Flooring Podcast

Floor Focus’ Frank O’Neill - The Week in the Floor Covering Industry

December 6, 2005—Floor Focus magazine publisher Frank O’Neill discusses the Mohawk FloorScapes convention, which was held last week in Florida, and the company’s strategic alliance with Wear-Dated and 3M Scotchgard and the additional alliance between Mohawk Hardwood and Scotchgard. O’Neill discusses the brand-oriented marketing thrust the company plans to take as a result of these alignments and the products that will result, as well as the other new products and programs launched at the convention. Also discussed the naming of Walt Hubbard to the Dixie Group board and the expansion of Turman Hardwood.

John McDevitt on the Economy

December 5, 2005—John McDevitt, former 3M Corporate Economist discusses the 4.3% GDP growth in the third quarter and his expectations for fourth quarter and year-end GDP growth and the affects the Gulf hurricanes had on GDP. McDevitt also evaluates last week’s unemployment and jobs creation report and also discusses his views on poll data reflecting consumer’s somewhat downbeat view of the current economy. Also discussed, the housing market, his housing forecast for the fourth quarter and next year as well as his thoughts on consumer confidence numbers, retail spending and the manufacturing sector.

Sandlin, Hackel, Burson & Simonson - Marketing on the Internet - Part 2

December 4, 2005—This is the second-part of a four-part roundtable discussion, sponsored by the World Floor Covering Association looking at marketing floor coverings online. Roundtable panelists Scott Sandlin, VP, Marketing, Shaw Industries; Evan Hackel, President, Carpet One; Mark Burson, Principal, Burson Consulting Group; and John Simonson, President, Webstream Dynamics, in this segment panelists discuss the importance of manufacturer and retail brands in consumer internet searches, how marketers can best harness search engines to maximize web traffic. Panelists also discuss the number of websites internet shoppers normally visit and the types of website features they find most user-friendly as well as the importance of specialized web-based tools such as room visualization software.

Barker on the Dow, Mohawk Shares, Housing and the Market

December 1, 2005—Mike Barker, Investment & Retirement Management discusses the Dow’s 3.5% increase in November and some of the historical adages about the market and the month of November and December. Barker looks at the reasons behind the recent jump in Mohawk’s share price and talks about the Dow’s 80 point drop this week on the same day the 4.3% hike in GDP growth was announced and the significance of the Dow passing the 11,000 mark. He also discusses the anticipated slowdown in the housing market and the upcoming Fed meeting and its potential affects on the market.

Julius Shaw of Shaw Industries on 2005, its Acquisitions and Price Increases – Part 2

November 30, 2005—Julius Shaw, Executive VP, Shaw Industries, in the final part of a two-part series discusses the company’s performance in 2005 and its efforts in each of the basic product groups. Shaw talks the strategy behind the company’s acquisitions of Honeywell Nylon and SI and its plans for each including the EverGreen recycling operation. Also discussed is Mohawk’s acquisition of Unilin and its impact on the laminate sector and the rising cost of raw materials and its effects on the manufacturing and retail sectors.

Floor Focus’ Frank O’Neill - The Week in the Floor Covering Industry

November 29, 2005—Floor Focus magazine publisher Frank O’Neill discusses: Mohawk exclusive deal with 3M to offer Scotchgard Advanced Repel Technology on hardwood floors; The growth over the past year in Cargill’s bio-based fiber Ingeo and the notching up of sustainable products in the consumer marketplace; The Focus 100 Retail list and the growth among the top and mid-tier players on the list and what this means for smaller retailers.

Julius Shaw of Shaw Industries on 2005, its Acquisitions and Price Increases – Part 1

November 28, 2005—Julius Shaw, Executive VP, Shaw Industries, in the first part of a two- part series discusses the company’s performance in 2005 and its efforts in each of the basic product groups. Shaw talks the strategy behind the company’s acquisitions of Honeywell Nylon and SI and its plans for each including the EverGreen recycling operation. Also discussed is Mohawk’s acquisition of Unilin and its impact on the laminate sector and the rising cost of raw materials and its effects on the manufacturing and retail sectors.

Sandlin, Hackel, Burson & Simonson - Marketing on the Internet - Part 1

November 27, 2005—This is the first part of a four-part roundtable discussion, sponsored by the World Floor Covering Association that looks into marketing floor coverings via the internet. Panelists: Scott Sandlin, VP, Marketing, Shaw Industries; Evan Hackel, President, Carpet One; Mark Burson, Principal, Burson Consulting Group; and John Simonson, President, Webstream Dynamics discuss the size and makeup of the internet marketplace and its growth prospects for the future. The panelists also discuss the process online consumers most often follow in shopping for floor coverings, the most frequently used industry-related words used by in search engine searches and how both men and women have become involved in internet shopping process.

Floor Focus’ Frank O’Neill - The Week in the Floor Covering Industry

November 22, 2005—Floor Focus magazine publisher Frank O’Neill discusses: WFCA’s new business venture called “Creating Your Space”; The strategic partnership among Knauf, Resopal, Tarkett and Witex to Launch a new product, ceraclic at Domotex; Tarkett’s other new laminate joint-venture with Sonae; CRI’s new chairman, J&J’s president Jim Bethel; GreenBuild, which drew nearly 10,000 in Atlanta, and its exhibitors; Interfaces new backing process called Cool Blue and; The Architectural Tile and Stone Exposition meets NeoCon.

Jon Dougal Reviews GreenBuild 2005

November 21, 2005—Jon Dougal, Senior Editor, iGreenbuild.com, reviews the annual GreenBuild conference, which was held two weeks ago in Atlanta. Dougal discusses the dramatic growth in attendance at the event, which was nearly 10,000, the 600 exhibitors that took part in the conference’s trade show as well as the conferences and speakers, including Interface chairman Ray Anderson and sustainability pioneer and author Paul Hawken, as well as the other events that were part of the conference. Dougal also talks about the changes to the USGBC’s LEED-CI requirements and the much discussed controversy over vinyl product in LEED certified buildings.