Memphis, TN, March 6, 2006--Walk into almost any new home today and you're likely to find at least one room with hardwood floors or even hardwood floors throughout the house, according to the Memphis Business Journal.
Memphis has played a key role in the hardwood flooring industry for many years, and the city continues as an important knowledge base even though things have changed on the manufacturing side.
Jim Duke is sales manager for Memphis Hardwood Flooring, which is the city's only hardwood flooring manufacturer. The company, established in 1905, has played a prominent role in the industry since its founding.
Duke, who is also the incoming president of NOFMA: The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association, which is headquartered in Memphis, says that the city's geographic location played a key role in its industry connection.
"Memphis used to have more manufacturers, but it also had more brokers and traders," he says. "Over the years saw mills became larger and many eventually began using their own people to market and broker their products. Eventually, the number of brokers in the city also declined."
According to Duke, a dramatic change began to occur in the industry five to six years ago. In the past, oak was the lifeblood of the industry. Today, there is a proliferation of products, and more species are used for hardwood floors, including woods from South America, Africa and China. Domestic production is up but so is the level of imported products.
"Engineered products have also gained more acceptance, and changes in the width and sizes of flooring have had an impact," he says. "The market is strong, but there are many challenges facing manufacturers and suppliers just as there are in any industry."
Saying that the market is strong may be an understatement. NOFMA reports that hardwood flooring shipments last year were the highest since 1966. The total of 527.2 million square feet continues a steady upward trend in shipments that began in 1991.
"Hardwood floors are very popular features in new homes," says Tim Locke, NOFMA's executive vice president. "Many individuals are also installing hardwood floors when they renovate their residences. Consumers realize that this feature adds value to their investment."
NOFMA says it is the only organization that that has established grade rules and quality standards and that actively enforces standards for most domestic species of wood flooring. This includes inspecting member mills to ensure that the established standards are met. The association has approximately 30 manufacturing members and 40 associate members, which includes allied product suppliers and distributors.
Locke estimates that there are 100 viable manufacturers of hardwood flooring in the U.S. He says that companies are starting up in response to the strong demand, but some of these will not be in the industry long term.
"In October, I fielded calls from 10 to 15 investment bankers about our industry, which is much higher than normal," Locke says. "Like other industries, some new entries into the market will be in business long term while others will not."
The association is currently conducting a study to better understand the wood flooring market. In addition, they are looking to identify all manufacturers and lumber producers in the U.S.
"We have 90% more hardwood standing inventory in U.S. forests than we did 60 years ago," Locke says. "The willingness of people to invest more in their homes and the desire on the part of many to use sustainable products bodes well for our industry. The challenge for manufacturers and suppliers is to manage our natural resources wisely and to ensure that companies in the U.S. are being as competitive as possible."
