June 2, 2009—Jim Bethel, CEO of J&J Industries (a 52 year old commercial carpet manufacturer) and Kemp Harr discuss what it takes to be a successful family business. Listen to the interview to hear more about the award and the criteria that's used to select the winner.
June 1, 2009—Al Kabus, President of The Mohawk Group, and Kemp Harr discuss Mohawk's Re:work seminar series designed to provide unemployed designers and architects help in securing future employment. In this 10 city tour, Mohawk, the IIDA and Interior Design Magazine have teamed up to provide A&D professionals with outplacement assistance that includes portfolio evaluation, financial planning, resume writing assistance and job opportunity networking services. Listen to this 8 minute interview to hear more about how this came about and where they are in the process. To see the schedule and locations, go to www.themohawkgroup.com/rework
May 29, 2009—Patricia Flavin, Beaulieu's VP of Marketing, and Kemp Harr discuss Beaulieu's recent share growth, its continued success with the Bliss brand and details about its new Consumer Sweepstake. This is a great interview for retail flooring showroom salespeople to listen to for tips on selling flooring to women.
May 27, 2009—Tom Levi, Owner of Levi's 4 Floors in Ohio, and Kemp Harr discuss the strategic changes Levi's has made to increase sales. Listen to the interview to hear Tom's thoughts on the economy, changes in consumer buying habits and what makes this seven store Ohio chain successful.
May 22, 2009—Jim Seger, VP of Flooring Industry Sales for GE Money, and Kemp Harr discuss the consumer credit market and how the market has changed with rising unemployment and declining net wealth. Listen to the interview to hear about GE Money's leadership position and service improvements it will be implementing soon.
May 21, 2009—Kevin Sanders, Vice President of Shaw Hospitality, and Kemp Harr discuss last week's Hospitality Design trade show in Las Vegas. Listen to the interview to hear more about the show, the hospitality market overall (including design trends) and Shaw's new programs for 2009.
May 19, 2009—Jack Ganley, President of Mannington Commercial, and Kemp Harr discuss Mannington's new post consumer recycling program, which takes used vinyl composite flooring and recycles it back into new commercial product. This process took 18 months to develop and is on track to divert 19 million pounds of VCT from landfills. Listen to the interview to hear more about Mannington's long range plans to ramp this program up to 40 million pounds a year.
May 18, 2009—Recorded at Coverings 2009, Jeanne Nichols, VP of Sales with GranitiFiandre, and Kemp Harr discuss the company's new product introductions and the latest design trends in the U.S. ceramic market. Listen to Jeanne talk about a movement toward contemporary and away from the quarried look. GranitiFiandre is an Italian based company that also owns the StonePeak plant in Crossville, Tenn.
May 15, 2009—Patrick Fitzgerald, Flooring Sales Director for Weyerhaeuser, and Kemp Harr discuss the history, selling benefits and price points of Lyptus Flooring. Listen to the interview to hear more about this plantation grown product and Weyerhaeuser's new Mastercraft Distributor in Florida.
May 14, 2009—Mark Johnson of Tate Access Floors, and Kemp Harr, discuss the growing popularity of access floors in the U.S., which lags the U.K. and Asia in the use of this environmentally friendly flooring. Listen as Johnson describes why access flooring, which now has a 12% market penetration in the U.S., could be the next major trend in office flooring, due to its potential energy savings and how it gives architects more design options.