NWFA 2009 Review - June 2009

By Darius Helm

This year’s National Wood Flooring Association Convention, held April 28 to May 1 at the Long Beach Convention Center in southern California, was a quieter event than the last couple of years but most of the exhibitors were there, showcasing their wares, and there was no shortage of innovative designs and constructions on display.

In all, 238 companies exhibited, down about 22% from last year’s show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and exhibit space was down 28%. Attendance was also down 28% to 2,438. Most manufacturers wisely chose to exhibit in smaller spaces rather than forgo the show altogether.

Attendance at the education seminars was strong this year, as were the demonstrations on the convention floor, which included Faux Painting, Hand-Scraping, UV Curing on Site, Glue Down for Solid Wood, Custom Finished and Aniline Dyes, and How to Make Domestic Species Look Like Exotics—a technique which was also well represented at the booths in response to a higher bar on exotic imports as a result of the Lacey Act amendment.

Next year’s convention will be held in Landover, Maryland, a stone’s throw from Washington, D.C., and attendance will most likely be stronger there, in part due to its East Coast location and, hopefully, because of a reviving residential market. The 2010 convention will also be held earlier in the season, from March 22 to March 25.

At the convention, the NWFA announced its 2009 Board of Directors, which includes four officers and 11 directors. The new chairman is Anderson’s Don Finkell, with Mullican’s Neil Poland as vice chairman. Rick Holden from Derr Flooring is treasurer and John Lessick from Apex Wood Floors is secretary.

TRENDS
Over the last couple of years, dark and cool colors have become increasingly popular, and though there were still plenty of them on display at this year’s convention, warmer, redder hues were also fairly strong, as were light naturals and milky finishes, which do well in the western states.

The range of colors is indicative of a growing sophistication in the hardwood flooring market, which is increasingly producing offerings targeting specific regions. There were more hand-sculpted products than usual, reflecting the Californian tastes, and even though the trend over the last few years has been toward softer, more timeworn surfaces, a handful of exhibitors unveiled more aggressively worked surfaces, complete with gouging and chatter marks. However, the most alluring were those with the most subtle worn surfaces and low key pillowed edges.

Another development that’s really hitting its stride is color range. Several hardwood producers showcased woods in a variety of species that shifted across colors and from dark to light between planks and also within single planks. Some manufacturers use the technique for a natural appearance, as though it’s been achieved through the restoration of reclaimed wood. It creates a popular nostalgic look, echoed in other techniques like French bleeds and timeworn surfaces. Others use it for dynamic effect and to show species, like oak, in new looks. Other techniques that give new looks to oak include wirebrushing, quartersawn constructions and innovative staining effects.

Perhaps the most significant trend at the show was creating exotic looks from domestic species, coinciding with the Lacey Act’s hardwood declaration requirements, which went into effect for solid hardwood producers on the final day of the show, May 1. The engineered hardwood declarations will probably come due in October.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
Always a trend leader, Shaw’s Anderson Hardwood showcased the trend with its Exotic Impressions line of engineered birch, maple and hickory with a through color natural process in the top veneer for deep exotic looks. The seven colors are named after the exotic species they’re based on. The firm also came out with handscraped versions of the same colors.

BR-111, which specializes in Brazilian hardwoods, came to the show with its Antiquity Hand-Scraped collection of timeworn exotics with distressed French bleeds—blackened, slightly rough edges. The products in the line are named after wines and liqueurs: Grenache Amendoim, Zinfandel Tigerwood, Shiraz Angelim, Beaujolais Cherry, and Armagnac Tigerwood, to name a few.

Quebec based Preverco was also at the show, displaying its wirescraped finish on its Verywood line of entry level hardwoods, in three colors—Kodiak, Grizzly and Black Bear. On the floor was a 7” wide red oak plank, a new width for the firm, in a wirescraped finish in two medium brown tones.

Lauzon, also based in Quebec, showcased its dramatic Antique Finish, a two step process of applying a dark stain, sanding, then staining again. Red Oak Antique was used for the floor of the booth, and the vivid color shifts created a rich and lustrous effect on the graining. The Antique finish comes in three colors—Antique Cherry, Cigarillo and Palomino. Also noteworthy was Ash Reserva, darkened by a through color caramelizing process for an exotic look.

Mullican had a large booth at the front of the convention floor, and on display was its Green Haven line of FSC certified hardwoods in red and white oak, hickory and maple. The hickory and maple are available handscraped. The firm also exhibited some alluring unfinished planks in 3”, 4” and 5” widths—Antique Wormy Maple, Chestnut Oak, American Cherry, Hickory and Walnut are lightly distressed with tiny, crisp wormholes, and they come in lengths ranging from 2’6” to 7’.

Quebec based Mercier unveiled two new stains: Eclipse, a warm grey, and Arabica, a dry caramel. The stains can be used on all species. Also new is Mercier Heritage, a red oak wirebrushed solid hardwood in 4-1/4” widths with a matte finish. All of the firm’s solid hardwoods are available with FSC certification at no additional cost.

ArborCraft’s Harris Wood exhibited Trailhouse Hickory, an engineered product with a handscraped surface featuring chatter marks—it comes in 3”, 5” and 7” widths. The firm also features Välinge’s 5G locking system in its Traditions Springloc line of cherry, walnut, hickory, maple, red oak and white oak engineered hardwoods.

Model, another Quebec firm, showed its design sensibilities with a range of innovative hardwoods, including its C Series of vividly painted woods, now available as engineered products. The saturated colors include blue, soft purple, yellow, orange, crimson and bright olive. The M Series comes in four colors, including two warm medium browns, a deep, dark brown and a creamy white. More mainstream is the E Series in earthy rich browns. The E Series boards are either FSC certified or come from well managed and controlled sources.

PanTim’s Great Northern Hardwood is a collection of 12 SKUs in domestic and exotic species, including oak, maple, jatoba, beech, cherry, iroko, teak, merbau, amoora and Asian walnut, all 5/8” engineered with a Välinge click system. The line is certified urea formaldehyde free. Another new product was Hunter’s Mill, a handscraped solid from an exotic species called sindur.

Junckers, which does most of its business in the commercial market, showcased some stunning products, including Black Oak, a white oak with vivid color contrasts from ammonia fuming for a look reminiscent of wenge. The firm also displayed Oak Pearl in pale hues with a urethane finish in a metallic sheen. Also interesting was Danish beechwood that is compressed and press dyed for increased stability. Junckers hardwood is regularly featured on primetime broadcast television as the floor in Dancing With The Stars.

One new player in the prefinished business is Springcreek Flooring, a vertically integrated division of North Pacific, a billion dollar lumber company. Springcreek was launched two years ago on the unfinished side, with 2008 sales of about $30 million, and it’s been doing prefinished hardwood since last fall. Springcreek’s Millstream collection of solid hardwood comes in maple, hickory, red oak and white oak in a range of natural colors and four grades.

Award Hardwood Floors showcased Cascade, a hybrid engineered product with a high density fiberboard core. The line features hickory and maple with timeworn surface textures, all 5” wide and 47” long. The ” thick line comes in four colors with a Uniclic locking system.

Also at the show was Weyerhaeuser’s Lyptus, with its full line of eucalyptus flooring. Eucalyptus is a hardwood—harder than oak or maple—that takes only 15 years to grow. While the firm’s eucalyptus, harvested in Brazil, is naturally pinkish, the firm has developed finishing techniques over the last few years that result in a broad range of colors.

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