Flooring Podcast

Floor Focus’ Frank O’Neill on The Industry Events of the Week

March 7, 2006—Frank O’Neill, Publisher, Floor Focus’ discusses; Berkshire Hathaway’s and Shaw's 2005 earnings; Shaw’s move to convert a shuttered yarn plant in Tennessee into a hardwood flooring plant; A comparison of Home Depot’s and Lowe’s 4th quarter and year-end results; The expansion of Mohawk’s carpet tile capacity and the company’s acquisition of a Propex carpet backing plant; Sun Capital acquisition of LINQ fabrics; And the acquisition of Florida Tile by Italian producer Panaria.

Tarkett Commercial's Diane Martel on the Mainstreet Market

March 6, 2006—Diane Martel, VP Marketing, Tarkett Commercial, in a conversation recorded at Surfaces 2006, discusses the commercial aspects of the show, the changing nature of the Mainstreet sector and the challenges facing retailers within that segment. Martel also discusses the company’s product philosophy and the products introduced at Surfaces.

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Analyst Keith Hughes Looks at Mohawk’s 4th Quarter

March 4, 2006—Keith Hughes, Director in Equity Research, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, in the first part of a two-part series, looks back at the floor covering industry’s 4th quarter 2005 discussing Mohawk’s results during the quarter, the affects of the Unilin acquisition, the Unilin organization, the price of that purchase and the method the company selected to financing it. Hughes also looks at the results in the Mohawk and Dal-tile segments during the quarter, the company’s methods of dealing with rising raw materials prices, the company’s expansion projects, its culture and his outlook for the 1st quarter and the year 2006.

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Analysts Keith Hughes Looks at Interface’s 4th Quarter

March 4, 2006—Keith Hughes, Director in Equity Research, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey in the final part of a two-part series looks at Interface’s 4th quarter, growth within the commercial and modular carpet sectors and the company’s performance in the quarter. Hughes discusses Interface’s dominant position in the modular sector, the growth within the Bentley Prince Street and fabrics units, Interface as a global player and his expectations for the commercial sector and Interface in the 1st quarter and for 2006.

McDevitt and the State of the Economy

March 2, 2006—John McDevitt, former 3M corporate economist, now in semi-retirement, assesses the economy and the economic news of the most recent 30 days. McDevitt discusses: 4th quarter GDP, the reasons behind the quarter’s softness and he also shares his forecast for growth in the 1st quarter and how business people can best read GDP numbers. McDevitt also talks about personal income and spending and the potential undesirable outcome of a negative savings rate, the consumer confidence index and its importance in reading the overall economy, the housing and construction markets, the Fed and future rate hikes, the manufacturing sector and his forecast for 2006 and beyond.

Floor Focus’ Frank O’Neill on Mohawk’s Interface’s & Armstrong’s 4th Quarter

March 1, 2006—Frank O’Neill, Publisher, Floor Focus’ discusses; Mohawk’s fourth quarter and year-end earnings and the company's results by segment; Interface’s move to a profitability in the fourth quarter and growth in the modular arena; Armstrong’s fourth quarter results and progress by segment; Surfaces 2006’s record breaking show; and the Las Vegas Markets’ first winter market.

Tarkett Commercial President Gilles de Beaumont on 2005 Growth and the Future

February 28, 2006—Gilles de Beaumont, President, Tarkett Commercial, North America, in a conversation recorded at Surfaces 2006, discusses the growth and new directions taken by the Tarkett organization in 2005 and the acquisitions of Field Turf and Johnsonite, their products and goals and how they fit within Tarkett. de Beaumont talks about the process the company follows with regard to bringing European products into North America the company’s future acquisition and growth.

Neal Gray, VP Sales & Marketing, Vitromex USA

February 28, 2006—Neal Gray, VP Sales & Marketing, Vitromex USA, in a conversation recorded at talks about this Saltillo Coahuila, Mexico-based ceramic producer, the company, the roll out of it new porcelain products and its plans in the U.S. Gray also discusses the company’s U.S. distribution, its plans for the future and he also offers some guidance for floor covering retailers becoming involved in ceramic.

Sonna Calandrino -- Selling the “Lux” & High-End Markets

February 25, 2006—Sonna Calandrino, President, Sonna & Company and Fabulous Floors magazine Publsiher talks about the importance of branding and the “lux” market, actuating to products and accents that make a customer's purchase special, which do not necessarily cost a great deal more. Calandrino also discusses the trend toward the introduction of more high-end products across all categories, and she also reveals some of the more effective ways retailers can boost sales of “better” and high-end products.

Mohawk Industries 4Q Conference Call

February 25, 2006—Excerpts of Mohawk Industries fourth quarter earnings conference call, featuring an opening statement from Mohawk Chairman & CEO, Jeff Lorberbaum followed by a question and answer period with answers provided by Lorberbaum and CFO, Frank Boykin.