National Floor Trends articles from October 2003

National Floor Trends archives from October 2003

Get ready for the Fall Selling Season.(Editorial Comment; floor coverings)
October 1, 2003... School's back in session and with it comes the Fall Floor Covering Selling Season. Is your operation ready to do business? Consider the following areas to determine your readiness: curb appeal; store displays and traffic flow; salesperson...

Exclusive NFT research gauges: the state of today's carpet and area rug market.(National Floor Trends)
October 1, 2003... Despite all the hoopla in recent years regarding the increasing popularity of hard-surface floors, soft-surface products--carpet in particular--continue to reign supreme in terms of overall market share of the U.S. floor covering industry. ...

Natural looks are in ... and here to stay emerging and ongoing trends in resilient flooring.
October 1, 2003... Based on responses drawn from several leading flooring manufacturers, one could confidently conclude that natural looks are still a styling trend to be reckoned with in the resilient market. Drawn into their homes as a refuge flora an...

Tarkett Sommer debuts static-control flooring.(Resilient Floor Fashion Gallery)
October 1, 2003... Tarkett Sommer recently introduced Statiflor, a static-control floor designed for use in rooms that house equipment or procedures that can he negatively influenced by static electricity. Within the Statiflor is line is Toro EL, a conductive...

Congoleum's DuraCeramic captures the look of ceramic.(Resilient Floor Fashion Gallery)
October 1, 2003... With its introduction of DuraCeramic, Congoleum now offers consumers the aesthetic advantages of ceramic, stone and marble in a product with the option of a grouted or ungrouted edge-to-edge installation. DuraCeramic is manufactured in a...

Action Floors intros rubber sports floor.(Resilient Floor Fashion Gallery)
October 1, 2003... Action Floor Systems, a manufacturer of premium hardwood maple floors, has added a line of recycled rubber, multi-use athletic floors. Action ReFlex is a durable, high-impact flooring product designed for extreme wear applications. Action...

Rikett quartz vinyl tile available in vibrant colors.(Resilient Floor Fashion Gallery)
October 1, 2003... Rikett quartz vinyl tile, manufactured by Knight industries LLC, is composed of quartz crystals and a proprietary blend of binders and natural pigments. The product is available in a range of marbled and solid accent colors in 24- and...

Roppe's rubber tile and tread is PVC-free.(Resilient Floor Fashion Gallery)
October 1, 2003... Roppe Corp.'s Raised Design tile is PVC-free and designed for wear resistance where the floor is under constant, heavy use. With a wide variety of design options, Raised Design rubber tile is offered in six profiles and 55 color choices...

Oil-and-water visual graces Johnsonite's Prima Olio tile.(Resilient Floor Fashion Gallery)
October 1, 2003... Johnsonite has unveiled Prima Olio, a tile with swirls meant to suggest a distinct oil-and-water look. No two tiles in the line are 'alike. With a single background color and as many as three accent colors, Prima Olio is available in more than...

Flexco's EnviroFlex meets LEED standards.(Resilient Floor Fashion Gallery)
October 1, 2003... The EnviroFlex rubber tile line from Flexco is a series of products that complies with Leadership in Energy anti Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Products that contribute to the LEED "Recycled Content" certification include FlexTuft...

BurkeMercer unveils new line of vinyl tile and wood planks.(Resilient Floor Fashion Gallery)
October 1, 2003... BurkeMercer Flooring recently introduced a new line of luxury vinyl tile and wood planks. Stone luxury vinyl tile is offered in many colors and designs in six categories, including marble, solid, carpet, granite, pastel, and sand. Each tile is...

Metroflor Solidity features tough, ceramic-type finish.(Resilient Floor Fashion Gallery)
October 1, 2003... Solidity by Metroflor is a heavy-duty solid vinyl tile with a tough, scratch- and stain-resistant ceramic-type finish. The floor is backed by lifetime residential and 10-year commercial warranties. The 1/6-inch-thick product features the...

Winton Tile develops 'three-in-one' vinyl plank.(Resilient Floor Fashion Gallery)
October 1, 2003... Century Vinyl Plank from Winton Tile features a unique, three-in-one plank design. It combines the look of 3-inch wood planks in one 9-inch wide plank. The result is a laminate floor look combined with the versatility of high quality vinyl. ...

Royal Court vinyl new from Spectrum.(Resilient Floor Fashion Gallery)
October 1, 2003... Spectrum Imports, a division of Gardner Industries, is now offering the Spectrum Signature Royal Court Collection. All natural flooring styles are merchandised in easy to view, hands-on formats, according to the company. The 16-by-16-inch...

Carpet One debuts national tile program, honors top performers at summer convention.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... During the recent 2003 Carpet One International Summer Convention in Kissimmee, Fla., the buying group rolled out its new Selectafloor Tile System, which brings together ceramic, porcelain and other hard-surface flooring products in an...

DTI changes name to Invista.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... DuPont Textiles & Interiors (DTI), a wholly owned subsidiary of DuPont, has changed its name to Invista. The change was characterized by Invista as the next step in separating itself from its parent company and creating a distinct, independent...

Roppe names top salesman and distributor of the year.(People/Places/Events)(Roppe Corp.)(John Rogers, salesman of the year)(Pacific Flooring Supply Co. distributor of the year)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Roppe Corp. recently named its 2002 salesman and distributor of the year. John Rogers, a regional sales representative, won salesman of the year honors. Pacific Flooring Supply, headquartered in Emeryville and Sacramento, Calif., captured the...

Flooring America announces executive, managerial moves.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Flooring America has announced recent personnel moves, including two new vice presidential appointments. Mike Englert has joined Flooring America as vice president of merchandising for Flooring America and International Design Guild, a...

Porcelanosa opens Jersey showroom.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Porcelanosa has opened its new Paramus, N.J., showroom at 65 Route 17 S. The 22,000-square-foot facility replaces the company's previous Paramus location at 141 Route 17 S. The showroom is designed to be a showcase for the company's...

Monticello Carpet Mills opens doors to 100,000-square-foot Georgia distribution center.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Monticello Carpet Mills has opened a new 100,000-square-foot distribution center in Chatsworth, Ga. The facility will allow Monticello to leverage the shipping costs of the north Georgia region with its concentration of carpet manufacturers....

Flexco.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Flexco has added two new management positions. Marty Ureda has been promoted to western regional sales manager, with responsibility for managing distribution in Texas and Louisiana. Dave Pryzborski has been appointed as eastern regional sales...

Gammapar.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Gammapar has added three new regional managers, two of whom recently worked for PermaGrain Products. Thom Gunuskey brings a wealth of experience to his position, including more than 17 years of sales and marketing leadership positions with...

Mercier Wood Flooring.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Mercier Wood Flooring has added two new employees. Karyne Tremblay has joined as manager of technical services and R&D. She is responsible for product development, quality standards and technical training programs. Johanne Pare joins Mercier as...

Pergo.(People)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Pergo recently promoted three regional business managers as part of the restructuring of its specialty retail sales organization. Mark Nagele has been named national accounts manager, with responsibility for key Pergo accounts. Richard Joncas...

Dixie Group executes agreement to sell certain assets to Shaw.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The Dixie Group has executed a definitive agreement to sell to Shaw Industries Group Inc. certain assets that support its factory-built housing, needlebond and carpet recycling businesses. "The sale of these assets will allow us to...

CarpetsPlus/Color Tile 'defines' new sales system.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Members of CarpetsPlus/Color Tile gathered at the Northland Inn in Minneapolis recently for a summit focusing on the launch of the company's new "Define Your Style" selling system. This new program provides members with a design gallery for...

Stockton, Calif., home to new Custom Building Products facility.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Tile and stone installation products manufacturer Custom Building Products has opened a new manufacturing plant and distribution center in Stockton, Calif., to serve the Pacific Northwest. This plant represents Custom's 10th facility in...

Pergo's Garner, N.C., plant to add direct lamination press.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Pergo will invest approximately $16 million in its United States operations, the company recently reported, with the addition of a direct lamination press and expansion of its production plant in Garner, N.C. The project is estimated to require...

Laticrete trains industry pros on use of SpectraLock grout.(People/Places/Events)
October 1, 2003... Laticrete International recently trained thousands of contractors, distributors and architects through its Professional Installers Club, an in-depth training program in which participants learn about new Laticrete products. Attendees were...

Mullican Flooring to acquire Bluegrass Specialty Flooring.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Mullican Flooring has signed a letter of intent to purchase Bluegrass Specialty Flooring of Bowling Green, Ky. Bluegrass Specialty Flooring manufactures 3/4-by-2 1/4-inch solid unfinished red and white oak flooring. The Bluegrass acquisition...

BurkeMercer Flooring has signed Longhorn Distributors Inc. of Houston as a BurkeMercer brand distributor.(Distributor Appointments)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... BurkeMercer Flooring has signed Longhorn Distributors Inc. of Houston as a BurkeMercer brand distributor. With locations in Houston, Austin and San Antonio, Longhorn Distributors will offer BurkeBase, BurkeMercer's RubberyMyte and vinyl,...

With the recent appointment of three new distributors, Flexco has expanded its presence in several key markets in the United States.(Distributor Appointments)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... With the recent appointment of three new distributors, Flexco has expanded its presence in several key markets in the United States. Design Distributing of Richmond, Va., will serve as Flexco's exclusive stocking distributor for the Richmond...

Domco Tarkett's VCT flooring achieves Greenguard certification.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The Greenguard Environmental Institute (GEl) has awarded Greenguard Indoor Air Quality certification to Domco Tarkett for its vinyl composition tile (VCT) flooring. Domco Tarkett's flooring was tested under Greenguard's protocols for...

PermaGrain flooring adorns suites at new Atlantic City hotel and casino.(People/Places/Events)
October 1, 2003... PermaGrain Products, widely known for manufacturing acrylic-impregnated hardwood flooring, has provided a portion of the floor covering for many of the guest rooms and one penthouse in the newly opened Borgata Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City,...

Miles Distributors opens sixth location.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Miles Distributors Inc., headquartered in South Bend, Ind., has opened a new branch in Louisville, Ky. The ceramic tile and natural stone distributor now services South Bend, Forth Wayne and Indianapolis, Ind.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Toledo,...

ITSS to hold its first-ever New York show in 2004.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The International Tile and Stone Show (ITSS), with shows in Las Vegas, will host its first-ever New York City show, July 15-17, 2004, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Hundreds of companies are slated to display goods and services...

Haworth to purchase InterfaceAR assets.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Haworth Inc. and Interface Inc. have signed an agreement for Haworth to purchase the assets of Interface Architectural Resources (InterfaceAR), a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based manufacturer of raised access flooring currently owned by Interface. The...

Mannington and Domco Tarkett enter manufacturing joint venture.(People/Places/Events)
October 1, 2003... Mannington Mills and Domco Tarkett have formed a joint venture to manufacture vinyl composition tile (VCT). The product will be manufactured in Vails Gate, N.Y. The joint venture will be run by its own board of directors. The respective...

Kronotex unveils new Web site.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Kronotex has launched a new Web site that includes useful resources for both distributors and consumers. Located on the Internet at www.kronotexusa.com, the site features a special distributor section, online order forms to request samples, as...

Upcoming industry events.(People/Places/Events)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
October 1, 2003... International Home Furnishings Market--High Point, N.C. (336) 888-3700, Oct. 16-22. TCAA 100th Anniversary Convention--Savannah, Ga. (800) 655-8453, Oct. 18-22. Carpet and Rug Institute Annual Conference--Dalton, Ga. (706) 428-2103,...

Note the batch code! The first step in sleuthing a wood finish mystery.
October 1, 2003... In life, we forge many different relationships. We form them with friends, family, business associates, vendors, dealers, distributors, other manufacturers, and customers. All such relationships can be challenged when difficult times, thorny...

You don't have to be a pirate to walk the plank.(Wood Or Wood Knot)(development and installation techniques of wood flooring products)
October 1, 2003... Today's consumers have become somewhat "dimensional" in their thinking when it comes to purchasing hardwood flooring products. Perhaps our industry was just a delayed recipient of changing times. For instance, new home builders in their...

Gammapar unveils exotics collection.(Products)
October 1, 2003... Gammapar has unveiled its Exotics Collection, comprising rare woods from Honduras, Spain, Africa, and other locales. Impregnated with acrylic and available in dozens of styles and colors, the Exotics Collection is meant to provide sturdy,...

BurkeMercer's Step-Bond tape made for tread, riser installations.(Products)
October 1, 2003... BurkeMercer Flooring has introduced Step-Bond, a double-sided, self-adhesive tape developed for the installation of stair treads, risers, stringers, and mouldings. Step-Bond is available in 1- and 6-inch-wide rolls. BurkeMercer suggests...

Laufen debuts Cordoba glazed porcelain tile.(Products)
October 1, 2003... Cordoba, from Laufen, is a 16-by-16-inch glazed porcelain floor tile offered in white and ochre. The series also features a Cornergon version for additional design options. Using the Cornergon style with either black or green marble dots is...

Custom Building Products intros ultra-lightweight backerboard.(Products)
October 1, 2003... Custom Building Products recently debuted EasyBoard Ultra Light Backerboard which, as its name implies, is an ultra-lightweight backerboard. Each 1/2-inch sheet consists of a thin, lightweight synthetic core, mesh reinforcement and a...

Mannington gears up for DuPont Teflon promotion.(Products)
October 1, 2003... Mannington Mills has announced a fall promotion for flooring products featuring DuPont Teflon Surface protector. Through Nov. 4, Mannington will offer a consumer rebate and a retailer spiff on applicable products in the resilient, laminate and...

SMT Woods launches new hardwood series.(Products)
October 1, 2003... SMT Woods, the North American subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hagemeyer Burma Teak Ltd., has launched its Signature Series of hardwood flooring. Products in this family consist of 12 selected wood species from around the world, all produced...

Para-Sec software offers designers Fortune Contract 'virtual strikeoffs".(Products)
October 1, 2003... Fortune Contract Inc. has tapped Paradigm Creative Media Inc. to create a "virtual strikeoff" application for its Para-Sec software. The application allows designers to rapidly call up thousands of Fortune Contract carpet samples on a computer...

Keraben's new wall and floor tile line really 'Pops'.(Products)
October 1, 2003... Keraben S.A. has introduced Pop, a new collection of wall and floor tiles with bright colors and designs meant to evoke the Zeitgeist of the 1970s. Pop wall tiles are available in 9-by-13-inch format, while the corresponding floor tiles are...

Junckers Hardwood adds Nordic Ash to prefinished solid hardwood lineup.(Products)
October 1, 2003... Junckers Hardwood has added Nordic Ash to its line of prefinished solid hardwood flooring. The floor is produced from the company's 9/16-inch Ash Variation flooring, and stained with a white pigment to disguise the natural golden tones of the...

Laticrete's SpectraLOCK grout available in 40 colors to "Dazzle'.(Products)
October 1, 2003... Laticrete SpectraLOCK Grout is formulated to install as easily as a Portland cement grout yet provide the performance characteristic of an epoxy grout. Gold, silver, and mother-of-pearl Dazzle combinations have been designed to...

Katiana is Momeni's newest hand-knotted rug collection.(Products)
October 1, 2003... Momeni recently debuted its Katiana collection of hand-knotted, Tibetan-weave rugs. Made from 100 percent wool in India exclusively for Momeni, the Katiana collection features contemporary patterns and hues in brown, beige and black. Rugs...

AFPF publishes installation guide for carpet and cushion.(Products)(Alliance for Flexible Polyurethane Form )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The Alliance for Flexible Polyurethane Foam (AFPF) has published "Installation Guidelines for Commercial Carpet and Commercial Bonded Polyurethane Carpet Cushion." The guide outlines step-by-step installation procedures utilizing the...

Tau's Crystal Collection made for floors and walls.(Products)
October 1, 2003... Tau's new Crystal Collection includes matching floor and wall tiles styled to imitate the look of polished marble. The Tindaya series, which is part of the Crystal Collection, features the polished-marble visual. The floor tiles are...

Armstrong drops stencil for next-generation technologies.(Products)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Armstrong World Industries reports that it ceded its residential stencil manufacturing process at its Lancaster, Pa., floor plant or, Sept. 26. Declining volumes and a shift reward new products utilizing next-generation design capabilities were...

The floor's importance in designing interiors and your showroom.(Showroom Management)
October 1, 2003... When you work !n the flooring industry, you re somewhat jaded in believing that the floor, or fifth wall, is the most important surface in the room. And I'm here to agree! The floor has become the most important surface, especially when...