floorcoveringnewsvolume 33number 18 I fcnewsnet I the publication more retailers prefer I February 1926 2018 I $200

NEWSPAPER

LAS VEGASmdashSix manufacturerswere voted best of class in the2018 Best of Surfaces competi-tion a contest sponsoredby Floor Covering Newsand Informa Exhibitionswhich owns and operatesThe International SurfaceEvent The awards pro-gram now in its seventhyear has become thebenchmark for new prod-uct excellence and boothdesign at the industryrsquospremier trade show The winners which

announced on the showfloor at Surfaces are asfollowsbullInnovation Ceramix

from Raskin Industries bullStyle amp Design Emser Tile bullSustainability Congoleum bullTechnology MagneBuild

from MBSbullBest Booth Design (over

1200 square feet) AndersonTuftex bullBest Booth Design (under

1200 square feet) Arte Mundi The judging was initially con-

ducted by a panel of floor cover-ing retailers who were tasked withporing over the scores of entriesin each category to come up withsix finalists by the start ofContinued on page 5

Continued on page 10

By Ken Ryan

F looring industry executives are decidedly mixed in theirresponse to Hannover Fairsrsquo plans to launch a DomotexUSA trade show in Atlanta next February (FCNews Jan

815) Some executives who exhibited at Surfaces said there is ldquonodemandrdquo for another trade show and would continue supportingTISE others particularly those with operations in the Southeastsaid they plan to attend both shows in 2019 and then make a deci-

INDUSTRY PONDERSPOTENTIAL IMPACTOF DOMOTEX USA

Best of Surfaces honors innovation booth space design

By FCNews staff

IN THIS ISSUE

Resilient price hikes setto take effect in AprilPAGE 3

Distributors share in theSurfaces spotlightPAGE 8

Tight labor pool impactsinstaller compensationPAGE 16

Cast your ballots nowCast your votes in FCNewsrsquoAward of Excellence competi-tion Log on to fcnewsnet andclick on the Award ofExcellence link or visit ourFacebook and Twitter pages

FCNewsrsquo Steve Feldman left and DustinAaronson right present the

Sustainability award to Congoleum presidentCEO Chris OrsquoConnor and KurtDenman executive vice president of sales

Haines to bail out of Bravo Services Group with Bravo which dates to 2000was based on the distributorrsquosinability to justify the cost andtime commitment vs the overallreturn on investment ldquoOur decision while

difficult is simply a matterof return on our invest-ment from the efforts weput inrdquo Mike Barrett pres-ident and CEO of Hainessaid in a press release In afollow-up call Barrett toldFCNews that over the pastyear he had evaluated theldquothe time and effortrequired to attend meet-ings answer surveysattend the annual [sum-mit] plus our dues and wefrankly havenrsquot been able to justi-fy a return on those investmentsrdquo Barrett said he kept John

Carney executive director ofBravo and John Sher president

of Adleta and a group leaderapprised of his concerns theentire year ldquoSo this while nottheir hope was not a surpriserdquo he

stated ldquoJohn Carney and JohnSher are great leaders in ourindustry and we wish them andthe Bravo members the bestrdquo Bravo disseminated its own

Haines the flooring indus-tryrsquos largest distributorwith 2017 sales of approxi-

mately $495 million hasannounced plans to exit theBravo Services consortium effec-tive April 1 2018 Haines in aprepared statement said thedecision to end the relationship

By Ken Ryan release confirming the departureof Haines following a lengthymanagement review ldquoBravowishes to thank Haines for their

many contributions toBravo over the yearsrdquoCarney saidHaines recently

expanded its distributioncoverage with Armstrongto the South (FCNews Feb512) However Barrettsaid that move had nothingto do with its Bravo deci-sion Also in NovemberHaines and Belknap-WhiteGroup forged a partnershipaimed at improving theeffectiveness of both com-panies As part of the deal

Belknap will hold limited sharesin Haines through an equityinvestment which would helpHaines reduce debt and continueto invest in new initiatives

Haines president and CEO Michael Barrettsaid the distributorrsquos decision to leave theBravo Services Group boiled down to insufficient return on investment

Some industry observers believe the success of shows likeDomotex in Hannover Germany can be replicated in the US

Scan this QR code with yoursmartphone to link to our fea-tured site

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

Getting social with fcnews

4 I February 1926 2018 fcnews

this year by Magnetic Building SolutionsrsquoMagneBuild Mohawkrsquos Omnify was dis-cussed in depth Omnify is said to be theflooring industryrsquos only omni-channelsolution that connects online in-storeand product experience The idea is togive retailers the content tools andreporting to take their digital marketingto new levels with integrated socialsearch reputation management websiteoptimization and lead managementThe other product discussed heavily

here was a room visualizer calledRoomvo How it works A shopper canupload a photo of her room through herphone and see her flooring choice in highquality without the need for an app todownload Customers interact with thevisualizer intuitively in secondsManufacturers and retailers integrateRoomvo with their existing websitesenabling it for desktop tablet and mobilephone shoppers While it may take roomvisualizers to another level the judgesfelt it was not new compared to an inno-vation such as magnetic flooring Mohawk was also discussed in the

innovation category won by RaskinIndustriesrsquo Ceramix a product billed asthe industryrsquos first loose-lay LVT withbuilt-in authentic grout lines MohawkrsquosRevWood its rebranding of its laminatecollection was the product and onejudge called it ldquolaminate on steroidsrdquoMohawk calls it revolutionary laminatewood because of its waterproof nature

RevWood is also scratch and dent resist-ant and features All Pet Protection Afew of the judges felt it was more aboutmarketing than product but the water-proof claim almost put it over the top In the sustainability category won by

Congoleumrsquos Cleo Home a couple ofother products caught the judgesrsquo atten-tion First Marmoleum Click CinchLOCfrom Forbo was obviously discussed aslinoleum is arguably the most sustainableproduct out there Linoleum is naturallyhealthy water resistant and made prima-rily from renewable resources includinglinseed oil wood flour and pine rosinsThese natural ingredients provideMarmoleum Click CinchLOC with inher-ent anti-static properties to repel dustand dirt making it easy to clean therebyreducing exposure to allergens and con-tributing to better indoor air qualityThe judges also talked about Airo

Mohawkrsquos 100 recyclable carpet Airorsquosfibers are made from 100 polyester anddonrsquot absorb moisture helping to preventthe growth of allergens Itrsquos latex-freeodor free and produces no VOCs A wor-thy candidate indeed and a Best ofSurfaces winner in 2017 for Innovation This year boasted a most deserving

group of entries providing the judgeswith a tough task indeed

T his issue celebrates the Best ofSurfaces winners the awardscompetition co-sponsored by

Floor Covering News and InformaExhibitions owners and operators of TheInternational Surface Event for the pastseven years The competition highlightsinnovation technology sustainabilitystyle and design and best large and smallbooths on display at the industryrsquos pre-mier event It is structured in such a way where

only the judgesrsquo consensus choices arefeatured But that doesnrsquot mean otherproducts and companies were any lessdeserving With no honorable mentionsor runners-up the competition fails toacknowledge products that almost madeit in the judgesrsquo conversations to the veryend In fact in some cases more thanone judge may have chosen a productthat did not win because of a 5-3-1 scor-ing system So I thought it would beappropriate to pay homage to some ofthose products hereIn the style and design category won

by Emser Tilersquos Lakewood and LakehouseManningtonrsquos AduraMax Apex generatedmuch consideration The judges weredeliberating over the waterproof prod-uctrsquos on-trend looks contemporary col-ors natural wood grains and finelydetailed surface textures The planks offermultiple widths with a visual not seenanywhere else on the show floorIn the technology category captured

Best of Surfaces entries that just missed

my take

Steven Feldman

floorcoveringnews

Copyright 2018 by Roel Productions Inc All rights reserved Printed in the USA Material in thispublication may not be reproduced in any form withoutwritten permission from the publisherThe opinions expressed by columnistsdo not necessarily reflect the views ofmanagement Single copy $2 US sub-scriptions $25yr Canadian subscriptions $50 USyrForeign via air $200 USyrforeign via surface $100 USyr Printed in the USA

postmasterSend address changes to FLOOR COVERING NEWS subscrip-tion Dept151 Fairchild Avenue Ste 2 Plainview NY 11803Floor Covering News (ISSN-10794174) is published biweekly byRoel Productions Inc 550 W Old Country Road Ste 204Hicksville NY 11801 Periodicals postage paid at Hicksville NYand additional mailing offices

member

michael blick presidentceo mikefcnewsnet

steven feldmanpublishereditorial directorstevefcnewsnet

dustin aaronsonassociate publisheradvertising directordustinfcnewsnet

editorial

reginald tuckermanaging editorreggiefcnewsnet

ken ryansenior editorkenfcnewsnet

lindsay baillieassociate editorlindsayfcnewsnet

artproduction

frank notarbartoloartproduction directorfrankfcnewsnet

sales associate

nadia ramlakhannadiafcnewsnet

founderalbert wahnon 1920-2011

correspondentsleah grosskj quinn

nicole murray

columnsjim augustus armstrong marketing mastery lisbeth calandrino lisbiz strategies scott perron retailer2retailer roman basi financial fcica installments

nafcd distributorsrsquo view tom jennings lessons learned

headquarters550 w old country road suite 204

hicksville ny 11801tel 5169327860 fax 5169327639fcnewsnet website fcnewsnet

10 I February 1926 2018 fcnews

Surfaces Specifically they wereeach asked to explore all submis-sions and select their top six picksthat they believe best representedthe category in which they wereentered The most popular selec-tions by consensus in each cate-gory made it to the final roundwhich were viewed on the firstday of Surfacesmdashin some cases bythe original judges as well asselect retailers who agreed tooffer their time and input The category winners are as

follows

InnovationRaskin Industries After taking home the Best ofSurfaces award for innovation sixyears ago Raskin returns to formthis year with a win for Ceramixbilled as the industryrsquo first loose-lay LVT with built-in groutCeramix provides dealers with analternative to ceramic tile andporcelain that can be installed ina day or two While there havebeen other products with groutlines attached none haveachieved the level of realism thatis inherent with this product line ldquoWinning Best of Surfaces in

the Innovation category for thesecond time is a great accom-plishment for our entire organi-zationrdquo said Michael RaskinCEO ldquoIt means so much to berecognized as unique in a highlycompetitive marketrdquo Raskin also paid homage to

his late father Gerald Raskinwho was an innovator in his ownright ldquoI am honored and takegreat pride in knowing my fatherwould be very proud if he wasalive todayrdquo he said ldquoHe devotedhis career to developing productssince the early rsquo60s As such Ithink it would be appropriate todedicate this award to my fatherbecause he always strived toinnovate with new products thathad style and would stand outamongst the crowd If it wasnrsquotfor him I would not have had theopportunity to forge my own pathin the flooring industryrdquo

Style amp DesignEmser TileEmser Tile created Lakewoodand Lakehouse as an ode of sortsto the beautiful biodiversity ofaged trees The realistic head-turning products are offered inlong 8 x 34 glazed porcelainplanks Lakewood is marked bydistinct wooden tones that evokerich detail and texture whileLakehouse acts as an accent motifwith bold color variationldquoIt is an honor for Lakewood

and Lakehouse to be recognizedin the category of style anddesignrdquo said Barbara Haaksma

vice president of marketingldquoEmser Tile consistently looks tobring a fresh approach to designand these wood-look tile seriesdefy boundaries by offering cus-tomizable installations with strik-ing detailrdquoAccording to Emser

Lakewood and Lakehouseoffer a unique opportuni-ty for retailers to sell anddesigners to specify com-plementary collectionsldquoBy breathing new lifeinto wood-look designswe believe we have creat-ed two series that will res-onate with our customersin a lasting mannerrdquoHaaksma stated

SustainabilityCongoleumCleoFor Congoleum the newCleo brand represents anew era in sustainableflooring The mineralcomposite core is a trulyunique eco-forward basethat combines 85 locallysourced limestone with a100 PVC-free binderthat eliminates all plasti-cizers and chloro-chemi-cals the company statedEvery layer of the prod-uctrsquos construction is com-pleted in the USA estab-lishing an exceptionallysmall carbon footprint But thatrsquos just part of

the story Cleo also deliv-ers high marks on the aes-thetic front The productoffers virtually unlimitedstyle and design visualsthat have an exceptionallyhigh number of uniqueand non-repeating pat-ternsmdashas high as 60 incertain designs This isaccomplished through aninnovative direct-to-basedigital printing processthat uses 100 solvent-free inks The vibrancy ofthe visual is furtherenhanced with a ultra-clear high-performance100 solids urethanecoating that is VOC-freeand delivers uncompro-mising protection fromscratching and fadingldquoThe introduction of

Cleo and subsequentlywinning the Best ofSustainability Award atthe Surfaces show is atremendous achievementand honorrdquo said ChrisOrsquoConnor president andCEO ldquoCleo is truly differ-ent in every way and sim-ply put there is nothinglike it in the market todayThe patented construc-tion features a PVC-freeand waterproof mineral

composite core high-fidelity dig-ital imaging and ultra-clear pro-tective coating that put Cleo in acategory by itself ldquoChemical embossing for

sheet vinyl and the introductionof the worldrsquos first groutable LVT

are great examples of howCongoleum has delivered mean-ingful innovation to the flooringindustry for more than 130 yearsrdquoOrsquoConnor added ldquoIt is this com-mitment to challenging the statusquo that has enabled us to bring

Cleo the next generation of inno-vative and sustainable flooring tolife and we are grateful for therecognitionrdquo

TechnologyMagnetic Building Solutions

best of surfaces

INNOVAT ION CERAM IX FROM RASK IN INDUSTR IESFCNewsrsquo Steven Feldman second from left presents the Innovation awardto Michael Raskin president and CEO Raskin Industries as Bill Lapis leftDustin Aaronson FCNewsassociate publisher and advertising director

and Raskin Industriesrsquo Ted Rocha and John Hunter look on

STYLE amp DES IGN LAKEWOOD LAKEHOUSE FROM EMSER T ILEFCNews rsquo Aaronson and Feldman present to from left Emser TilersquosBob Baldocchi chief marketing officer and vice president of

business development Mark Seal Christine Wu Rafi Ghodsian andBarbara Haaksma VP of marketing Inset Patrick Warren SVP

TECHNOLOGY MAGNEBU ILD FROM MBS From left FCNewsrsquo Feldman and Aaronson present to ScottHumphrey CEO WFCA and Magnetic Building Systemrsquos

Shane LeBlanc and Li Huang

Continued from page 1Honoring excellence

fcnews February 1926 2018 I 11

After generating a ton of pre-show buzz the new MagneBuildline from Magnetic BuildingSolutions (MBS) lived up to itsbilling The innovative magneticinstallation system was createdby a joint collaboration between

industry leaders and experts inthe field of space and militarytechnology MBS pushes magnetic capa-

bilities to new heights providingthe industry with an easily inter-changeable interior surface solu-

tion How it works The under-layment system of MBS utilizesmagnetic technology as the foun-dation for all types of floors Toinstall users simply roll it outover any smooth and clean drysubfloor surface A key benefit of

this new technology is that it alle-viates many installation issues asfloors no longer need to be bond-ed making seams a non-issue Thanks to the innovation a

larger group of cost-consciousconsumers can push past the lim-

its of the need to be neu-tral allowing for moreadventurous interiordesign options accord-ing to the World FloorCovering Association(WFCA) whichunveiled the product andconducted demonstra-tions at the show The unveiling was

more than enough toinspire dealers to casttheir votes for the prod-uct in the technologycategory ldquoAs a newlylaunched product weare thrilled to receivethis award and to be rec-ognized as the recipientin the technology cate-goryrdquo said ScottHumphrey CEO of theWFCA ldquoMagneBuild is agame changer for ourindustry There is noth-ing like it in the worldand its applications areendlessrdquoFreida Staten

WFCA vice president ofmarketing communica-tions agreed ldquoBeing rec-ognized with the Best ofTechnology Award pro-vides us with an amazingsense of validation Theexperts who recognizedus with this award con-firmed our belief that theMBS system can andwill make a differenceThey saw an installationsystem that works withevery flooring categoryand extends the reach offloors to include wallsrdquo

Best Booth (gt1200 square feet)Anderson Tuftex Combining theAnderson and Tuftexhard and soft surfacebrands under one ban-ner not only makescommon sense (becausethis is how people livein their homes compa-ny executivesexplained) but it alsopresents a uniqueopportunity to doubledown on new ways tomarket and merchan-dise mid- to upper-endhardwood and soft sur-face products ldquoWe have reconcep-

tualized both brandsupdated the merchandis-ing along with a new

website so everything is freshrdquosaid Katie Ford director of brandstrategy ldquoItrsquos on trend with every-thing our consumer is lookingfor Shersquos not thinking abouthardwood or carpet shersquos think-ing in terms of how the overallroom is going to come togetherrdquoDealers in attendance at

Surfaces recognized and appreci-ated this strategy which is one ofthe reasons why they votedAnderson Tuftexmdashwhich madeits debut in a two-story spacemdashfor Best Booth in the large cate-gory ldquoWe were beyond thrilled toreceive the award for Best LargeBooth Design from the retailersthat attended the Surfaces showin Vegasrdquo Ford said ldquoAs wedesigned our booth the words wekept in mind were authenticthoughtful and approachable Weknew we wanted to provideshow-goers a breath of fresh air inour space and an opportunity totake in the intentionality andcraft inherent in Anderson Tuftexproductsrdquo

Best Booth (lt1200 square feet)Arte MundiArte Mundirsquos booth wasdesigned as a visual tribute to itsmission serving as a physicalextension of its primary goal toinfuse life and art into livingspaces To that end the compa-nyrsquos Surfaces presentationplayed off the modern architec-tural structures and shapesinspired by contemporary artmuseums The intended ambi-ence is one of minimalism toimpact the attendee experiencein letting its products its artpieces speak for themselves The Arte Mundi booth was

compartmentalized in a way thatpresented the companyrsquos fullspectrum of products Thisincluded current running linesnew products for 2018 as well asconceptual products And letrsquosnot forget one of the biggest high-lights of the space brilliantSwarovski crystal element floorsJohn Lee the companyrsquos pres-

ident appreciated the honorldquoArte Mundi is humbled to saythat our US debut at theSurfaces show was honored towin the Best Booth award Theintended inspiration for ourexhibit was for it to be a directreflection of our company mis-sion and our corporate beliefsBoth our marketing and designteams worked tirelessly todemonstrate the capabilities ofArte Mundi We are beyondgrateful to be recognized by thepanel of judges some of the mostrespected professionals in theindustry and in turn are motivat-ed and encouraged to continue topursue this standard of great-nessrdquo

SUSTA INAB I L I T Y CLEO FROM CONGOLEUMFCNewsrsquo Aaronson left and Feldman right present to from leftCongoleumrsquos Doty Horn SVP of style and design Kurt Denman chiefmarketing officer and EVP and Chris OrsquoConnor president and CEO

BEST LARGE BOOTH ANDERSON TUFTEXFCNews rsquo Feldman and Aaronson left and far right present theBest Large Booth award to Anderson Tuftexrsquos Katie Ford director

of brand strategy Carrie Edwards Isaac vice president and Ashley Rich Piroteala senior designer

BEST SMALL BOOTH ARTE MUND IFCNews rsquo Feldman left and Aaronson right present the BestSmall Booth award to John Lee second from right Arte Mundi

president and Michelle Lei