Flooring Podcast

Frank O’Neill, Publisher, Floor Focus Magazine

June 1, 2004—Frank O’Neill, Publisher, Floor Focus magazine and Dave Foster Host, Floor Radio discuss: The recent Northeast Flooring Contractors Association meeting; Recent comments made by Lowe’s chairman and CEO Robert Tillman and president Robert Niblock including ones that may indicate Lowe’s interest in anchoring malls in the future; Moody's move to raise Mohawk’s outlook; The naming of Frank Ready as president and CEO of Armstrong Floor Products; Platinum Equity planned acquisition of DyStar; and the addition of Centiva’s new laminate line.

Chris Davis and the New WFCA – Part 1

May 31, 2004—Chris Davis, CEO, World Floor Covering Association (WFCA), in the first part of this two-part conversation, discusses the expanding base of the association, to include members from all flooring categories, at all levels of the distribution chain. Davis talks about the WFCA‘s new proactive stance and its newly defined mission, which includes an extensive new research project. Also discussed is the WFCA’s recently concluded National Floor Covering Month promotion.

Jon Dougal on Green Organizations and Bio-Based Products

May 27, 2004—Jon Dougal, CEO, Sustainable Design Associates discusses the expansion of the environmental movement in the building community and the changes that have resulted in the major environment organizations, such as the U.S. Green Building Council. Dougal also provides an update on bio-based products, products made from agricultural products, such as Cargill-Dow’s Ingeo, a fiber used in fabrics and carpet.

John Simonson, Webstream Dynamics, Assessing the Industry’s Internet Effectiveness - Part 2

May 26, 2004—John Simonson, Pres. Webstream Dynamics, in the final part of this 2-part series assesses the Internet savvy of the industry’s manufacturers and retailers, the dos and don’ts of effective Website development, speaking the language of the consumer, and what the Internet will most likely look like in the future.

Larry Winter, Winter & Harris, Making the Right Retail Software Selection

May 26, 2004—Larry Winter, Winter & Harris CPAs and FloorRadio regular discusses industry-specific management software for the floor covering retailer, its advantages and the process of selecting the right package for your business.

Frank O’Neill, Publisher, Floor Focus Magazine

May 25, 2004—Frank O’Neill, Publisher, Floor Focus magazine and Dave Foster, Host, Floor Radio discuss: Jeff Lorberbaum’s election to Mohawk chairman following Dave Kolb’s retirement; Nafco’s roll-out of PermaStone Modular; The scheduling of Shaw’s Alliance retailers convention; Sydsvenska Kemi's sale of its Pergo stake; Roger Oates resignation from Armstrong; Flooring America’s 3rd consecutive year of same-store sales gains; and Rick Hamilton’s retirement from Dow Chemical.

Lefort & Martel Roll-Out Nafco PermaStone Modular

May 24, 2004—Pierre Lefort, GM, Nafco by Tarkett and Diane Martel, VP Marketing, Tarkett Commercial discuss the vinyl market and its luxury vinyl segment. Also discussed, the launch of Nafco PermaStone Modular, a collection offered in a variety of newly sized tiles, designed to be assembled into modular units. Lefort and Martel also talk about the line's unique development process, its “keep it simple” approach and their expectections for the line.

John Simonson, Webstream Dynamics, Assessing the Industry’s Internet Effectiveness -- Part 1

May 23, 2004—John Simonson, President, Webstream Dynamics, in the 1st part of a 2-part series discusses today’s Internet, offering a statistical view of how consumers use the Internet. Simonson also assesses the floor covering industry’s Internet sophistication level on both the B2B and B2C levels, evaluating how large and small retailers and buying groups use the web to interact with consumer and reviews some of the newest tools available to companies to improve Internet efficiency.

Mitch Urbytes, Tennant on the Newest in Maintenance Equipment

May 20, 2004—Mitch Urbytes, Product Manager, Soft Floor Coverings, Tennant Co., producers of commercial floor maintenance equipment, discusses the company and the pressures facility managers deal with in maintaining floors. Urbytes talks about the prime factors under consideration in the process of developing flooring maintenance equipment, the company’s newest vacuum offerings and what every flooring company rep should know about maintenance.

Lew Migliore, The Industry’s Trouble Shooter & the Mysteriously Shrinking Carpet

May 20, 2004—Lew Migliore, The Industry’s Trouble Shooter, President, LGM Technical Carpet Services discusses a phenomenon, which he seen several times in the field in the past months it involves commercial carpet that has shrunk after it was installed.