June 19, 2017—Franco Rossi, President of Aquafil USA, and Kemp Harr discuss Aquafil's gold Best of NeoCon carpet fiber award for Econyl Pure. Listen to the interview to hear how this nylon 6 fiber has evolved in the last 6 years and also learn about Aquafil's plans to build a new recycling facility in Arizona that uses a patented process to deconstruct post-consumer carpet.
June 16, 2017—Tom Ellis, chief marketing officer with Beaulieu, and Kemp Harr discuss the Bolyu brand's to Best of NeoCon awards. In the modular carpet category, Bolyu won an innovation award for the Collaborative collection and in the carpet fiber category, the firm won a silver award for ContinuousColor. Listen to the interview for more details as well as learn more about Beaulieu's product focus for the future.
June 15, 2017—Ralph Grogan, President of Bentley Mills, and Kemp Harr discuss Bentley's Best of NeoCon product awards, the breadth of their new introductions, the integration of Balta's Modulyss products and the firm's continued growth. Listen to the interview, recorded at NeoCon, for more details.
June 14, 2017—Reesie Duncan, VP of global design with Shaw Contract, and Kemp Harr discuss Shaw's personal alchemy NeoCon theme and how the firm's new collections are tailored for some of the prevailing A&D trends in the market. Listen to the interview for more details and to hear about the collections that won awards at the show this year.
June 13, 2017—Jackie Dettmar, VP of design and product development with the Mohawk Group, and Kemp Harr discuss the story behind Mohawk's three award winning products: Lichen, which won the gold Best of NeoCon in the modular carpet category; Lineate, the winner of the gold award in hard surface; and, Visual Interactive Studio, which won the gold software award. Listen to the interview for more details.
June 12, 2017—Deb Lechner, director of channel marketing with Armstrong, and Kemp Harr discuss Armstrong's new partnership with BIMsmith. Listen to the interview to hear how A&D clients can use this free cloud based tool that is funded by the manufacturers to assist in building design work.
June 9, 2017—Joe Yarbrough, President of the Carpet and Rug Institute, and Kemp Harr discuss CRI's 2017 focus in the areas of supporting post consumer recycling, installation standards, government procurement, consumer communications via social media and adding technical staff. Listen to the interview for more details.
June 8, 2017—Sharon Exley, co-founder of Architecture is Fun, discusses how she works the annual NeoCon show in Chicago to get the most out of her time investment in attending the show. Listen to the interview to hear Sharon's insight which includes a little advanced planning. So listen today, it's not too late.
June 7, 2017—Robert Dietz, Chief economist with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and Kemp Harr discuss the continued growth of single family housing starts, the leveling off in the Multifamily sector as well as moderate growth in the existing housing market. Listen to the interview to hear more about what's driving this, the forecast for growth in the future and the desirability of home ownership primarily in the suburbs.
June 1, 2017—Chris Stulpin, SVP of Design for Tarkett, and Kemp Harr discuss Tarkett's expanded presentation in the merchandise Mart in a permanent showroom on the third floor that is three times bigger than the firm's previous presentation. Listen to the interview to hear more about this investment as well as a preview of the scope of Tarkett's NeoCon product launches.