April 14, 2009—Tony Sturrus, President of Clarion Industries, and Kemp Harr discuss the company's marketing approach for its laminate and coreboard (panel) products. Listen to the interview to hear more about Clarion and Tony's new role. Before joining Clarion Tony was President and CEO of Pergo. Prior to Pergo Tony was President of Baldwin Hardware. (approx. 7 minutes)
April 13, 2009—Bill Griese, Green Initiatives Manager for the Tile Council of North America, and Kemp Harr discuss the environmental advantages of using ceramic tile as a floorcovering. Listen to the interview to hear about the new environmental section in the 2009 Handbook and the efforts that are being made to include tile in the LEED standards with USGBC and similar green standards within the NAHB.
April 10, 2009—Recorded earlier this week at the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation, Executive Director Scott Carothers and Kemp Harr discuss recent changes and momentum in the foundation's installer certification program. Listen to the interview to hear more about this, the foundation's source of funding and the overall mission of the organization.
April 9, 2009—Recorded at the Tile Council of North America's headquarters in Clemson, S.C., Executive Director Eric Astrachan and Kemp Harr discuss the latest trends in the North American tile market. Listen to the interview to hear how tile is doing versus other flooring surfaces and how the distribution channels and price points are changing.
April 8, 2009—Don Finkell of Anderson Floors tells Kemp Harr about the phased in enforcement schedule of the new amendment to the Lacey Act, which is designed to keep illegally harvested hardwood from entering the U.S. market. Listen to the interview to find out just how much imported wood is entering the country and how the enforcement of the act could help level the playing field for domestic producers.
April 6, 2009—Glenn Feder, president of National Trade Productions (host of Coverings), and Kemp Harr discuss the 2009 Coverings show scheduled for April 21-24 in Chicago. Listen to the interview to hear Glenn talk about the diverse mix of keynote speakers and other helpful information for attendees of this annual tile and stone show.
April 3, 2009—Santo Torcivia, an economist with Market Insights, and Kemp Harr discuss flooring industry statistics comparing 2008 to 2007. Listen to the interview to hear, by category and markets, how each sector is doing. Santo also says when he thinks the economy will start to recover.
April 2, 2009—Sean Cilona, Florida Tile's new Director of Marketing, and Kemp Harr discuss the company's new third party porcelain certification. Listen to the interview to hear more about the strategic decisions that Florida Tile is making to be successful, plus some market trend information.
April 1, 2009—Georgina Sikorski, the newly appointed Executive Director of the Carpet America Recovery Effort, and Kemp Harr talk about Georgina's new role and what she hopes to achieve in the coming year. Listen to the interview to hear more about CARE, its membership and especially the progress the organization is making toward minimizing the amount of post-consumer carpet that ends up in the nations landfills. CARE's website is www.carpetrecovery.org
March 31, 2009—Maryanne Adams, CEO at Avalon Carpet Tile and Flooring, a 13 store business in the greater Philadelphia marketplace, and Kemp Harr discuss some of the reasons why this major independent flooring retailer continues to do well. Number one, Avalon continues to advertise and number two, it knows floorcovering is a fashion industry. Listen to the interview to hear more about Avalon's ad mix, ad message, Internet strategy and when Adams thinks the economy could start to improve.