NWFA Expo Review 2014

By Heather Osteen

The National Wood Flooring Association’s choice of venue for its 29th annual expo last month was a big hit. Not only is Nashville centrally located and therefore easily accessed by a large percentage of the U.S. population, but moving it downtown to the center of the music scene and after-hour nightlife was also popular.

This year, attendance was up 30% to over 3,000, making this the NWFA’s best attended show since 2006. The show also touted 51 first-time exhibitors, and 10% of the attendees were there for the first time. Attendance at this show is dominated by contractors, but also brings in a healthy mix of distributors, manufacturers and importers, plus a few retailers.

It doesn’t hurt that hardwood is the fastest growing flooring category in the business, so smiles were abundant throughout the two-day exhibition. There were, however, a few scowls over the rapidly rising raw material prices, which is having a major impact on profitability throughout the business. Kiln dried Number 2 Common, for instance, has jumped 28% in price in the last six months. The type of hardwood lumber that is used to make flooring is also in high demand by energy companies that use the wood as a roadway surface for their heavy equipment in the form of drag-mats, by the Chinese who export the whole log and prefer American lumber species, by trucking companies that use the wood as flooring for their truck beds, and by railroads that use it for railroad ties.

“Strike a Cord” was the theme for this year’s event, tying in closely with Nashville’s country music heritage. The opening keynote was a performance by Robin Crowe, CEO of Dark Horse Recording, who entertained the crowd by blending his guitar playing talent with a motivational message about adapting to change. Other highlights included a pub crawl on Nashville’s famous Music Row, and the closing ceremony featured a private concert by country music artist Pam Tillis.

Four educational tracks were featured, including Marketing/Sales, Technical, Management, and AIA/IDCEC, and education sessions were extended to a full hour. Also new was the Wood Flooring University, a three hour session of in-depth learning, and an interactive demo theater. And one of the highlights of the show was provided by Somerset Hardwood Flooring, which bussed people 90 miles for a mill tour of its brand new engineered hardwood facility.

Many of the exhibitors were showcasing products they’d unveiled at the Surfaces exhibit earlier this year, while others had brand new information and offerings to share. For most exhibitors, the NWFA Expo is not as much a selling show as it is a relationship-building event.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
Don Finkell, best known for his legacy at Anderson and Shaw, has started a new company called American OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and he is serving as CEO. The goal for this new company is to offer distributors, retail chains, buying groups and even some manufacturers, who have traditionally sourced unbranded engineered hardwood products from China, a made-in-America alternative at a competitive price. The firm’s new manufacturing facility is strategically located next to a prison in Only, Tennessee. This is the eighth prison factory that Finkell has set up. (For detailed information about this plant, listen to the audio interview on FloorDaily.)

Showcased on the floor were wider and longer planks, trendy grey tones, and floors that created better indoor air quality. Cork, LVT, ceramic, laminate and carpet are all echoing wood looks and styles, clearly indicating that wood is still the consumer’s first choice.

Somerset displayed its Wide Plank collection, available in 6” and 7” wide planks, with true random widths of up to 6-1/2’. The collection includes species of oak, maple and hickory, and is part of the SmartPlus series.

Mercier is now offering Pure Expression, a one-of-a-kind oil-finished product that requires no maintenance, as part of its Emotion series. A special UV manufacturing process ensures that the consumer never has to re-apply oil, taking the cost of re-treating out of the price. Pure Expression is available in 6-1/2” planks.

Mannington displayed its Antigua collection, available in six different colors and in random widths of 3”, 5” and 7”. The collection is handscraped and handstained, reflecting the character of the 20 to 30 year old plantation-grown pacaya mesquite trees they’re harvested from. Mannington has also launched Georgetown Walnut from its Hometown collection as an economy line available in three colors.

Mullican’s new plant in Johnson City, Tennessee is going strong. The firm is seeing a growing popularity in the extreme darks and lights of the hardwoods, and Mullican offers planks of both in widths of 5” to 7”.

Mirage has seen continued success with its new display rack, showcased at last year’s NWFA. The firm has a three-year plan underway to install the new display rack with all of its retail partners. Mirage reports that the color Natural remains hugely popular, making up 30% to 35% of overall sales. In keeping with current trends, Mirage is now offering wirebrushed planks in 5” widths, and continues to offer neutral tones of grey and black.

Armstrong, one of the NWFA’s biggest supporters, has added color washes to its Turlington Signature collection. Armstrong’s research shows that most people gravitate to the 5” wide plank, so the firm is expanding the color palette for that width.

Välinge was on hand to discuss Pure Genius, a system that utilizes a photocatalytic process that self cleans and improves indoor air quality. When light hits the catalyst on the top layer of the floor, a chemical process is activated that decomposes bacteria into CO2 and H2O. Välinge is also coming out with 3-D printed flooring available to consumers this fall. The firm will utilize a Binder and Powder Printing method (or BAP) for the 3-D printed wood-look product, which offers bright, vibrant printing, as well as wear resistance.

PanTim featured Pacific Chestnut Suede, a product that is plantation-grown with an Old World look. Available in both solid and engineered, the product has lots of color movement and darker saw marks, utilizing a linear scrape, then a chisel grinding wheel to create chatter.

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