Hardwood Floors June/July 2019

CONTENTS

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

Industry Insights 16 Market Matters A challenging year for the U.S. wood flooring industry.

By Stuart Hirschhorn

18 Government Affairs Setting direction for 2019. 24 Designer Insights What do designers want?

By Dana Lee Cole

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

28 Finance Transferring business ownership to children. 32 Sales Savvy Seven reasons salespeople cut their price. 34 Marketing Branding: more than a logo and tagline. 56 Expo Recap See highlights from the 2019 Wood Flooring Expo.

By Jonathan Benner

By Paul Reilly

PUBLICATION TEAM

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

By Katrina Olson

By Stacy Brown

At the Site 60 Sponsored Content The dirt on dirt.

By Swiffer

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 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS John Alford Jonathan Benner Dana Lee Cole Michael Dittmer Craig Dupra Emily Morrow Finkell Lenny Hall Stuart Hirschhorn Lee Hurst Megan Lhamon Michael Martin Brett Miller Kjell Nymark Katrina Olson

62 Color Trends How trends impact finish colors. 64 Finishes All about stain reactive flooring.

By Leslie H. Smith

By Lee Hurst

72 Drying Conditions How seasonal changes can affect drying conditions.

By Matt Thrane

74 Concrete Testing Concrete RH testing best practices, Part 2.

Paul Reilly Leslie H. Smith Jason Spangler Kathryn Straccia Matt Thrane

By Jason Spangler

76 Tech Talk Unique finishing scenarios.

By NWFA Regional Instructors

78 Health & Safety Focus How to safely dispose of leftover finishes.

Kathryn Straccia

ADVERTISING SALES

Product Focus 87 Finishes, Applicators, & Fillers 92 Unfinished Wood Flooring

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

Also in this Issue

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.

6 Chairman’s Cut 8 Wood Stock 80 NWFA Resources 102 New Products 103 Ad Index 104 Final Coat: CEO’s Message

hardwood floors www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com

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