November 22, 2010—Kim Matsoukas, Sustainability Manager with Bentley Prince Street, and Kemp Harr discuss the new energy management standard called ISO-50001 that BPS has been tapped to pilot in California. Kim also discusses Bentley's commitment to develop Environmental Product Declarations (EPD's) for its entire product line by the end of 2012.
November 19, 2010—Jenny Cross, Sustainability Director for Mohawk, and Kemp Harr discuss SmartStrand's entry into the commercial market and Mohawk's first annual Sustainability Report. Listen to the interview recorded from the Greenbuild show in chicago to hear more about Mohawk's sustainability message.
November 18, 2010—Glen Hussmann, CEO/President of Tandus, and Kemp Harr discuss Tandus' sustainability message from Greenbuild 2010 in Chicago. Listen to the interview to hear about Tandus' green products, its certified reclamation center, and its business outlook for 2011.
November 17, 2010—Piet Dossche, CEO of USFloors, and Kemp Harr discuss USFloors' investment in alternative energy. USFloors recently brought the largest solar power array in the State of Georgia on line. Listen to the interview to hear more details about this and USFloors' other green initiatives.
November 16, 2010—Damien Patton, founder of the successful FindAnyFloor.com website, and Kemp Harr discuss how the use of social media by both customers and businesses is affecting the industry. Listen to the interview as Patton talks about the influence of social media on website search engine rankings and how businesses need to begin a social media strategy if they are going to compete in the years ahead.
November 12, 2010—Thomas Rennie, with TLR Consulting, and Kemp Harr discuss the estimated 150 to 160 million pounds of new carpet fiber extrusion capacity that will be available next year despite the fact that carpet demand is down over 30% due to the Great Recession. Listen to the interview to hear why this new capacity is not a bad business decision. You will also hear that a second supply of Triexta is in the process of coming on-line.
November 11, 2010—Jeanne Matson, President and CEO of Starnet Worldwide (the largest co-op of commercial flooring contractors in the U.S.) and Kemp Harr discuss the highlights of last week's membership meeting in Vancouver, BC. Listen to the interview to hear more about the meeting and about the health of the member's business based on the current levels of commercial flooring business.
November 10, 2010—John Baugh, Market Analyst for Stifel Nicolaus, and Kemp Harr discuss the third quarter performance of the publicly traded flooring companies, Mohawk, Interface and Armstrong. Listen to the interview to hear John's report on these companies and his outlook for 2011.
November 9, 2010—Bob Murray, VP of Economic Affairs with McGraw Hill, and Kemp Harr discuss his Construction Outlook Publication for 2011. Listen to the interview to hear Bob say that construction spending on "starts" for 2011 will be up 8% overall, up 27% in Single Family housing, and up 16% in Commercial Buildings. Bob also summarizes by saying that much of the construction investment in 2011 goes toward "refurbishing."
November 8, 2010—Werner Braun, President of the Carpet and Rug Institute, and Kemp Harr discuss YTD carpet sales and the agenda for this week's annual meeting. Listen to the interview to hear more about the Keynote speaker, Andy Wright of Dutko Worldwide. The CRI annual meeting will be this Thursday, November 11 at 10 a.m. at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center.