Hardwood Floors April/May 2019

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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