully will continue to own and operate its hardwood sawmills and lumber yard in Vicksburg, as well as its timberlands in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee.

With this acquisition, Fuller said customers should "look for new products, including a wider selection of species and sawn-face products in the future." Worth Roberts, vice president of sales, said that "the new partnership offers much greater flexibility from the standpoint of expanding production to meet our increasing demand."

Surfaces 2004 Exhibitors Upbeat After Show
Despite fears that Surfaces 2004 would be hurt by the absence of floor covering giants Armstrong, Mohawk, Shaw and Congoleum, most exhibitors from the wood flooring industry considered the show, held January 28-30 at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas, a success. Official exhibitor and attendees figures for Surfaces 2004 were unavailable at press time, but exhibitors' comments put the show on par with or better than previous years. Among the exhibitors were 168 NWFA-member companies.

"I was very pleased with the traffic we had coming through our booth," said Barry Nelson, national sales manager for finish manufacturer Glitsa American (Seattle). "I think this was probably the best year we've ever had for the sand and finish market. For us, it was awesome." At wood flooring manufacturer Pinnacle Interior Elements Inc. (Carrollton, Texas), Marketing Manager Stephanie L. Holowak said,"We had a good response to our products. I talked with others, as well, and they thought that the absence of the big four was really a non-event. We didn't feel like it impacted us."

Manufacturer News
Master carpenter Norm Abram of the "This Old House" television series visited Columbia Flooring's engineered hardwood flooring plant Nov. 24 to film a segment that premiered on PBS Jan. 22 in the first half of "The New This Old House Hour." Abram and the show's crew filmed a tour of the facility conducted by Danville Plant Manager John Tappan.

Signature Innovations LLC dba Signature Hardwoods (Wood Dale, Ill.), a manufacturer and importer of engineered and solid hardwood floors, hosted its first open house on Jan. 16 combined with a New Year's celebration party. The event was open to dealers, distributors and retailers by invitation only. Due to an overwhelming response, management of Signature Hardwoods has decided to hold an open house every two months. The next event will take place March 19 from noon to 8 p.m. Special discounts for certain stock items will be available to those who attend. To receive an invitation, call 888/647-4600 or visit www.signatureinnovations.com.

Distributor News
Torlys Inc. (Mississauga, Ontario) has purchased a new headquarters almost double the size of its current head office and main warehouse facility, the company says. The new facility is an 86,000-square-foot, two-story office and warehouse facility on four acres at 1900 Derry Road in Mississauga. The building features almost 67,000 square feet of warehouse space and 19,000 square feet of office space. The new property also includes an 1870s brick farmhouse that will be developed into an on-site training center and showroom, the company says.

Teragren LLC (San Diego, Calif.) has named J.H. Freed & Sons (San Diego, Calif.) its flooring distributor for southern California and Nevada.

Industry News
The Mohawk Group and Tarkett Commercial are the newest endorsers of the International Standards and Training Alliance (INSTALL). These companies join 20 other major mills and manufacturers as formal endorsers of the program designed by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. For more information, visit www.installfloors.org or contact Jim Schmid at 314/951-0999.

Individuals looking to receive NWFA Degrees awarded at the NWFA convention in April should get their applications in to the NWFA no later than March 1, 2004. Degrees recognize individuals for education, personal achievement and service to the industry. Candidates' companies must have been a member three or more consecutive years. For an application, call the NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international), e-mail installationschools@nwfa.org or visit www.nwfa.org.

People News
Preverco (St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec) has added Jason Austen as a sales representative for the Ontario market. Austen is responsible for all existing accounts and new accounts located in northern, southern and western regions of Ontario as far east as Hamilton. He was formerly with Steve Dufour distribution. Austen can be reached at 519/281-4050 or via e-mail at austbond@amtelecom.net.

Design Flooring Distributors Inc. (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) has named Randy Childress territory manager for its sales team. Childress' territory extends from Lakeland, Tampa/St. Petersburg to Ocala. In addition, John Radcliffe Jr. now is territory manager of Orlando, Cocoa and Melbourne.

Mississippi builder Bobby Rayburn recently was elected the 2004 president of the 220,000-member National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) (Washington, D.C.).

By the Numbers
For 2003, strip shipments totaled 633,114,000 board feet, up 1 percent from the 627,503,000 board feet shipped during 2002, according to NOFMA: The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association. Strip shipments for December totaled 52,759,000 board feet, down 1 percent from the 52,990,000 shipped during the same month in 2002. In November, strip shipments totaled 51,186,000 board feet, down 1 percent from the same month in 2002.

New home construction for 2003 increased to 1.848 million units, 8.4 percent above the number of housing starts for 2002 and the highest level in 25 years, according to the Commerce Department. For the year as a whole, the Northeast, Midwest, South and West were up 3.8, 6.6, 7.2 and 13.9 percent, respectively. For December, housing starts increased 1.7 percent over November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.088 million units.

Sales of new single-family homes topped one million units in 2003, establishing a new record high for the third consecutive year, according to the Commerce Department. Total new single-family home sales for 2003 reached 1.085 million, up 11.5 percent from the previous annual record of 973,000 in 2002. For December alone, new home sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.060 million units, down 5.5 percent from November.

The NAHB's Housing Market Index fell two points to 68 in January. The index gauging sales of new single-family homes fell three points to 74.

Remodelers posted higher year-end numbers in the final quarter of 2003 than in either fourth quarter of the past two years, according to the results of NAHB's Remodeling Market Index (RMI). The index gauging current market conditions rose to 50.3 points, a seven-point gain over 2003's score of 43.2. The index measuring future expectations moved to 48.3 points, a nine-point gain over last year's 39.1 points.

Job Watch
BonaKemi USA (Aurora, Colo.) is seeking a regional manager to join the southeast division serving the Florida market. The ideal candidate will have a minimum of three to five years' experience in the industry, the ability to travel, excellent communication skills (Spanish speaking is a plus), and the ability to teach the techniques of hardwood floor sanding and finishing. Candidates should submit a rZ?sumZ? and salary history in confidence to: BonaKemi USA, Attn: Human Resources, 14805 E. Moncrieff Place, Aurora, CO 80011 or fax 303/307-5012. The deadline is Feb. 15.

Quality Hardwoods of Michigan Inc. (Rochester, Mich.), an established distributor of hardwood flooring, is seeking qualified, motivated and hard-working sales representatives to sell products in eastern Michigan. Responsibilities include the development and maintenance of relationships with hardwood flooring contractors and dealers. Background in the flooring industry, as well as past sales experience, is required. Generous compensation and benefits are offered. Interested parties should send a résumé to Quality Hardwoods of Michigan Inc., Attn: David M. Solomich, President, 1799 Northfield Drive, Rochester, MI 48309, or call 248/853-2232.

Long Floor Supply Inc. (Raleigh, N.C.) and Long Floor Distributing LLC (Beltsville, Md.) seek customer service representatives to assist with inside sales. Industry experience is a plus. The position offers excellent benefits and salary. Résumés should be sent to 1704 Roseneath Road, Richmond, VA 23230 or inquiries@longfloor.com.

Correction
The e-mail address for Justin Brosnan of Golden State Flooring's San Jose, Calif., branch should have been listed in Hardwood Floors' 2004 Resource Book as justinbrosnan@higlum.com.

In the Hardwood Floors E-News dated Jan. 19, the item about Anderson Hardwood Floors' (Clinton, S.C.) should have stated that Mark Wilson works at WC&T (Asheville, NC).

NWFA Member Services
NWFA members can take advantage of free evaluations for current medical and business risk insurance packages. Ed Sterczek of Mass Marketing Insurance Consultants provides free evaluations of your current medical insurance. Sterczek can be reached at 800/349-1039. Del Fishman of the Fishman Agency provides free evaluations of your current business risk insurance package, including general liability, property, fleet, commercial umbrella and workers compensation. He can be reached at 800/882-1362. Stacy Eickhoff of HRH Insurance Services has a specific program for property and liability insurance for California, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado flooring companies. She can be reached at 800/477-7401. For workers compensation, contact Jerry Nisker at 800/477-7401.