Hardwood Floors April/May 2019

MAR/APR 2019 AP MAY

GET READY FOR THE

MAY 1-3 | FORT WORTH, TEXAS 2019 WOOD FLOORING EXPO PREVIEW

HOW TO SELL THROUGH STORYTELLING

SANDING A FACTORY-FINISHED FLOOR

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FEATURES

ON THE COVER

104

2019 NWFA Wood Flooring Expo Preview By Stacy Brown Plan to “make your mark” at the 2019 Expo. Gain knowledge to improve your business, connections to expand your professional network, and inspiration to build your career.

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How to Sell through Storytelling By Kyle Crocco Learn more about Expo keynote speaker Matthew Luhn and how storytelling can help build your company’s brand.

78

Sanding a Factory-finished Floor By Brett Miller

A discussion on a few of the best practices to consider when approaching the refinish of any factory-finished floor.

PUBLISHING PARTNERS

the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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CONTENTS

Chris Zizza | Chairman Michael Martin | CEO Anita Howard | COO Bree Urech-Boyle | CFO Brett Miller | VP, Education & Certification NWFA LEADERSHIP

Industry Insights 20 Government Affairs The hardwood industry’s impact on the U.S. economy.

By Dana Lee Cole

24 Market Matters Wood industry trends.

By Bruce Zwicker

30 Designer Insights Forecast for the top color trends.

PUBLICATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE Julie Russell, Chair & Board Liaison | Glitsa, a division of Rudd Company

By Emily Morrow Finkell

Jason Elquest | Blackhawk Floors Inc. Allie Finkell | American OEM Wood Floors Lenny Hall | Endurance Floor Company Inc. Kevin Mullany | Benchmark Wood Floors Inc. Jim Schumacher | 3M Mike Sundell

Business Best Practices

36 Sales Savvy Communicating your message of value.

By Paul Reilly

40 Legal

By Barbara Dunn O’Neal and Matthew E. Misichko

Protect your brand.

PUBLICATION TEAM

46 Management Is your medical plan healthy? By Tonya Glynn 50 Technology

Stacy Brown | Publisher/Editor | stacy.brown@nwfa.org Brett Miller | Technical Editor | brett.miller@nwfa.org Laura Boyle | Creative Director | laura.boyle@nwfa.org Megan Lhamon | Industry News Editor | megan.lhamon@nwfa.org Katie Schenk | Media Production | katie.schenk@nwfa.org Jodi O’Toole | Web Development | jodi.otoole@nwfa.org

Help your employees understand cyber safety. 54 Marketing Positioning: the foundation of your brand. 66 Branding Real ways to reach homeowners with the “Real Wood. Real Life.” campaign.

By Jodi O’Toole

By Katrina Olson

By Libby Johnston

111 Chesterfield Industrial Blvd. Chesterfield, Missouri 63005 P : 800.422.4556 Local : 636.519.9663 F: 636.519.9664 E: news@hardwoodfloorsmag.com W: hardwoodfloorsmag.com

At the Site 70 Sponsored Content

By Jason Lunn & Rebecca Schumann

Common respirator misconceptions. 72 Concrete Testing Concrete RH testing best practices.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS John Alford Dana Lee Cole Kyle Crocco Michael Dittmer Jason Elquest Emily Morrow Finkell Tonya Glynn Bob Goldstein Lenny Hall

By Jason Spangler

Jodi O'Toole Katrina Olson Paul Reilly Rebecca Schumann Jason Spangler Chris Zizza Bruce Zwicker

74 Equipment Maintain your equipment for optimal performance. 82 Sanding Techniques How to minimize sanding efforts while maximizing profits.

Libby White Johnston Megan Lhamon Jason Lunn Michael Martin Matthew E. Misichko Brett Miller Barbara Dunn O'Neal

By Bob Goldstein

By the Lägler Team

86 Sanding Aesthetics Flooring aesthetics related to the sand job.

By Brett Miller

90 Tech Talk

By NWFA

ADVERTISING SALES

Handling equipment breaks on site. 92 Health & Safety Focus The dangers of distracted driving.

Regional Instructors

By Stacy Brown

Libby White Johnston Media & Advertising Sales libby.johnston@nwfa.org | 337.794.9232

94 WFOY Winner Spotlight Best of Social Media: BC Hardwood Floor Co.

By Stacy Brown

Hardwood Floors (Print: ISSN 0897-022X and Online: ISSN 2475-5125) is published on a bi-monthly basis, plus the Annual Industry Guide, by the National Wood Flooring Association and distributed as a membership benefit to its member companies and without charge upon request to qualified individuals throughout the wood flooring industry. Single copy price is $8, annual Industry Guide is $50. Subscriptions: $40/ year (includes 6 issues and Industry Guide) in the U.S. and Canada. Publication office: 111 Chesterfield Industrial Blvd, Chesterfield, MO 63005. Phone: 800.422.4556. Printing office: Walsworth, 306 N. Kansas Ave., Marceline, MO 64658. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals Postage is paid at Chesterfield, MO and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Hardwood Floors, P.O. Box 9147, Lowell, MA 01853. Copyright © 2019 by the National Wood Flooring Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

Product Focus 112 NWFA Wood Flooring Expo Exhibitor Showcase 134 Sanding Equipment/Abrasives

Also in this Issue

6 Chairman’s Cut 10 Wood Stock

96 NWFA Resources 140 New Products

143 Ad Index 144 Final Coat: CEO’s Message

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T3484_03.06.18

CHAIRMAN’S CUT

By Chris Zizza Chairman, NWFA

MAKE YOUR MARK ON THE INDUSTRY

As I sit down towritemy nal columnas chairman, it seems ing that itwill run inan issuepreviewing theNWFAWoodFlooring Expowith the theme “MakeYourMark.” I’vebeendoing a lot of reminiscing these past fewweeks about all of thenew initiatives of our association, andhowthose initiatives havehadan impact onmybusiness. Fromthenewly launched “RealWood. Real Life.” campaign to raise consumer awareness of thebene ts ofwood ooring to implementing aprogramthat helps our members obtainhealthcoverage (see the articles onpages 46and66), theNWFA exists toensureourmembers have the resources theyneed tobe successful. I couldnot behappierwith thedirection our association is taking, andasmy time as chairmancomes toa close, I amcon dent that incoming chairmanCraigDuprawill do a fantastic job incontinuingourmission. I’ve alsobeendoing a lot of re ectingonmy own impact, andhowI canencourageothers who share a commonpassion for our trade togetmore involvedandhelp in uence the futureof our industry. e ideaofmaking yourmark, or leavinga legacy, is one that really resonateswithme. I've been in this business for 31years, and I genuinely believe that it takes everyone of us tomake itwork. e reality is, the NWFAcan’t do it alone andneither shouldyou.

So, as you saddleup tohead toExpo inFortWorth, here are someofmy thoughts on leaving a legacy andhowtheNWFA is here to support you. 1.Liveyourpassion. Your passions are your legacy.Don'tmiss theopportunity topursue your passions, andcontinue to look for newadventures. Stay current on industry advances withExpo, HardwoodFloors magazine, and theNWFA’s industry reports and resources. Increase your pro tabilitywith theNWFA’swide varietyof business services designed to improve e ciency and savemoney. Advance your skills as awood ooringprofessional with theNWFA’s toolboxof educational resources includingonline training, hands-on training, certi cations, industry-standardguidelines, technical publications, and technical support. 2. Support thepeopleandcauses that are important toyou. I’malways amazedbyour industry’s generositywith their time, talent, and resources. Everyday I seeon socialmedia stories of contractors traveling across the country tohelpa colleague inneedona job, donating ooring toaworthy cause, or volunteeringwithinour association. eNWFAhas establishedmultiple relationships over the yearswithcharitableorganizations that represent long-termcommitments to initiatives bene ting eachorganization. ese collaborations provide theNWFAand itsmemberswithadditional opportunities toengage in service in their communities, helping those inneedwhilepromoting thebene ts anduses ofwood ooring and their businesses. Youcan learnmore about these relationships andhow youcanget involvedat nwfa.org/giving-back.aspx. 3.Beamentor toothers. Everyonehas some signi cant truth to impart toothers thatwill guide less-experiencedpeople in life. Sometimes these relationships last a lifetime, evenwhen thementeehasmovedon to in uenceothers. Take some time to share your talentswith others. Believeme, the rewardyou’ll receivewill outweigh the e ort. Everyoneneeds amentor.Oneofminewas abusiness tycoonand relativenamedSal Balsamo, whoalways toldme two things. About business, he said, “Always focus ongrowing sales. If the sales are there andyouunderstandyour cost, the rest is easy.”Andabout life, he said, “Youhave to leave yourmark!” I try to leavemymarkbydoing charitywork andbybeing a resource to the younger people of our industry. I always enjoymy conversationswith thoseof youwho reachout tome. Whether it’s on thephone, inanemail, onFacebook, or justwalking throughExpo, never stopaskingmequestions. I lovehearing that I havehelped someone advancehis or her business inany small way. It’smy fuel for pushing forward. Inclosing, I’d like to thank you for allowingme to serve as your chairman. It has trulybeenan honor. I encourage you tohelpus continue toadvance the industrybymaking yourmark and supporting thenext generationof cra speople. Farewell, andbest of luck.

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Wood Stock

Bona at 100 By Megan Lhamon

working on the oor, Michael came up with the idea to display the coin to commemorate the anniversary of Bona. He also ordered two other coins that would later be used in the 10x10 block pa ern on the le and right of the center section.” e “100 Year” logo is displayed in angled American cherry and ash, stained with Bona CourtLines paints, reduced, and blended as a fade using faux painting techniques. Four walnut cornices contain Shaper Origin router scrollwork in maple that is a decorative interpretation of the number “100.” Also in the cornice is the Swedish three-crown shield in purpleheart and maple, handmade using a scrollsaw. e center section is framed in walnut and an arched inlay done on a router jig and bent wood. Bona NordicSeal was used on the center parts of the oor, and Bona DriFast Sealer was used on the natural wood parts. e whole center section was nished with Bona Naturale. e hexagonal pa erned section below the center section was constructed using white oak, maple, and Brazilian cherry. e Bona Certi ed Cra sman logo was also cut using the Shaper Origin. “ e le ers for the logo were cut along with the grain of the wood so that the direction of the grain carries through regardless of the bend of the le ers,” says Hall. is section was nished with two coats of Bona IntenseSeal and one coat of Bona Semi-Gloss. Above the center section is a chevron pa ern installed using antique pine. “ e pine material was too wide, so the students had to cut it up and make it more narrow,” adds Hall. e border for this panel was made using oak timber. is section was nished with Bona Cra Oil.

Expert School in the fall of 2018. e Expert School was led by NWFA regional instructors Lenny Hall and Michael Di mer, with special assistance

fromDee Lenston, Bona Professional Sales Training Manager. e school allowed students to gain valuable knowledge and experience the various specialty skill sets

involved in wood ooring. e students at the school included Roy Aull Jr., Je Kersbergen, David Merrill, James Toal, AndrewWilkinson, Ma hew Young, and Stephen Young. e oor, which was engineered to be deconstructed and transported to Charlo e, contains ve unique sections of wood ooring and required more than 1,100 hours of labor. e center section of the oor was built using ve di erent species of wood, multiple colorants, brass inlays, and two intricate jigs for scrollwork. “ e center- most point on the oor displays a rare 1919 Swedish coin, obtained by Michael Di mer,” shares Hall. “While we were

In 1919, Bona was founded in Sweden by Wilhelm Edner. One hundred years later, the family- owned business continues to operate and thrive under the same values. To help celebrate this monumental anniversary, two panels were created for display at the 2019 Bona Certified Craftsmen Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. PANEL ONE e rst panel was created at the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, during the Bona-sponsored

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e identical panels on the le and right of the center section were made using 10x10 parquet blocks of Honduran mahogany and Brazilian ebony. “ e sanding of these two species posed a bit of a challenge because of their di erence in hardness,” shares Hall. “ e mahogany is super so , and the ebony is super hard.” Ri sawn white oak was used in between the 10x10 blocks. e border of these sections required special expertise. “In talking with the students about what we should do on the border, we came up with the idea to include the Bona ‘100 Year’ tagline ‘Bringing out the beauty in oors since 1919’ in Morse code,” says Hall. “ e ebony became the dots and dashes, the mahogany became dot-dash separators, and a third species, merbau, became le er- and word-separators. To mark the start of the tagline, we used two coins.” ese sections were coated with Bona DriFast Sealer and nished with Bona Tra c Satin. Lastly, the four identical corner panels are a combination of 5” American cherry and 3” Brazilian cherry. “To create a 3D e ect, the American cherry was run on a diagonal, and the Brazilian cherry was cut on a 45-degree angle repeatedly to change the orientation of the Brazilian cherry relative to the American cherry,” adds Hall. e perimeter of the corners was made using walnut and maple. e corners were nished with one coat of Bona IntenseSeal and one coat of Bona Semi-Gloss. “It was amazing to see this oor come together,” shares Hall. “From St. Louis to my shop in Florida, and then to Charlo e, many hands and minds played a part in creating this masterpiece.” PANEL TWO e second panel was created byWayne Highlander, Bona Adhesives National Sales Manager, and Jeremiah Strong, Bona TerritoryManager for Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. “I was originally going to teach this at the Bona Expert School that happens every two years at Bona headquarters,” shares Highlander. “When I thought about the Bona Convention coming up, I thought this could be a cool place to present it.” With two scroll saws and only weekend hours, Highlander and Strong brought this beauty to life, cu ing countless leaves, sh, a raccoon, and a bald eagle. “ ere are about 15 species of wood in the inlay,” says Highlander. Among these 15 species are two live edge planks, complete with a snake inlaid¼” into the panel.

With epoxy becoming increasingly popular with hardwood, Highlander and Strong decided to put it to the test and see what they could accomplish. “We used EcoPoxy on the blue side and Turtle Feathers on the black side,” adds Highlander. “ ey’re both a stable product – I did a oor ve years ago, and it has stayed in place since then. “Living in Tennessee, I’m an avid sherman and lover of the fall colors,” says Highlander. “ ose things are what inspired this oor.” g

the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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Wood Stock

Counter { t} In our industry, we are used to seeing wood floors day in and day out. As wood has become increasingly more popular in design, we have started seeing more and more wood being used on accent walls, ceilings, and even kitchen countertops. Kyle Neuroh, owner of Neuroh Hardwood, has been in the industry for 15 years and loves being able to use his creativity and o er clients something unique. is project allowed him to do just that. “For this job, we re nished the existing white oak oors and laced into existing ooring, adding new wood in the kitchen,” shares Neuroh. “ e countertops we installed in the kitchen are acacia.” g By Megan Lhamon

INFO ABOUT SPECIES “Because the acacia was quite wavy and wouldn’t sand at with a palm sander, we needed to use our Hydrasand to get the counter at,” adds Neuroh. is provided a bit of a challenge for Neuroh and his team, having to sand on top of a countertop. With some patience and a er some maneuvering, the oors were ready for nish. “ e oor was nished with RubioMonocoat Mud Light,” shares Neuroh. “ e counter was nished with ProCoat UnoCoat Antique Brown.”

All photos courtesy of Kyle Neuroh.

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Design Hardwood Products, Inc. woodwise.com

Wood

• Mercier Wood Flooring announced the nomination of Luc Robitaille as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. • Festool has launched a roadshow truck to teach, inspire, and prepare young workers for their new careers in the trades. • AHF Products appointed Brian Carson as the company’s rst President and Chief Executive O cer, Je Steed as Chief Financial O cer, and Mike Bell as Chief Operating O cer. • CalFlor launched an initiative to support their local community in the Camp Fire recovery e orts. ey are currently in the process of seeking donations of both materials and labor. • Aacer Sports Flooring announced that Randy Randjelovic joined their team as Certi cation Manager. • Duchateau announced the launch of DUGOOD, the brand’s new corporate sustainability program. Duchateau and will directly contribute to the National Forest Foundation (NFF) campaign to plant 5million trees by 2023. • David Brunori has been named Executive Vice President and General Manager of Jacksonville, Arkansas-based PoloPlaz Inc. to lead the next phase of the company’s growth. • IndusParquet® announced that Dan Gold has been promoted to the newly created position of Director, Architectural Sales. • Quality Cra has tapped ooring industry veteran Ken Durning to oversee its U.S. surfaces division. MANUFACTURER MEANDERINGS

Steve Nutter, owner of Steve Nutter Cabinetry and Specialty Flooring, has been in the flooring industry for 47 years. Steve works closely with his son, Ben Nutter, who started working for the family business about 15 years ago. Throughout their careers, they have done a number of restorations in floors and carpentry. The Nutters’ experience with restorations made them a perfect match for Highland Hall. Recently, High eld Hall &Gardens, a historic estate in Falmouth, Massachuse s, was looking to replace its oors. During their search for the right contractor for the job, Steve Nu er was recommended. Due to Department of Interior rules that needed to be followed to ensure this project stayed in line with the historic preservation of the building, the whole process has taken nearly two years. Built by the Beebe family of Boston in 1878, High eld Hall was one of the early summer mansions to grace Cape Cod and is one of the few remaining examples of Stick-style Queen Anne architecture in the Northeast. e hall was saved from destruction in 1994, restored, and opened as a museum and historic site in 2006. Making History at High eld Hall by Megan Lhamon

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Stock

Nutter installed rift and quartered 2-1/2” white oak that was custom-milled for this job.

All photos courtesy of Steve Nutter.

• Mercier Wood Flooring announced a partnership with JJ Haines &Co. for DISTRIBUTOR DOINGS

A lot of the ooring in High eld Hall has been replaced over the years. When Nu er and his teamwent in, they wanted to make sure to keep some part of the original ooring. “We decided to leave the last bit around the wall, following the border,” shares Nu er. Nu er installed ri and quartered 2-½” white oak that was custom-milled for this job. e boards were nailed down to the sub oor. “A challengewe faced thatmade this job uniquewas the border work. erewere no straight runs at all,” addsNu er. “Everything had a border. emain ballroomhad a nine-piece border, and even a smaller ballroomhad a three-piece border.” Another obstacle Nu er had to work around – fourteen 12x12 cast iron grills that were placed throughout the oor. A er the oors were sanded, they were nished with Bona AmberSeal and three coasts of Tra c Satin. “ e pa erns for all of the borders made this job a lot of fun. It was pre y intricate,” adds Nu er. “Being involved in the historic restoration aspect made it very rewarding.” g

distribution of its residential and commercial product lines in South Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. • Schönox HPSNorth America announced that Certi edCarpet Distributors andChemtec have joined its growing list of distributor partners. • Wagner Meters named Fishman Flooring Solutions its 2018 Distributor of the Year. is is the rst time Wagner Meters has presented the award. • Horizon Forest Products announced that McKenzie Rivas has joined the Houston Branch as an Outside Sales TeamMember and Kevin Spitler has joined the Repair Shop in Raleigh, North Carolina. • e Belknap White Group announced an expanded equity investment in JJ Haines & Co. of Baltimore, Maryland.

the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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Wood

White A Vision in

CONTRACTOR CORNER Forty-four states added construction jobs between January 2018 and January 2019, while 33 states added construction jobs between December and January, according to an analysis by the AssociatedGeneral Contractors of America of Labor Department data.

FLOOR FOCUS A recent masterpiece Royal Oaks Flooring nished was a 7,500-square-foot jobsite with newly installed white oak oors and three sets of stairs. A er an unpleasant initial experience, the homeowners reached out to Royal Oaks Flooring to come in and re nish their new oors. e oors were sanded and then water-popped to get them ready for nish. “Because of the size and layout of the house, we had to tape the whole oor in 3’ sections for the precolor and then apply precolor on every other section, remove the tape, and tape the precolored edges again to apply precolor on missing sections,” says Arjukese. “It was a crazy, long process that involved around $400 worth of tape.” A er four days of applying the precolor application, Arjukese and his team started applying Rubio Monocoat Super White Oil. “We troweled the oil on and then bu ed it o with rags to make sure all of the wood bers were lled,” shares Arjukese. “We did two coats of oil to help get the oors as white as possible, per the homeowner's request.” A er three weeks of work with a team of four to nine guys, the job was done. “Everyone was very happy with the result. e homeowner loved the color, and I’ve received many calls from designers and builders who were also 'wowed' with the nal product,” notes Arjukese. g

Roland Arjukese is the owner of Royal Oaks Flooring, located in

North Potomac, Maryland. He has

been in the hardwood flooring industry for nearly 16 years and still enjoys it as much now as when he started. “I love that with hardwood ooring, every project is di erent,” shares Arjukese. “It’s very rewarding work being able to see such a huge di erence in a relatively short amount of time. It’s also inspiring when I have the opportunity to work on old oors and turn them into a masterpiece again, ready to last for many more years.”

RETAILER ROUNDUP

PIDFloors announced the grand opening of a new1,000-square-foot showroom. e company moved from the 15th oor to the third oor at the Decoration &Design Building in Manha an.

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Inside Scoop One way Royal Oaks Flooring ensures they have the skills to get the job done right is by always being open to learning. With plans to become an NWFA- Certified Inspector, Arjukese recently attended his first NWFA hands-on training event in Bowling Green, Ohio. “Over the years, I’ve met so many different people and made many friends in the wood flooring community. It’s always great to get together and learn something new from the other students and the NWFA,” adds Arjukese.

The team had to tape the whole floor in 3’ sections for the precolor and then apply precolor on every other section, remove the tape, and tape the precolored edges again to apply precolor on missing sections.

All photos courtesy of Roland Arjukese.

the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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Times Change. Timeless Craftsmanship Endures.

N TODAY’S FLOORING MARKET, customers are demanding the latest in flooring options and styles to capture their unique vision and reflect their individuality. For businesses like yours, that means having partners you can depend on to deliver hardwood flooring in the most sought- after styles and colors available. At Peachey®, we craft our solid or premium Baltic Birch engineered flooring in a variety of beautiful finishes, colors and custom treatments to meet your customer’s vision for beauty and your expectations for enduring quality and performance. And when the new trends of tomorrow emerge, we’ll be there. Leading the way with the hand crafted flooring you can trust to transform houses into unforgettable homes.

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GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

THE HARDWOOD INDUSTRY: ECONOMIC ENGINE OF THE U.S.

BigStockPhoto ©

in annual income. Related industries, including transportation retail, forest owners, and logging, support more than 1.4 million jobs and add $241 billion to the economy. For every $1 million in output of hardwood products, 5.3 jobs are created. American hardwoods are also a valuable export commodity. In 2017, U.S. hardwood producers shipped $4.04 billionworth of U.S. products to global markets and supported over 200,000 jobs. e study also examined individual sectors within the overall hardwood industry, including wood ooring. Numbers for the ooring sector are

Last year, 12 member associations of the Hardwood Federation, including the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), came together in a coordinated e ort to study the impacts of the hardwood industry on the U.S. economy. e results were staggering. According to the nal report, the hardwood industry helps to employ nearly 21 million people and contributes $394 billion to the U.S. economy. Hardwood producers and manufacturers, including sawmills, lumberyards, ooring companies, kitchen cabinet manufacturers, and railway ties, directly support nearly 750,000 jobs, generating $38 billion

For those of us who work in the hardwood industry, it is no secret that thousands of people are employed by our mills, yards, and manufacturing facilities, and that the economic impact of this business on local communities is tremendous. However, just how important the industry is economically has never really been known…until now.

20 hardwood floors www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com

By Dana Lee Cole

The bottom line is th t we now have undeniable evidence that the hardwood industry is an economic driver, particularly in small towns and rural America.

environmentally

sustainable products it produces. is report shines a bright light on the importance and value of an industry too o en overlooked. e report will be used by the Hardwood Federation to educate Trump administration representatives, members of Congress, and other key stakeholders inWashington, D.C. We are con dent that regional, state, and local hardwood associations will also be

impressive: 45,000 jobs and $8.5 billion contributed overall to the U.S. economy. State-by-state data was also produced and is available for review. Hardwood companies are o en a top employer in theirmostly rural communities, and support signi cant numbers of spin-o jobs locally.Wood andwood products are literally the building blocks of this country, and the industry takes pride in its history and the

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the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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The Hardwood Industry (Continued)

Manufacturers Association, the National Hardwood Lumber Association, the Railway Tie Association, and the Wood Component Manufacturers Association. Additional support was provided by the Hardwood Market Report and the Pennsylvania Lumbermen’s Mutual Insurance Company. e Hardwood Federation greatly appreciates the support of the NWFA in the execution of this project. We simply could not have done it without the nancial contribution as well as the input and insight as we moved through the process. Dana Lee Cole is Executive Director at the Hardwood Federation, a Washington, D.C.- based hardwood industry trade association that represents thousands of hardwood businesses in every state in the U.S. and acts as the industry’s advocacy voice on Capitol Hill. She can be reached at dana.cole@ hardwoodfederation.com.

e report will also have a starring role when the industry gathers for the annual Fly-In toWashington, D.C. in September. e full study may be found at hardwoodfederation.com. If you lobby in your state, you can nd data by state to present to local o cials. e hardwood industry economic impact study was conducted by Agribusiness Consulting. Generous funding for the project was provided by the NWFA along with the following Hardwood Federation members: the American Hardwood Export Council, the Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Inc., the Decorative Hardwoods Association, the Hardwood Federation, the Hardwood Manufacturers Association, the Indiana Hardwood Lumberman’s Association, the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association, the Lake States Lumber Association, the Maple Flooring

able to use the data to communicate with governors, state legislatures, and the public about the positive economic bene ts of the industry and how policymakers can help support and sustain hardwood businesses.

22 hardwood floors www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com

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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS MARKET MATTERS

Wood flooring is still king and that isn’t going away. But, it has to be acknowledged that change is inevitable. The wood flooring industry is accustomed to shifts and is amid another. Just a few of the significant shifts we’ve seen over the years include unfinished to prefinished wood flooring, engineered wood flooring coming into its own, value-constructed engineered wood flooring taking hold, and now non-wood products mimicking wood. Industry… Again The Changing Wood Flooring

BigStockPhoto ©

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By Bruce Zwicker

Association of Home Builders (NAHB) states that one of the top 10 features homebuyers want in a new home is hardwood ooring. In 2017, the NWFA partnered with Public Opinion Strategies on a survey of 1,000-plus homeowners across the United States that revealed that two-thirds of homeowners say they would have wood oors in their dream home. Wood remains a lifetime product, a real natural product that gives feelings of warmth and comfort, which will always add value to a home or property. e question is, how should you position your business to address this new shi caused by At the risk of telling you what you already know since you have addressed shi s before, here are some thoughts to consider. First are strategy, mission, leadership, and culture. Know your market and buyers and aim directly at them. Know what is important to them and provide it be er than anyone else. Adopt a strong drive to change and compete with a laser focus on what your business can do well. Make sure your people are on board; otherwise, it won’t happen. How a leader behaves is the key. e leader’s job is 24/7 with lots of energy needed. Realism is essential, as are vision, con dence, and competence. Homework and an open mind are needed. Find out what’s out there. Challenge your own beliefs. Don’t be afraid to change some things or maybe almost everything. In particular, you may need more or di erent talent. Maybe family members in the business are not as capable as they need to be. Di cult people choices are pivotal and hold most companies back. And those things described above are just the basics. Regarding strategy, determine which real wood o erings you can excel at if you adapt your business. Perhaps it will be one or more of these: custom nishing, solid wood in the right markets, middle- and high-end engineered wood, ultimate wood mimics? Your role

Shi s occur in any product category because consumer tastes evolve and the consumer accepts new things. Mega-retailers and online commerce give consumers more choices and lower-cost alternatives. Global trade encourages lower-cost imports, and lower U.S. economic growth makes low price more important. Not to mention that technology makes new things possible in products and the customer experience. Technology and design In the wood ooring industry, we have seen changes in technology making wood ooring easier to install and enhancing nishing processes, and species providing more style choices and be er performance. We’ve also seen changes in design trends with open oor plans leading to all wood on the rst oor of a home, and even replacing carpet Economic factors also have had an impact, such as the rising cost and lower availability of lumber a er the Great Recession. Scarce skilled labor adds higher cost and createsmore di culty. ere is still uncertainty surrounding ooring products imported fromChina. Imports also create pressure on the average selling price andmargins. Mimicry Suppliers are promoting new products that mimic wood (tile, laminate, and LVT/MLF). And some wood-mimic products are promoting a “waterproof ” bene t over real wood. Mega-retailers are driving lower price, and the internet is making alternatives to wood ooring and the mimics more visible. Online sale of ooring, while not a boom, cuts into share held previously by traditional retailers. The good news All of these changes aside, multiple research studies show that real wood remains the top aspirational ooring choice for homeowners and remains the most beautiful and natural ooring in most spaces. Recent research released by the National in the bedroom. Economics

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The Changing Wood Flooring Industry (Continued)

percent wished to pass it on to a family member, and 28 percent wished to continue or close. Of those who wished to leave the business, 65 percent said it was a good time to sell, and 49 percent said they wanted a be er work/life balance. Family members said that 80 percent preferred taking the money, while 20 percent wanted to run the company. In response to the 80 percent who preferred to take the money, 90 percent of owners said family is not quali ed to run the business, and 10 percent would rather have family choose another career path. Maybe not a surprise, 48 percent of business owners didn’t have a formal exit strategy. e majority of business owners don’t have a full understanding of what takes place in the selling of a business. Seventy- ve percent of owners believe they can sell their business in a year or less. is is on top of the 58 percent who have never had their business formally appraised. e succession to family members is usually not as successful as owners would like. e succession to a nonfamily member to run the business is not easy and is o en also unsuccessful. Finding a seller who will pay what you need is not easy either. You know what the point is. Knowing your future and detailed planning are not easy. It takes time away from running a successful, hands-on business. But owners owe it to themselves and their families to have a good strategy and know where they want the ownership to go. e wood ooring industry and the businesses within it have lots of opportunities to make money and grow. e trick is knowing where you want to go. Bruce Zwicker is an advisor to flooring companies: manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and associations. He can be reached at 410.903.8357 or zwicker. brucezwicker.com.

high-end service for high-income buyers, or design center services. Youmay nd yourself having to add new products or services to your business. Youmay need to rebrand your business to t your new strategy. Plus, you will probably have to add new competencies through adding talent. Certainly, competence in technology is vital. How do you improve your technology for e ciency and customer experience? Easier project quoting. Be er inventory management. Social media. A fully functional up-to-date website and great SEO. Ge ingbehind theNWFA’s “RealWood. Real Life.” campaign shouldalsobe apriority. I urge you tovisit nwfa.org to ndout howtobe apromoter of real wood. Another important consideration is scaling your business to the true size of your market. is is critical; otherwise, you will miss opportunities either because you aim too low, or because you aim too high and risk cash problems. Acquiring businesses that help your growth strategy is ne but only when the price is right and there is value to your business. Overextending yourself is a huge risk, nancially and operationally. If you are overextended, the customer experience will su er and/or cash will become too tight. It is essential to keep in mind that we have enjoyed an unusually long recovery since the 2008 bo om when ooring demand plummeted 40 percent in less than a year. e demand for ooring has grown on average about 3 percent since then, and for now, our fastest growth year is behind us. In 2017 growth was about 5 percent or more. Flooring typically grows about 100 to 200 points above gross domestic product. So, in an economy that will grow about 2 percent, we won’t see 5 percent again. Will we see a recession, and if so, when?Who knows?We can’t control that. We can control our business. Lastly, and importantly, is for owners to know their exit strategy and/or succession plan. A USB study of 2,245 investors, 1,085 of which were business owners, reported that 58 percent of business owners wished to sell their business. Twenty

26 hardwood floors www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com

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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

DESIGNER INSIGHTS

COLOR FORECAST

Top

Trends

You’re Going to See Everywhere

To borrow a fast food phrase, this season you can really “have it your way.” Do you want to use deeper, darker hues, or enjoy the ethereal effects of a layered off-white interior? Both are possible if you can’t decide.

of brushed gold and a lot of natural light.” Usually, when anything is trending upward, people can get stuck in a wait-and-see mode until they start to see the various ways it can be done and they nd one that seems familiar and doable for their own home. When designing any type of ooring for the coming trends, it goes without saying that we know pre y well what colors homeowners are going to be drawn to and what they’ll be choosing for the new colors as they plan their updates. For me, it’s always fun to nd a few surprises, and believe me, there are quite a few right now. One of the biggest surprises is that grey is still right in the mix. Seriously, since 2007 I’ve been ponti cating about grey since “Lady in Grey” and dealers were buying pallets and rolls of grey ooring to ll consumers’ demand.

Let’s say you’ve been eyeballing everything that pops up on social media feeds featuring navy blue or charcoal grey, but are afraid of being tied to that depth of hue. Do you think youmight not want to live in somuch darkness? Perhaps you’re imagining yourself coming into your home with the dreamy, creamy coolness and luxurious layers of o -whites and so tans? at too is possible. In fact, you can do it all; it's just a ma er of balance – balance and a li le smart strategy. e market certainly is o ering endless options to consumers and providing tools making it easier to imagine via Pinterest, Instagram, and Twi er. Just yesterday, I openedmy Instagram feed to see several posts frompaint companies, design rms, and furniture companies featuring headlines like “dark walls are amazing, especially when paired with a pop

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By Emily Morrow Finkell

Whether it’s the Color Marketing Group (CMG), Pantone, Elle Décor, or House Beautiful, fashion and interior designers, design editors, and homeowners are still loving grey. It is making gradual changes and is nding new ways of entering spaces, either by undertones of other colors or by partnering with vibrant hues or extremely light neutrals. But no doubt about it, grey is still strong. Personal expression is going to be driving the trends – while they seem to be going in every di erent direction, the personalized element is the common thread. My own home has always been the best petri dish for anything going on in design, and I’ll admit that my paint colors have been grey since 2006 or 2007, starting with my Revere Pewter at both my former and my current homes. From the front door, which is Bear Creek, to our living and keeping rooms, which are Wrought Iron, Chelsea Grey, and Revere Pewter. What I love about grey is what the rest of the world loves about grey: it is so easy and looks smart. Whether your metallic nishes are oil-rubbed bronze, nickel, or the newest brushed gold, grey simply works. I know we will reach a day when we are ready to pitch it all out for something that is inconceivable today. I do remember when grey felt old and tired and we were drawn to warm colors like Hepplewhite Ivory and Adams Gold, circa the 1990s. INHALE AND RELEASE I think the best way to encapsulate our new color trends discussion is to start at the end of 2018, where we began to see and feel “Inhale and Release” fromCMG, a creamy white associated with deepmeditative cleansing breaths tominimize stress as well as open up smaller spaces, visually expanding them. Who wouldn’t love that?White isn't the only option for a small space. CITY GREY en we turned the calendar page and lept right into 2019 and discovered a new grey, City Grey, an internationally acclaimed dark neutral that is very dark, 70 percent black. Darker shades can play up the size and make it feel cozier. Dark colors blend and blur lines and corners much the same way they do in fashion and a er practically everything that surrounds it. While we may have felt the “ahhhh” of the “Inhale and Release” in December, that was just to get us through the end of the year and ease us into the urban vibe and faster pace of 2019 with City Grey.

All photos courtesy of Emily Morrow Finkell.

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