National Floor Trends articles from February 2002

National Floor Trends archives from February 2002

Forget magic potions & wands: concentrate on training and certification programs. (Industry Perspectives).
February 1, 2002... You would be surprised by how many people steadfastly remain unconvinced that there is no free lunch, who believe magic tools create business health and well being. They spend their time looking for magic potions, wands and other no-pain,...

Vote in the NFT Supplier Service Awards for a chance at great prizes. (Editorial Comment).
February 1, 2002... You can win valuable educational seminars and other prizes from National Floor Trends and Floor Covering Installer magazines by casting your ballot to help determine the industry's top manufacturers in the National Floor Trends' Supplier...

Carpet creates the canvas for a masterpiece renovation of historic resort. (Case Study).
February 1, 2002... When your reputation is built on history, renovating with an eye to the future is a precarious process. Such was the case with the recent redesign of the historic Main Inn at the palatial Grove Park Inn resort. For nearly a century, the...

NAFCD, NWFA release industry white paper. (People/Places/Events).
February 1, 2002... A new 15-page floor covering industry white paper, recently released by the National Floor Covering Distributors (NAFCD), the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), and Indian River Consulting Group, sheds new light on how U.S. flooring...

Formica announces management changes. (People/Places/Events).
February 1, 2002... Formica Corp. recently announced that President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors Vince Langone tendered his resignation as an officer and director of the company, its direct parent FM Holdings Inc., its indirect parent Laminates...

Beaulieu realigns its hard-surface business. (People/Places/Events).
February 1, 2002... Beaulieu Group LLC (Beaulieu of America) has instituted measures to realign its hard-surface business. The changes include a reduction in servicing to some areas of the country, along with select location and personnel changes. Beaulieu...

Sears to quit carpet biz. (People/Places/Events).
February 1, 2002... Sears, Roebuck & Co., the United Stares' largest department store chain, plans to discontinue its carpet sales and installation operations in February. The move is expected to result in the elimination of 1,500 retail sales jobs at the...

Design Competition calls for entries. (News).
February 1, 2002... Assopiastrelle, the Association of Italian Ceramic Tile Manufacturers, and the Italian Trade Commission will sponsor the 9th edition of the Ceramic Tiles of Italy Design Competition. The competition recognizes excellence in the design and...

CMH shows Appreciation. (News).
February 1, 2002... CMH Flooring Products Inc. held its Customer Appreciation and New Product Showcase event in the uptown Marriott City Center in Charlotte, N.C. in October. More than 400 retailers attended the event, which featured entertainment by area band...

Herregan buys Self's Mannington division. (News).
February 1, 2002... Herregan Distributors of Eagan, Minn. has purchased the Mannington division and distribution territories of Wichita, Kan.-based Self's Inc. As part of the deal, the company also takes possession of Self's Oklahoma City branch location. ...

Harris-Tarkett appoints new distributors. (News).
February 1, 2002... Harris-Tarkett Inc. has appointed new distributors to market its products for the West Coast, the Southwest and the South. Diamond W Floor Coverings of Los Angeles will market the company's products in California, Nevada and Arizona. Golden...

Flexco names new distributor. (News).
February 1, 2002... Flexco recently named Kenco Distributors Inc. as a new distributor for Flexco's commercial rubber and vinyl flooring products. Kenco is a full line floor covering distributor with a sales region covering the Nashville and Memphis, Tenn....

[H.sub.2]O designs Olympic mural. (News).
February 1, 2002... Precision [H.sub.2]O worked on a tile mural in the Park City Intermodel Transit Building for the Winter 2002 Olympics in Park City, Utah. The mural incorporates Park City and the Olympic logo. The mural was conceived by Salt Lake City's...

NOFMA adopts new name. (News).
February 1, 2002... The National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association (NOFMA) recently voted to change the association's name to NOFMA, The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association. The new name was chosen to more accurately reflect the group's current membership...

James Hardie buys Cemplank. (News).
February 1, 2002... James Hardie Building Products has expanded its U.S. capacity to supply products through the acquisition of Cemplank's fiber-cement operations. Through this deal, James Hardie will acquire all of Cemplank's fiber-cement operations, which...

Felipe meets ASCER. (News).
February 1, 2002... Prince Felipe, the future king of Spain, met the ASCER Board of Directors at Cersaie, an Italian ceramic tile trade show, in Bologna, Italy. The prince was on an official visit to Italy and stopped in Bologna to visit Cersaie. Spanish...

Mannington launches virtual decorating tool. (News).
February 1, 2002... Mannington has equipped its company website with a new Virtual Decorator tool that enables customers to select a room scene, then mix and match flooring, wall coverings, draperies, cabinets, and upholstery online. The tool, which can be...

WFCA inducts Hall of Famers. (News).
February 1, 2002... Alan Greenberg, co-CEO of CCA Global Partners, and Louis A. Spano Sr., the recently deceased founder of Broomhall, Pa.-based Eldorado Carpet One, have been voted into the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) Industry Hall of Fame. The...

April is National Floor Covering Month. (News).
February 1, 2002... The World Floor Covering Association (WECA) has announced the second annual National Floor Covering Month set For April 2002. The month's theme is "Look Down for a Change." The goal of the month-long program is to educate consumers about the...

Domco Tarkett. (People).
February 1, 2002... Domco Tarkett has appointed Jacques Benetreau to take the reins as the company's treasurer and chief financial officer. Benetreau joined the company earlier this year as senior vice president of finance. He replaces Robert Desautels, who is...

Frank Krivas. (People).
February 1, 2002... Frank Krivas recently joined Goodwin Heart Pine as director of sales and marketing. Krivas brings more than 20 years' manufacturing experience in wood flooring, laminate flooring, coatings, and carpeting to his new position.

Schluter Systems. (People).
February 1, 2002... Schluter Systems has appointed Dan Wagner to the position of territory manager for the New York Metro area and Northern and Central New Jersey. Wagner has more than 20 years of experience in the flooring and tile industry.

Classen USA. (People).
February 1, 2002... Classen USA has expanded its national sales team with the addition of four regional sales managers. Stacey Spencer will cover the central southern region and has 10 years' experience in developing regional and national distribution networks....

Laminate flooring and building industry sales. (People).
February 1, 2002... Roger Hart brings more than 30 years of experience in floor covering and carpet mill sales management to his position of Midwest regional manager. Chris Swartz will serve Classen as the Southeastern regional sales manager with experience in...

CCA Global Partners. (People).
February 1, 2002... Bob Wilson was named chief operating officer by CCA Global Partners. Wilson will report to the company's co-CEOs Alan Greenberg and Howard Brodsky. His responsibilities will include managing all corporate and support staffs and their functional...

BonaKemi USA Inc. (People).
February 1, 2002... BonaKemi USA Inc. has promoted Todd Schutte to be Bona's national training manager. He will direct all local and national Bona training activities and continue offering Bona support for industry association education efforts.

Alloc Inc. (People).
February 1, 2002... Mark T. Kieckhafer has joined Alloc Inc. as marketing director. Kieckhafer will be based in Racine, Wis. And will be responsible for planning, directing and coordinating the overall marketing efforts of the organization. He was formerly a sales...

Hibernia Woolen Mills. (People).
February 1, 2002... Saul Gershon has been promoted to vice president of sales of Hibernia Woolen Mills. Gershon also recently became a partner in the company. In the past two and a half years, Gershon has helped expand the company's sales and better establish...

Mannington Commercial. (People).
February 1, 2002... Mannington Commercial has tapped Jennie Selden as national business development manager for the Institutional segment for Commercial Carpet and Resilient. Selden's primary focus will be on expanding sales of Mannington Commercial carpet and...

Hibernia display drives sales. (Rugs, Carpet & Cushion).
February 1, 2002... Hibernia Woolen Mills has developed a furniture-quality display unit that showcases the company's complete line of wool carpets. The display incorporates more than 100 SKUs in 13.5-by-15-inch samples. The display requires 12 square feet of...

Couristan to launch Surfaces promotion. (Rugs, Carpet & Cushion).
February 1, 2002... Couristan will debut its Handmade Extravaganza Promotion at Surfaces 2002. For this promotion, the company will reduce prices by 15% on all handmade area rug lines, including Sultan, Chobi, Masterpiece, and Joseph Abboud's Environments...

Surfaces is the venue for DuPont product intros. (Rugs, Carpet & Cushion).
February 1, 2002... DuPont will make several new product introductions as Surfaces 2002 in Las Vegas. The company will showcase 60 new styles, colors and patterns of DuPont Stainmaster carpet with Tactesse fibers. The DuPont booth will also feature a Tactesse...

Mohawk releases Forever Fresh. (Rugs, Carpet & Cushion).
February 1, 2002... Mohawk recently released Forever Fresh, a new collection of Odor Eaters carpets. The Forever Fresh line features Mohawk Stainguard Protection which, according the company, reduces dirt's ability to stick or penetrate carpet. The carpet is...

Shaw introduces its Corterra line. (Rugs Carpet & Cushion).
February 1, 2002... Shaw Industries Inc. and Shell Chemicals have introduced Shaw's Corterra carpet line, the first BCF carper introduced in the United States based on Shell's Corterra Polymers. According to Shaw, Corterra fibers are stain resistant and...

Electro Plastics releases radiant mats. (Rugs Carpet & Cushion).
February 1, 2002... Electro Plastics has introduced STEP Warmfloor Under Rug Heaters, a line of low-voltage radiant heat mats for placement under area rugs. The heat-regulated mats are available in a variety of sizes. The company recommends the product for use...

Milliken Area Rugs displays 'Iinnovations' series. (Rugs Carpet & Cushion).
February 1, 2002... Milliken Area Rugs will display its Innovations series at Surfaces 2002. Innovations encompasses 50 designs in nine collections. The rugs are available in five colors and nine sizes with a total of 2,250 new SKUs. The retail price points for...

WFCA National Installation Contest. (Surfaces Show Locator 2002).
February 1, 2002... The World Floor Covering Association's National Installation Contest 2002, co-sponsored by National Floor Trends and Floor Covering Installer magazines, will be held in Las Vegas at the Sands Expo & Convention Center during Surfaces, Jan....

Surfaces Exhibitor List 2002.
February 1, 2002... SURFACES Exhibitor List 2002 1 Corp G4758 3M Construction & Home Improvement G1422 3M Electronic Handling & Protection ...

Colonial Mills to showcase new area rugs. (Rugs, Carpet & Cushion).
February 1, 2002... Colonial Mills Inc. (CMI) will display three new braided-texture area rug collections at Surfaces 2002. The Spring Meadow Collection features reversible, oval-shaped chenille rugs that are unaffected by moisture or mildew, the company says....

Mohawk introduces its 'Personal Style'. (Rugs, Carpet & Cushion).
February 1, 2002... Mohawk, a runner-up in the 2001 NFT Supplier Service Awards competition, recently released Personal Style, the company's new print collection. Personal Style uses Mohawk's Lisse' soft yarn technology to create customized designs. The collection...

Milliken moves into solids. (Rugs, Carpet & Cushion).
February 1, 2002... Milliken Carpet has released its Pattern Mates Collection, a new carpet line featuring the look and feel of a solid with subtle color combinations. Pattern Mates covers a range of 103 SKUs. The collection's suggested retail price is under $35...

Bonsal makes light backerboard. (Installation & Specialty Products).
February 1, 2002... Bonsal has developed ProPannel, a product the company characterizes as the lightest weight backerboard in the industry. A 1/2-inch, three-by-five-foot sheet of ProPannel weighs only 8 lbs. The backerboard is 100% waterproof and can be cur with...

Bostik Findley develops new Hardwood Adhesive. (Installation & Specialty Products).
February 1, 2002... The Bostik Findley Flooring Group has developed Durabond D-232 Hardwood Flooring Adhesive, a waterproof bonding agent formulated to minimize water-vapor transmission. The product is available in 4-gallon pails. According to the company,...

Dependable unveils Vaporseal epoxy. (Installation & Specialty Products).
February 1, 2002... Dependable Chemical Co. now offers Vaporseal, a two component, moisture-tolerant, epoxy-based product designed to block liquids and alkalinity while retarding the transmission of moisture, odor and other elements through concrete slabs....

E-Z Cut introduces carpet base cutters. (Installation & Specialty Products).
February 1, 2002... E-Z Cut has released BBC-E and SBC-6, two carpet base cutting machines. The BBC-E Carpet Base Cutting/Slitting Machine allows users to cut as many as 10 strips of carpet base at one rime. This basic table model features nine adjustable circular...

APAC introduces ceramic adhesive. (Installation & Specialty Products).
February 1, 2002... All Purpose Adhesive Co. recently expanded its adhesive line with the development of Ceramigrip 460 ceramic rile mastic. Ceramigrip 460, which can be cleaned up with water, may be used for interior installations of wall, floor and countertop...

Ardex, Henry offer SystemOne. (Installation & Specialty Products).
February 1, 2002... Ardex and W.W Henry have developed SystemOne, a flooring installation and technical support system. SystemOne is a slate of compatible products and technical service support. The companies designed SystemOne in an attempt to decrease callbacks....

BR-111 unveils thinner solid hardwood line. (Installation & Specialty Products).
February 1, 2002... BR-111 has introduced Indusparquet, the company's new line of 5/l6-inch and 7/16-inch prefinished solid exotic hardwood floors. The product is finished in natural colors without stains and features six coats of UV-cured ceramic aluminum oxide....

Shaw develops glueless Hardwood. (Installation & Specialty Products).
February 1, 2002... Shaw Hard Surfaces recently introduced its glueless VersaLock Hardwood Collection. The product line includes Esteem, featuring four SKUs of 5/16-inch wood, and Crusader, which is comprised of 10 SKUs Of 1/2-inch wood. For details, circle 154 on...

Bruce to debut new wood species at Surfaces 2002. (Installation & Specialty Products).
February 1, 2002... Bruce Hardwood Floors, a winner in NFT's 2001 Supplier Service Awards program, plans to introduce a variety of new products at Surfaces 2002 in Las Vegas. Introductions include: Asian Beech Strip and Plank, a solid beech hardwood flooring...

Pinnacle launches two new lines. (Installation & Specialty Products).
February 1, 2002... Pinnacle Interior Elements has introduced two new wood flooring lines: Nature's Elegance and Hand-Scraped Country Classics. Nature's Elegance is a collection of classic and exotic hardwood floors made from renewable natural resources. Planks in...

Mohawk debuts Northern Forest. (Installation & Specialty Products).
February 1, 2002... Mohawk's Hard Surfaces Division has released the Northern Forest Collection, a hardwood line of 3/4-inch solid wood planks that average 36 inches in length. Northern Forest features maple, birch, cherry, and oak styles. The product line is...

Mannington Trade Winds offers exotic species. (Installation & Specialty Products).
February 1, 2002... Mannington, winner of NFT's Supplier Service Award in the wood floor category, has introduced its Trade Winds hardwood flooring collection featuring the species of Canelo Teak, Magellan Oak, Island Chestnut, and Andino Cherry. The company...

Harris Tarkett offers new hardwoods. (Installation & Specialty Products).
February 1, 2002... Harris Tarkett, a hardwood category runner-up in the NFT 2001 Supplier Service 'Awards contest, recently introduced the Passport: Australia, Coach House Hickory and Crossroads hardwood flooring lines. Passport: Australia is a collection of...

Bengard unveils moulding line. (Laminates).
February 1, 2002... Bengard Manufacturing has developed a new line of wood grain-finished laminate mouldings in stair nosing, end cap, T-mold and reducer strip profiles. Available in oak, red oak and beech aluminum-oxide finishes, the aluminum mouldings feature a...

Mohawk's Paramount sounds like wood. (Laminates).
February 1, 2002... Mohawk Paramount is a new 12-millimeter-thick laminate line with a foot traffic sound that mimics hardwood, the company says. Paramount features the GuardianShield finish and Mohawk's DuraLoc Plus, a glueless horizontal-locking installation...

Shaw augments Decades collection. (Laminates).
February 1, 2002... Shaw Hard Surfaces has added Natural Grande, a glue-down laminate product, to the Decades Laminate series. Natural Grande features seven colors styled to imitate the look of natural stone tile. The line is available in 16-by-47-inch laminate...

BHK expands Moderna line. (Laminates).
February 1, 2002... BHK of America will display several new additions to the its Moderna Glueless Laminate Flooring line during Surfaces 2002. The new Moderna additions include the BHK Moderna Signature Series, which features an engineered wood product in six new...

Viva Click boasts silicone edge seal. (Laminates).
February 1, 2002... Viva Click by Quickstyle features a complete silicone edge seal, a Uni Clic tongue-and-groove installation system, a15-year warranty, and a complete line of accessories, including molding, underlayment and adhesive. Viva Click is available...

Mannington M-Lock keeps the water out. (Laminates).
February 1, 2002... Mannington's M-Lock Collection of click laminate flooring features M-Lock, a moisture treatment developed to makes seams more resistant to edge-swelling moisture damage. The collection is offered in 10 wood plank patterns, including new...

Nature's Gallery new from Armstrong. (Laminates).
February 1, 2002... Armstrong Laminate Floors has released the Nature's Gallery collection, a line of glueless locking-laminate flooring styled to emulate the looks of wood and stone. The product is available in 12-inch-wide planks and includes styles such as...

New Poliface laminates featured at the Sands. (Laminates).
February 1, 2002... Poliface will showcase its Poliface Marine, Poliface Excel, Poliface Excel Grande, Poliface Home, and Poliface Home Grande laminate lines at the Sands Convention Center during Surfaces 2002 in Las Vegas. Poliface Home and Poliface Home...

Faus to showcase its top technology. (Laminates).
February 1, 2002... The Faus Group Inc. will showcase its Embossed-In-Register technology at Surfaces 2002. The manufacturing process imbues the company's ceramic and woodgrain products a more realistic texture, Faus says. Faus Floor is a laminate collection...

Tarkett Contours breaks ground. (Resilient).
February 1, 2002... Contours is Tarkett's is the first sheet flooring product to feature new TruTex Innovative Surfacing, a Domco Tarkert technology developed to more realistically imitate ceramic, marble and natural stone designs. Contours is available in...

Mannington offers chances to go 'Cruisin' USA'. (Resilient).
February 1, 2002... Mannington, first-place resilient category winner in the 2001 NFT Supplier Service Awards, will offer Surfaces 2002 attendees the chance to win a 2002 Ford Thunderbird and a 2002 Harley-Davidson VROD through its Cruisin' USA Surfaces promotion....

Gardner brings Solarbrite to market. (Resilient).
February 1, 2002... Gardner Industries recently released its Solarbrite line of vinyl tile. Solarbrite, with its 27-mil wear surface, was designed for commercial applications such as health care areas, public buildings, showrooms, restaurants, and schools. ...

Centiva launches 'lunar' C-Tech. (Resilient).
February 1, 2002... Centiva by International Floors of America Inc. will showcase C-Tech, its newest floor tile, at Surfaces 2002. C-Tech was styled to replicate a lunar surface in five different shades. The product incorporates crushed pieces of aluminum-like...

Mannington develops NatureForm Textures. (Resilient).
February 1, 2002... 2001 NFT Supplier Service Award winner Mannington has introduced NatureForm Textures, an embossing technology designed to more realistically give resilient floors the look of slate, ceramic, sandstone, limestone, and metal combinations within...

Century floor tile new from Amtico. (Resilient).
February 1, 2002... Amtico International has launched Century, a commercial floor tile collection in 12 colors. The company recommends the tile line for high-traffic environments such as restaurants, retail stores and hotels. The Century collection is...

Nafco introduces Good Living tile. (Resilient).
February 1, 2002... The newly unveiled Nafco Good Living Collection, which mimics the look of natural slate, stone and fine-grained woods, is the company's most affordable line of luxury vinyl flooring. Available in tiles and planks, the line features colors...

Flexco showcases new profiles. (Resilient).
February 1, 2002... Flexco will spotlight its new Weave and Radial III rubber floor profiles at Surfaces 2002. The Radial raised design rubber tile line includes Radial, Radial II, Square, SpexTones, Weave, and Radial III. According to the company, the rubber...

Armstrong to unveil resilient innovations. (Resilient).
February 1, 2002... Armstrong has invigorated its resilient offerings marketed under the Solarian trademark with the introduction of Urban Settings and new additions to the Rhythms series. A design movement that borrows from world cultures inspired both lines. ...

New Armstrong linoleum debuts. (Resilient).
February 1, 2002... Armstrong Floor Products recently introduced Marmorette linoleum flooring. The line is available in 16 colors and is made from natural, largely renewable materials. Marmorette sheet linoleum flooring will be available at specialty flooring...

Porcelanatto goes rustic with Creta. (Ceramic Tile & Natural Stone).
February 1, 2002... Porcelanatto recently released the Creta series, a rustic floor and wall tile line with a natural stone tumbled finish and decoratives that features fossil-like designs. The Creta series will be featured at the Pavilion of Spain at Surfaces...

Halcon introduces Sahara tile. (Ceramic Tile & Natural Stone).
February 1, 2002... Halcon has released Sahara, a travertine marble wall tile collection with marching floor tile. The wall tiles are available in beige and almond, and come in a 12.5-by-1633-inch format. The collection is complemented by designer listellos,...

Origin is Eliane's latest take on stone. (Ceramic Tile & Natural Stone).
February 1, 2002... Eliane recently released the Origin Brazilian Natural Stone series in 12- and 16-inch-square tiles. The line is available in marble, granite and slate interior tiles, and granite and slate exterior tiles. The series features 15 colors: three in...

Crossville reaches mosaic 'Milestone'. (Ceramic Tile & Natural Stone).
February 1, 2002... Crossville Porcelain Stone/USA recently developed Milestone Mosaics, which the company describes as the first through-body porcelain stone-look mosaics ever produced. The collection comes in 3-inch-square tiles with a multi-colored slate...

Gayafores' Egeo goes on display in Pavilion of Spain. (Ceramic Tile & Natural Stone).
February 1, 2002... Gayafores now offers Egeo, a coordinated wall and floor tile collection. Wall tiles are available in 13-by-20-inch format, and floor tiles are made in 13-inch-square format. Gayafores tiles will be featured at the Pavilion of Spain at...

Plaza Ceramicas debuts Colorado Series. (Ceramic Tile & Natural Stone).
February 1, 2002... The Colorado Series, from Plaza Ceramicas, is a new ceramic tile line offered 13-inch-square format. The tiles come in the colors blanco, beige, ocre, and rojo. The Colorado Series will be on display at the Plaza Ceramicas booth at Surfaces...

Tau releases glazed porcelain. (Ceramic Tile & Natural Stone).
February 1, 2002... Tau Ceramica has introduced Baltimore, the company's newest glazed porcelain collection. Designed to look like stone, Baltimore is available in 12-by-12-inch and 16-by-16-inch sizes. Tiles in this collection come in beige, arena and marfil. ...

Eternity porcelain new from Saloni. (Ceramic Tile & Natural Stone).
February 1, 2002... Saloni recently introduced its Eternity Collection. The wall and floor riles in the line are produced in thick glazed porcelain and are also offered in rumbled marble. They are frilly modular across all available formats. The Eternity...

Shaw Ceramics unveils new styles. (Ceramic Tile & Natural Stone).
February 1, 2002... Shaw Ceramics now offers new ceramic products that include cross-cut travertine, tumbled marble, slate, and Jerusalem stone. Full size tile samples are featured on display boards with room scene photography, grout color suggestions, product...

Roca's Leo to take the stage at Surfaces. (Ceramic Tile & Natural Stone).
February 1, 2002... The Pavilion of Spain at Surfaces 2002 will showcase Roca's Leo series. This porcelain tile collection mixes special glazes and powders at the press to create distinctive colors and patterns. Leo includes travertine patterns with rectified...

AFPF: Carpet Cushion for the Workplace. (Products & Literature on Display).
February 1, 2002... The latest news about the benefits of carpet cushion for the workplace is offered in this informative newsletter published by the Alliance for Flexible Polyurethane Foam, an industry trade association. Additional educational materials are...