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   A American Custom Flooring

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:12/8/2003

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

Hardwood Floors E-News
Monday, December 8, 2003
Issue 216
Next issue published December 22, 2003, 2003
Deadline for items: December 17, 2003
Send news to editors@hardwoodfloorsmag.com

Manufacturer News
Armstrong Holdings Inc. (AHI) (Lancaster, Pa.), the parent company of Armstrong World Industries Inc. (AWI) has announced that the special shareholder meeting of AHI previously scheduled for Dec. 3 in New York City, will be adjourned to Jan. 7, 2004 at the same location (the offices of Weil, Gotshal & Manges) and hour (11 a.m.). The adjournment is being made in view of a procedural delay in the Chapter ll case of AWI, which is AHI's only significant asset. The meeting was called to authorize the dissolution of AHI upon implementation of a plan of reorganization in AWI's Chapter 11 case. The adjournment provides additional time for shareholders who have not already done so to vote on the proposal.

Frame Hardwoods Inc. (Chelsea, Mich.) is holding an open house from Dec. 1 to Dec. 19 for 12 of its distributors. The open house features a new climate-controlled, 40,000-square-foot building housing a new optimizing rip line and a new 300-foot UV finish line. The new finish line was installed to finish Frame Hardwoods' Chelsea Plank Flooring and Restoration Series Plank. The company now offers contract prefinish services, custom packaging programs and private label milling and finishing programs. For more information, contact Greg Smith at 734/433-1023 or greg@plankflooring.com.

Mirage/Boa-Franc (Saint-Georges, Quebec) has received the Eterne Award from the Tree Canada Foundation. The award recognizes Mirage for its outstanding commitment and contribution to the environment. Mirage has worked with the foundation for the past three years in the organization's coast-to-coast initiative in eight forest zones across four regions. "Protecting, preserving and managing forests and educating people about our forests is our responsibility," says Pierre Thabet, president of Mirage/Boa-Franc. "And, Mirage will continue its work with the Tree Canada Foundation in pursuit of these four goals."

Stephen Fuller Architects Inc. (Duluth, Ga.) has chosen to showcase pine flooring from Authentic Pine Floors (Locust Grove, Ga.) throughout its designer model in its next community development-Chatham Park-in Roswell, Ga. The historically inspired homes will feature wide plank Colonial and Victorian Heart Pine, Victorian Grade Heart Pine and rustic, hand-scraped yellow pine in a variable-width plank pattern.

Abrasive Enterprises Inc. (Summerside, Price Edward Island) has announced an expansion of its manufacturing/warehousing facility in Summerside, Prince Edward Island. The additional 17,680 square feet complement the existing 30,000 square feet and accommodate the company's launch of its new Supreme brand of synthetic abrasive belts, the company says. With this expansion, an additional 12 positions will be created in the sales department. Abrasive Enterprises is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Venteak Corp. (Miami) has opened a warehouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., managed by Dave O'Connel. O'Connel can be contacted at dave@venteak.com or 954/931-7614. Venteak has warehouses throughout the United States, as well as Mexico, Venezuela and Denmark.

Distributor News
Par-ky (Menen, Belgium) has announced that General Distributors (Wichita, Kansas) will represent the company in Kansas and Oklahoma. Par-ky is also looking for new distributors. For more information, call 800/805-2466, e-mail peter.daneels@par-ky.com, or visit www.par-ky.com. Teragren Fine Floors, Panels & Veneers (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) has named Roesel-Heck Company Inc. (Baltimore) its distributor for both the TimberGrass Solid Strip and Teragren Bamboo Wide Plank flooring brands. Roesel-Heck covers Maryland, Delaware, southeastern Pennsylvania and the northern Virginia territories. For more information, contact Russ Seifert at 410/563-3100, or call Teragren at 800/929-6333.

PoloPlaz (Jackson, Ark.) is looking for dealer/distributors in the Baltimore area to stock its line of high-solids oil and waterborne urethanes, fast-drying stains and maintenance products. Other areas also are available. For more information, e-mail Bill Jauernig at billj@poloplaz.com or call 800/421-7319.

Boen National Sales (Denver), which is responsible for national distribution of Boen Hardwood Flooring, has added the following new stocking distributors: Horizon Forest Products (North Charleston, S.C., Wilmington, N.C., Fuquay Varina, N.C. and Raleigh, N.C.); Virginia Hardwoods (covering distribution in Arizona and Nevada with locations in Phoenix and Las Vegas); and Surface Arts (located in Seattle and covering the states of Oregon, Idaho and Washington).

People News
Best Value Flooring Inc. (St-Stanislas, Quebec) has named Joan F. Lyon vice president of sales and marketing. Lyon has been in the floorcovering business for more than 23 years at all levels of sales, and her last position was director of sales and marketing at a hardwood flooring mill. Working from her Ottawa office and the manufacturing plant, Lyon can be reached at 418/328-4676 or on her cell phone at 613/371-5626.

Erickson's Flooring & Supply (Ferndale, Mich.) has appointed Al Maghes vice president of marketing and sales. He will be replacing Greg Williams and can be reached at 248/246-5102. Williams has moved on to other opportunities after many years of dedication and loyal service to the company. The company also has expanded its sales force to include Ralph Sharp, Ted Wysokinski and Bill Lau. Sharp will be covering the southern Chicago and Illinois region, and Wysokinski will cover northern Chicago and Illinois. Lau will be responsible for the southwest Ohio territory. In addition, Christine Goode has joined the team as claims and co-op administrator. Sharp, Wysokinski, Lau and Goode can be reached at 800/225-9663 or 248/543-9663.

By the Numbers
Sales of new single-family homes, bolstered by favorable mortgage rates and solid house-price gains, are expected to top one million units this year, even though the seasonally adjusted sales rate dipped slightly in October, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The Commerce Department reported a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.105 million units, down 3.5 percent from September's revised rate. Three regions registered modest declines for the month. Respectively, the Midwest and South posted 0.5 percent and 1 percent declines while in the Northeast, the pace slowed 3.3 percent. The West registered a 9.4 percent decline, but sales were still 1.4 percent above a year earlier.

Strip shipments totaled 66,107,000 board feet in October, up 26 percent from the 52,606,000 board feet shipped in October 2002, according to NOFMA: The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association. For the first 10 months of 2003, shipments totaled 529,169,000 board feet, up 1 percent from the 522,888,000 board feet shipped during the same period in 2002.

Job Watch
Woodard Cleaning & Restoration (St. Louis) has a newly created position in its Hard Surface Cleaning department. The chosen candidate will develop and execute a business plan and train others in this specialized field. A Bachelor of Science degree or comparable business experience is required. Previous experience in the hard surface industry is a plus. For more information, visit www.woodardcleaning.com, e-mail a rÈsumÈ to jlanglie@woodardcleaning.com or fax to 314/961-1678, Attn: HR.

An innovative and rapidly growing company seeks experienced sales agents to represent its extensive selection of abrasive products and specialty tools at various levels of distribution. Candidates must have extensive knowledge of the industry and have established territories with existing principals. Top remuneration is available. Call Grant at Abrasive Enterprises Inc. at 800/668-0664, ext. 1045, fax 800/792-2221, or e-mail grant@abrasiveenterprises.com.

Old Western Paint Co. Inc./Poly Var (Denver), a hardwood floor coating manufacturer with distributors throughout the United States, is seeking an outside salesperson with experience selling floor finishes in the hardwood flooring industry. The company is looking for an upbeat, positive person who is excited about maintaining current business and acquiring new. For more information, visit www.oldwesternpaint.com, or contact Adeline M. Smith by e-mail at OldWesternPaint@hotmail.com, by phone at 303/825-5147 or by fax at 303/825-2437.

On the Web
Timbermate USA Inc. (Chicago) has launched its new Web site at www.timbermate.com.

Essential Industries Inc. (Merton, Wis.) has a new Web site, www.essind.com. Detailed information is available for products, equipment, product systems, technical assistance, training aids and sales support.

Taylor Adhesives' (Fontana, Calif.) renovated Web site, www.wftaylor.com, features a virtual tour, coverage calculator, installation bulletins, MSDS sheets and more.

Mark Your Calendar
Erickson's Flooring & Supply has announced the dates for its annual 2004 Education Conferences: Jan. 24 (Bensenville, Ill.), Feb. 7 (Indianapolis), Feb. 21 (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and Feb. 28 (Detroit). Topics for these conferences include: business leadership roundtable; the future outlook and benefits of dust containment; cork flooring; and hand-scraped floors. Key sponsors include BonaKemi, Somerset, Boen and Palo Duro. Many other vendors will be present for questions on products. There also will be product discounts for those present, and Erickson's will raffle off a trip for two to Las Vegas. For more information, call 866/541-9663 or 248/543-9663.

Domotex Hannover 2004 will be held Jan. 17-20, 2004, in Hannover, Germany. The trade show features a range of flooring exhibits, including wood floors. For more information, visit www.domotex.de.

The Construction Final Touch Expo 2004 will be held Jan. 22-24 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The expo allows manufacturers and distributors of construction products for home and commercial builders, remodelers, architects and engineers to project and promote products and services. For more information, call Confex International Corp. at 954/888-9454, fax 954/888-9459, or visit www.cft-expo.com.

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors will hold its 2004 Executive Summit in Washington, D.C., Jan. 26-28. This year's meeting, themed "Forecast 2004," will focus on business and legislative trends, the elections and the economy. For more information, visit www.nawmeetings.org.

Surfaces 2004 will be held Jan. 28-30 in Las Vegas. This show, the largest in the floor-covering industry, fatures all types of floor coverings from vinyl to hardwood floors and includes an extensive conference program comprised of workshops, seminars and panel discussions. For more information, contact Jennifer Weller at 972/536-6343, fax 972/536-6401, or visit www.surfacesexpo.com.

The fifth annual China International Floor Coverings & Carpet Fair will be held Sept. 27-30, 2004, at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing. The 2003 show drew 150 exhibitors from around the world and attracted more than 12,000 domestic and overseas trade visitors. A 10 percent discount is being offered to exhibitors registering by March 31, 2004. For more information, call the show's U.S. agent Dave Spreen at 707/445-2244, e-mail mail@davespreen.com, or visit floor.ciec-exhibition.com.cn.

Product News
Ecostrong Bamboo Flooring (Hangzhou, China) has expanded its product range to include solid oak, ash, maple and birch flooring. For pricing and information on becoming a distributor, contact George Dent at 443/362-0192 or e-mail g.dent@eco-strong.com.

Venteak Corp. has added a full range of accessories to its product line, including baseboards in 3-, 4- and 5-inch sizes, stair nosing, cove, quarter-round, T-moulding and reducers. All accessories are available from the company's warehouses in teak, Caribbean koa, jatoba and ipé. Contact sales@venteak.com, or call 877-VENTEAK for details.

NWFA Member Services
NWFA members can access Al Bates' Profit Improvement Report titled "Is Your Value Proposition Really Working?" on the NWFA Web site. Aimed at distributors, Bates' article reviews the implications of a defective value proposition by looking at two specific issues: Measuring the Effectiveness of the Value Proposition and Suggested Improvement Path. To view the report, go to www.nwfa.org, and click on Statistical Reports in the Membership Services drop down menu. Enter your member ID number, click on "Profit Improvement Report" and then on the report name to download. Or, contact the NWFA at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international) for your free copy.

Unearth Your Old Photos & Job Site Stories For Hardwood Floors Do you have old photos that deal with woodworking or the wood flooring industry? Do you have a funny (yet printable) job site story you could share? Have you come across a flooring project, tool or wood-related item that really intrigued you? If you answered "Yes!" or even "Maybe" to any of these questions, pass that information on to Hardwood Floors-we could use your contributions for our Woodworks section. If you don't want your name published, you can remain anonymous, and if an item you doesn't fit the needs of our publication, we'll let you know. Plus, if you send us something we use in the magazine, we'll send you a Hardwood Floors T-shirt. Send any items you'd like to contribute to editors@hardwoodfloorsmag.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon.