Hardwood Floors June/July 2026

CONTENTS

PUBLICATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE Robert McNamara | Chair, Sheoga Hardwood Flooring Jason Elquest | Blackhawk Floors Inc. Steve Brattin | Chair Stephanie Owen | President & Chief Executive Officer Matt Casey | Technical Services Officer Anita Howard | Membership & Meetings Officer Libby White Johnston | Marketing & Communications Officer Katie Norton | Education & Certification Officer Dana Rogers | Chief Financial Officer NWFA LEADERSHIP

Industry Insights

20 Government Affairs Renewable fuel standard.

By Dana Lee Cole

24 Market Matters Directional clarity.

By Santo Torcivia

Business Best Practices

28 Sales Savvy Discounting is the

By Paul Reilly

Lenny Hall | Endurance Floor Company Inc. Kevin Mullany | Benchmark Wood Floors Inc. Jim Schumacher | Mirka

penalty for sameness. 32 Special Content Why join a trade association?

By Anita Howard

PUBLICATION TEAM

Libby White Johnston | Publisher | libby.johnston@nwfa.org Burt Bollinger | Editor | burt.bollinger@nwfa.org Rhonda M. May | Asst. Editor/Creative Manager | rhonda.may@nwfa.org Brett Miller | Technical Editor Bridget Norlie | Engagement Manager | bridget.norlie@nwfa.org Laura Hermann | Advertising Coordinator | laura.hermann@nwfa.org

At the Site 36 Sponsored Content 100 years of passion, innovation, and setting benchmarks in wood flooring. 72 Tech Talk Ensuring finishes are not

By Berger-Seidle

affected by the heat. 78 Hardwood Hints Scrapers.

14 Research Park Drive St. Charles, Missouri 63304 P : 800.422.4556 Local : 636.519.9663 F: 636.519.9664 E: news@hardwoodfloorsmag.com W: hardwoodfloorsmag.com

By Terry Patton

82 Technical Publication Tip Finish properties.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Burt Bollinger Johannes Boonstra

Product Focus

Libby White Johnston Terry Patton Paul Reilly

84 Factory Finished Flooring 88 Finishes, Applicators, Fillers, and Maintenance Products

Steve Brattin Damian Bush Dana Lee Cole Anita Howard

Mark Scheller Santo Torcivia

Also in this Issue

ADVERTISING SALES

6 Chair’s Cut

By Steve Brattin

8 Business Briefs 12 Wood Stock

Katie Schenk Advertising & Brand Growth Director katie.schenk@nwfa.org | 314.488.4669

By Libby White Johnston

38 NWFA Wood Flooring Expo Wrap 44 NWFA Service Awards 66 Throwback WFOY 90 Seen at NWFA Schools 92 New Products 94 Overheard on NWFA Podcasts 95 Meet our Members: Izaiah Barrow 96 Ad Index 80 Five Things I Wish I Knew

By Anita Howard By Mark Scheller

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: 14 Research Park Drive, St. Charles, MO 63304. Phone: 800.422.4556. Printing office: Walsworth, 306 N. Kansas Ave., Marceline, MO 64658. Printed in the U.S. 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 © 2026 by the National Wood Flooring Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. Hardwood Floors' subscription base is AAM audited. An AAM audit provides advertisers and agencies with assurance that what they choose to invest in does, in fact, reach target audiences for specific ads. The AAM audit also helps media companies by documenting the quality of their audiences.