National Floor Trends articles from May 2002

National Floor Trends archives from May 2002

The best things in life, like NFT subscriptions, are free. (Editorial Comment).
May 1, 2002... Dear Reader: "FREE" is the most powerful word in marketing. We provide National Floor Trends magazine to you FREE, but lately some of you have taken that fact for granted. You've ignored our subscription renewal reminders. And by now, most...

What they're doing right, where they need to improve distributors weigh in on wood floor manufacturers.
May 1, 2002... Product quality (90%) and complaint resolution (84%) topped the service areas distributors identified as very important in working with wood floor manufacturers, according to a just-completed study undertaken by National Floor Trends in...

A focus on laminates. (Special Section).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... PRIORITY NO. 1 ACCOMPLISHED The American National Standards Institute's recent approval of residential laminate flooring performance standards developed by the North American Laminate Flooring Association in some ways marks the maturation...

Shaw augments Decades collection. (Gallery).
May 1, 2002... Shaw Hard Surfaces has added Natural Grande, a glue-down laminate product, to its 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...

Faus earns patent. (Gallery).
May 1, 2002... Faus Group Inc. recently earned a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the Embossed-in-Register laminate flooring technology the company developed. The technology brings the look and feel of natural wood, ceramic and stone to...

Armstrong releases Nature's Gallery. (Gallery).
May 1, 2002... Armstrong Laminate Floors has released its Nature's Gallery collection of glueless, locking-laminate flooring styled to emulate wood and stone. The line is available in 12-inch-wide planks and includes styles such as Frederick Cherry, Slate and...

Quick Step line offers a new 'Perspective'. (Gallery).
May 1, 2002... Unilin Decor n.v. has released Quick Step Uniclic Perspective long planks, a new laminate product styled to imitate the appearance of wood. Perspective planks measure 54 1/4-by-6 1/6-inches and are 3/8-inches thick. The Quick Step long...

Alloc develops commercial line. (Gallery).
May 1, 2002... Alloc Inc. has developed a line of glueless commercial laminate flooring. Alloc Commercial Flooring features an aluminum joint that requires no glue. According to the company, the flooring can be installed in 70% less time than traditional...

BHK adds tiles to Moderna line. (Gallery).
May 1, 2002... BHK of America has added a tile format to its Moderna Glueless Laminate Flooring product line. The new BHK Flooring Tiles are available in four colors. For details, circle 173 on the Free Information Card.

Witex debuts laminate tiles. (Gallery).
May 1, 2002... Witex USA Inc. recently launched its glueless Casa Collection of laminate flooring tile. The 16-by-16-inch Casa Collection tiles--which are styled to resemble resilient, ceramic and slate flooring--come with the AquaProtect core-board which,...

Mohawk's Paramount sounds like wood. (Gallery).
May 1, 2002... Mohawk Paramount is a new 12-millimeter-thick laminate floor 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 system...

Wilsonart expands DuoLink line. (Gallery).
May 1, 2002... Wilsonart Flooring has introduced six new plank designs for its DuoLink glueless laminate floor collection. The new designs include Dunkerton Maple, Manchester Maple, Ellerslie Oak, Berwick Oak, Chadwick Oak, and Glenmont Cherry. The...

Poliface intros five new laminate products. (Gallery).
May 1, 2002... Poliface has introduced Poliface Marine, Poliface Excel, Poliface Excel Grande, Poliface Home, and Poliface Home Grande. Poliface Home and Poliface Home Grande feature a glueless "click" system called Inloc. The Poliface Excel and Poliface...

Classen adds three lines. (Gallery).
May 1, 2002... Classen USA recently expanded its product selection with an additional three laminate lines. The Authentic Plus Collection is available in three finishes--Natural Oak, Natural Cherry and Clear Maple--and five striated wood grain...

Establish a creative vision for your showroom. (Showroom Management).
May 1, 2002... To attract today's buyer to your showroom, I believe you need to deepen your creative vision. Displays should be simultaneously attention getting and believable. To accomplish that, you need to take risks and create the unexpected. Many...

The Tile industry mulls the impact of Mohawk's Dal-Tile acquisition. (People/Places/Events).
May 1, 2002... The pairing of Mohawk Industries, one of the nation's preeminent flooring manufacturers, with Dal-Tile, the largest manufacturer, distributor and marketer of ceramic tile in the United States, has in one fell swoop established a formidable...

Mercier Wood Flooring. (Distributor News & Appointments).(adds Misco Shawnee to distributor network)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Mercier Wood Flooring recently added Misco Shawnee to its U.S. distributor network. Misco will represent the Mercier product line in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan,...

Armstrong World Industries. (Distributor News and Appointments).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Armstrong World Industries recognized seven distributors at its annual Distributors Awards in Las Vegas. Tri-West Ltd. of Santa Fe Spring, Calif. took home the President's Cup for the greatest overall percentage growth vs. plan for the...

Both Adleta Co. (Distributor News and Appointments).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Both Adleta Co. of Carrollton, Texas and Tri-West earned the Distributor of the Year Award for residential flooring and commercial flooring, respectively. Armstrong awarded top producers with its Achievement Awards for Outstanding Sales...

Mannington launches certification program. (News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Mannington recently launched its Installer Certification Program. The one-day seminar is designed to recognize and promote professional residential resilient installers. Program attendees will review and be tested on various topics including...

Blue Ridge acquires carpet tile maker. (News).(Lowe's Modular Carpet Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Blue Ridge Industries, a commercial carpet manufacturer, has acquired Lowe's Modular Carpet Corp. The addition strengthens Blue Ridge Industries' presence in the commercial carpet industry. Lowe's will continue to operate in its Chatsworth,...

DuPont sales meeting a success. (News).(DuPont Flooring Systems )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... More than 100 DuPont Flooring Systems franchise members attended Optimizing the Opportunities for 2002 and Beyond," the company's 2002 national sales meeting, Jan. 17 - 19. The meeting emphasized using DuPont Flooring Systems offerings and...

NTCA expands education series. (News).(National Tile Contractors Association)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) recently announced its 2002 training and education schedule. The year's expanded offerings will include the new three-day Workshop Plus courses, hands-on training classes designed to teach the...

Misco Shawnee. (People).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Misco Shawnee has instituted several changes in the ranks of its upper management. Randy Gum resigned as president and accepted the position of vice president of sales. Jim Gould has reassumed the reins as Misco president. Mike Kinker,...

Mullican Flooring. (People).
May 1, 2002... Mullican Flooring has appointed Julie C. Mitchell as customer service representative. Most recently, Mitchell held various positions at Paperboard and Packaging in Elizabethton, Tenn.

Hoboken renovates its Jersey showroom. (News).(Hoboken Floors)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Hoboken Floors recently completed the renovation of its Wayne, N.J. showroom. The company wanted to create a more effective and attractive selling space for its products. The renovation of the 4,000-square-foot space was completed in four...

CTEF offers tile installation courses. (News).
May 1, 2002... The Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF) is sponsoring 21st Century Tile Technology, Techniques and Trends, a one-day regional tile installation seminar. The course is designed to improve tile installation workmanship and reduce the risk of...

GE adhesive line purchased by Chapco. (News).(GE Sealants and Adhesives)(Chicago Adhesive Products Co.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Chicago Adhesive Products Co. recently acquired the commercial flooring adhesive business from GE Sealants and Adhesives (GESA). The acquisition included proprietary formulations, finished goods inventory, and the AIM brand name. No buildings...

Universal Flooring sold to buyout group. (News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... LifeStyle Furnishings International (LFI) has agreed to sell its Universal Flooring hardwood flooring business to a buyout group led Stone Advisors and the Universal Flooring management team. Terms of the deal were not divulged. "We...

Texas mall developer turns to Laticrete. (News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Builders used approximately 200,000 square feet of Laticrete products to install tile in the Willowbend Mall in Piano, Texas. The mall features Solnhofen Limestone from Germany, Sanpucci Limestone from Portugal, Burlington slate from England,...

Mannington wood featured in Holigan's TV show. (News).(Mannington Wood Floors)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... This season, a 16,000-square-foot, two-story Dallas home highlighted in the television series "Michael Holigan's Your New House" showcases Mannington wood floors. A team installed 6,000 square feet of Charleston Oak Plank in Honey Tone and...

Floor Supply merges with C.A. Newell. (News).(Floor Supply Distributing Inc.)(C.A. Newell Co.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Floor Supply Distributing Inc. and C.A. Newell Co. have merged their floor covering lines in the Pacific Northwest. As part of the deal, Floor Supply Distributing purchased the assets of Newell's flooring division, including the company's...

Installers train to gain Armstrong certification. (News).(Armstron Commercial Certified Installer Program)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Armstrong, Tri-West and Union Local 1247 recently hosted the Armstrong Commercial Certified Installer Program in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. Installers who completed the program's hands-on and written tests with a minimum score of 80% became...

CarpetsPlus names Retailer of the Year. (News).(CarpetPlus of America)(Tony Ausilio)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... CarpetsPlus of America named Tony Ausilio, of Bixby Plaza CarpetsPlus, Retailer of the Year during the company's recent 2002 convention in Las Vegas. Ausilio has been a member of CarpetsPlus since 1997. Ausilio maintains stores in Seal...

Leggett and Platt develops new retail displays. (News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Leggett & Platt recently began developing multimaterial displays for flooring manufacturers. Richard Stepcick, the company's vice president of Business Development, Flooring Displays, heads the initiative. Stepcick has held positions with...

McColl augments its sales team. (News).
May 1, 2002... McColl Display Solutions recently added Mark Jackson to its sales team. With 16 years of experience in the ceramic tile industry, Jackson will represent the company in Texas, the Midwest and Southwestern states. He has worked for the...

Coverings 2002: changing with the times.
May 1, 2002... Sandwiched this year between Cevisama and Cersaie, Coverings 2002, the International Tile & Stone Exposition (ITSE), promises to deliver the newest trends and innovations in tile and stone upon its return to Orlando, Fla. at the Orange County...

Eliane dabbles in rustics. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... Eliane Ceramic Tiles has introduced its Villa Rustica Collection of high-end rustic tile. The line features 13-by-13-inch, 16-by-16-inch and 6.5-by-6.5-inch floor tiles. The series also includes a 3-by-13-inch bullnose, a 4-inch-square...

Escapades line debuts. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... American Florim has introduced its new Escapades line of porcelain floor tile in six colors. Four of the colors are available in 18-inch-square format. The collection is also available in 12-by-12-inch tiles, 3-by-12-inch bullnose, and...

Crossville reaches mosaic 'Milestone'. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... Crossville Porcelain Stone/USA recently developed Milestone Mosaics which, the company says, are the first through-body porcelain stone-look mosaics ever produced. The collection comes in 3-by-3-inch tiles with a multicolored slate finish. The...

Peel and seal with Strataflex. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... National Applied Construction Products Inc. has improved Straraflex Waterproof Membrane with a Peel & Seal Edge. The new product was designed to ease installation of the membrane. Strataflex includes new installation instructions. For...

Bonsal expands options in its B-7000 packaging. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... W.R. Bonsal Co. recently expanded the packaging options for Bonsal B-7000 Epoxy Mortar & Grout, which turns Bonsai's sanded tile grout into 100% solid epoxy. B-7000 is now available in 1 - and 3-gallon pails. B-7000 mixes with all 34...

Turkish tile offerings to be showcased at Coverings. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... The Turkish Ceramic Association, which represents Turkey's ceramic producers and exporters, will showcase Turkish ceramic tile products at Coverings 2002. Turkey is the 5th leading ceramic tile producer in the world. More than 24 firms...

Bostik's new CeramaSeal enhances stone's appearance. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... The Bostik Findley Flooring Group recently released CeramaSeal Stone Enhancer, a tile installation and maintenance product formulated to enhance and highlight the natural coloring in non-polished, precast tiles and cement grouts. ...

Tau unveils Atlas series. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... Tau Ceramica has introduced its Atlas Collection. Tau created this collection by running a colored en masse product through the tiles. Each piece in this collection is slightly different. The Atlas series is available in 16-by-16-tiles in...

Electro Plastics offers kit pricing. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... Electro Plastics recently introduced "kit pricing" for its line of low-voltage radiant floor heating systems. The self regulating Step Warmfloor systems are available in 30-, 50-, 100-, 150-, and 200-square-foot kits. The kits include a...

Laticrete releases new underlayments. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... Laticrete International Inc. has developed a new deep pour self-leveler and a rapid patch underlayment. Laticrete's 88 LatiLevel Thick Pour Underlayment, a new self-leveler that can be poured or pumped up to 1 .5-inches in a single pass, is...

Gayafores goes rustic. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... Gayafores has released Miranda, a 13-by-13-inch porcelain floor tile collection. The traditional rustic-style series, which imitates traditional clay tile, is available in the colors of Albero, Cuero and Natural. The series comes with listellos...

Schluter designs countertop profiles. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... Schluter Systems will showcase countertop profiles at its booth at Coverings 2002. According to the company, a cove base profile can create a curved surface at countertop corners. With the addition of trim profiles to protect and finish the...

Luserna Stone tile new from MasterKer. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... MasterKer recently unveiled its Luserna Stone line, a glazed porcelain tile collection available in five quartzite colors. The collection comes in 20-by-20-inch, 13-by-13-inch and 13-by-20-inch tiles. Luserna Stone floors can be used in...

Halcon Armenia imitates stone. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... Halcon new offers its Armenia floor tile collection in 16 l/2-inch-square tiles. The collection is available in beige and includes a bullnose. The series, which emulates the look of natural stone, has a finish that protects the tiles from...

Floor Gres launches Vivir. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... Floor Gres recently introduced Vivir, a porcelain rile line that imitates natural stone. Floor Ores offers Vivir in 12-inch-and 4-inch-square tiles. The product is available in five colors in both matte and glossy finishes. For details,...

Daltile expands product offerings. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... Daltile recently introduced Tivoli and Saltillo, two new products for spring. Tivoli is a glazed porcelain floor and wall tile collection that imitates natural Italian Rapolano stone. The series is available in three colors. Field tiles come in...

Italian tile guide now available. (Products Coverings).
May 1, 2002... The Italian Trade Commission has released the latest edition of its Italian Ceramic Tile Buyer's Guide. The 166-page guide lists all major Italian tile manufacturers as well as their products and product characteristics. For details,...

Bigger bolder better: Cevisama 2002 exhibitors unveil trends, tiles for U.S. market.
May 1, 2002... In February, more than 84,000 visitors from 144 countries surveyed the Spanish tile and stone scene during Cevisama 2002 at the Valencia Exhibition Center in Valencia, Spain. Approximately 160 Spanish ceramic tile manufacturers showcased their...

Getting a handle on substrates old and new. (Ceramic and Stone Close-Up).
May 1, 2002... The use of proper and correctly prepared substrates is of critical importance to the successful installation of any floor covering material. For the benefit of those who don't have a good understanding of substrates and their properties,...

Alloc. (Products & Literature on Display).
May 1, 2002... Alloc Inc. has unveiled their new Mac Home display. The display is able to hold up to sixteen different designs. It will replace the existing display and will be available in May. Alloc Home features a unique, patented joint locking system that...

McColl Display. (Products & Literature on Display).
May 1, 2002... McColl Display Solutions will unveil an exciting new rotating listello display at Coverings 2002. This display will easily show over 150 trim and listello samples in a footprint only 24" x 24". See it in action at Coverings 2002, booth 886 or...

Alcalagres. (Products & Literature on Display).
May 1, 2002... The volcanes series composes of four models in 16x16 and 13x24, as the result of the latest research in rustic model production using a variety of newly developed techniques the entire internal structure of each tile is made up of different...

Florim. (Products & Literature on Display).
May 1, 2002... FLORIM USA'S New brand of tile trims & accents: 'Finale' offers designer details. Florim USA has launched Finale, a new brand of tile decorative trims and accent pieces. Finale offers listelli, decos, corners and trims in a variety of styles,...

Carpet Shims. (Products & Literature on Display).
May 1, 2002... CARPET SHIMS solve the height difference between carpet and ceramic or hardwood floors. Carpet Shims eliminate using double tack strip, floating floors with fillers building cardboard ramps, or shake shingles, while eliminating sharp edges of...

U.S. Gypsum. (Products & Literature on Display).
May 1, 2002... DUROCK[R] Brand Cement Board from United States Gypsum Co., a subsidiary of USG Corp., is a high-performance tile substrate that's ideal for use in wet or dry wall and floor construction. DUROCK panels will not swell, soften, decay or...

Johnsonite base gets wood look. (Products).
May 1, 2002... Johnsonite recently expanded its product line with the introduction of Millwork, the company's new wall base collection. Millwork is a contoured wall base that imitates the look of milled wood. According to the company, the wall base is more...

Botanica rooted in nature. (Products).
May 1, 2002... C&A Floorcoverings recently launched Botanica, a nature-inspired commercial carpet. The new carpet, which was created using Stratetec tufting engineering, features a leaf motif and organic texture. The carpet is constructed of 100% Lumena...

Norament stairtreads debut. (Products).
May 1, 2002... Freudenberg Building Systems Inc. recently introduced norament stairtreads, a line that will replace the company's norament 825 C and norament 925 B srairtreads. The new one-piece nosing-tread-riser stairtreads are available in raised pastille...

Tier-Rack creates space. (Products).
May 1, 2002... Tier-Rack now offers its Portables storage units for carpet padding. According to the company, Portables is designed to maximize available storage space. The storage devices can be stacked up to five units high. The metal posts are removable....

USG underlayment made for radiant heat systems. (Products).
May 1, 2002... The United States Gypsum Co. has developed Levelrock Brand Floor Underlayment RH (Radiant Heat). The underlayment, which was developed for use with radiant heat systems, delivers compressive strengths between 2,500 and 3,200 psi and is designed...

VPI adds accessories. (Products).
May 1, 2002... VPI Flooring Products recently expanded its product offerings with the development of VPI Installation Accessories. The new wall base line includes 10 profiles in eight colors. Custom color matching for the accessories is available. For...

Tarkett catalog springs into the season. (Products).
May 1, 2002... Tarkett has released the Spring 2002 edition of its residential product catalog. The 20-page publication is the first the company has produced that is dedicated solely to sheet flooring. The catalog includes explanations of the products'...