News

issued a message to members about available resources and information related to business operations during the Covid-19 pandemic, including offering webinars to members at no charge. The association stresses performing due diligence in helping prevent the spread of the virus. It has also posted construction site guidelines provided the Victoria, B.C.-based British Colum

bia Construction Associa

tion, which suggest: reduce the number of people on-site — if needed, adjust schedules or scale back; wear personal protective equipment at all times as long as it is safe to do so — safety goggles, masks, and gloves; do not share your personal protective equipment; workers should not congregate

Covid-19 information and resources

The National Floor Covering Association (NFCA) based in Surrey, B.C., has in break areas and lunchrooms; workers should not share tools; If possible, provide extra handwashing stations; do not share cigarettes and/or vaping equipment; do not rideshare or carpool to and from work; clean out jobsite trailers daily — arrange for commercial cleaners to clean and disinfect areas of the project; introduce an on-site Covid-19 committee to create a best practices plan to ensure worker safety; create a task force focused on supporting your company’s staff and customers; and, make sure workers know they should not come to work if they’re feeling sick. More resources with links can be found at www.nfca.ca.

Wetstyle opens award-winning showroom

Wetstyle, a manufacturer of bath fixtures and furnishings for the North American market, has unveiled its new showroom, located in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Que., on Montreal’s South Shore. The space marks the final component of the company’s complex that opened in January 2019, consolidating the brand’s manufacturing operations, executive offices, and showroom in a single location. Atelier Moderno, a design and architecture firm, collaborated closely with the Wetstyle Design Lab team to create the showroom space. The project was honoured at the 2020 Grands Prix du Design with the Best Showroom Award.

Natural Stone Institute announces awards

Mohawk, Fabric Sources partner to create medical gowns

Calhoun, Ga.-based Mohawk Industries and Fabric Sources International (FSI) have combined resources to address urgent medical supply needs during the Covid-19 outbreak. Using fabric provided by FSI, Mohawk Home’s Daltonbased rug manufacturing facility is providing industrial sewing equipment for its skilled employees to produce medical protective gowns for doctors, nurses and other care providers. Healthcare providers wear these gowns in non-surgical settings to prevent their clothing from being contaminated by patient body fluids. The gowns are worn when a patient’s symptoms are consistent with Covid-19 or other infectious diseases and contact precautions must be taken. The Mohawk Home team quickly developed a process for cutting the fabric pattern and sewing together the gown components, the company says.

Stephen Falk of Stone Truss Systems accepts the Grande Pinnacle award on behalf of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners during the Natural Stone Institute Awards Ceremony at TISE 2020. He is pictured with Veronafiere’s Chiara DeLuca and 2019 Natural Stone Institute president Greg Osterhout.

The winners of the 2019 Pinnacle Awards were announced during the Natural Stone Institute Awards Ceremony at TISE 2020 in Las Vegas, NV. Twenty-two projects were honoured with Awards of Excellence. The 2019 Grande Pinnacle Award was presented to Pei Cobb Freed

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& Partners of New York, N.Y., for its detailed stone-clad lobby at 7 Bryant Park. Two Canadian firms also received awards for 2019 from the Oberlin, Ohio-based Natural Stone Institute. In the Commercial Exterior category, Polycor of Quebec City, QC, won an award for its Grande Arche de la Defense in Paris, France. In the Public Landscapes/Parks/Memorials category, CED Stone North America of Montreal, QC, was recognized for its Drexel Square work in Philadelphia, Penn.

Concrete position statements published

The Concrete Polishing Council (CPC), a subsidiary of the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC), St. Louis, M0, has published five Position Statements on topics of concern to the polished concrete contractor and those who specify polished concrete. The position statements clarify the polished concrete contractor’s point of view for architects, engineers, owners and others. The five statements are: Slab Protection by Others; Slip Resistance of Polished Concrete; Coordinating the Concrete and Polishing Contractors’ Subcontracts; Separation of Semirigid Concrete Floor Joint Fillers; and, Effects of Slab-Surface Finish Density of Polished Concrete. The CPC has also developed two pre-construction checklists for floors to receive a polished finish. They are “Checklist for the Pre-Construction Conference” and “Checklist for the Polished Concrete Pre-Construction Conference.”

NeoCon 2020 cancelled

After consultation with leaders and partners within the commercial design industry, NeoCon show organizer TheMart has decided to cancel NeoCon 2020 due to the on-going Covid-19 outbreak. The next NeoCon in Chicago, Ill., will be June 14-16, 2021.

New Domotex Asia/ChinaFloor dates

The organizers of Domotex Asia/ChinaFloor in Shanghai, China, have confirmed that August 31 to September 2, 2020 are the new dates after the spring flooring show was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the new date, the exhibition gets also a new location, the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC), the largest exhibition centre in Shanghai. Organizers say that September is the month with most international visits to Chinese suppliers. The NECC is located in the immediate vicinity of Shanghai-Hongqiao International Airport and the Hongqiao transportation hub, with connections to metro, highspeed trains and buses.

Martinez awarded FCICA scholarship

Eduardo Martinez Eduardo Martinez is the most recent recipient of the Bruce Newbrough Memorial Certified Installation Manager Program (CIM) Scholarship. Martinez is a project manager with Sansom Park, Tex.-based Martinez Carpet Installations. The scholarship is provided in partnership with West Bloomfield, Mich.-based

Flooring Contractors Association

(FCICA) and Ardex Americas of Aliquippa, Penn. The scholarship assists with the costs associated with the entire CIM program, including application, content and assessment fees. The scholarship was created to honour Bruce Newbrough, an Ardex director of technical services and later applications development, who had a passion for advancing the flooring industry through education.

Wright joins Wagner Meters

Rogue River, Ore.-based Wagner Meters Jason Wright has added Jason Wright to the sales team as a business development specialist for new products. Wright brings more than 32 years of experience specializing in hardwood flooring. Starting in 1986 with a small sundry distributor in Medford, Ore., Wright held positions in product development, support, and marketing programs for several flooring companies before becoming national sales manager for Tarkett Group.

Braxton-Bragg welcomes Rice

Braxton-Bragg of Knoxville, Tenn., has Shawn Rice hired stone industry veteran Shawn Rice to manage its outside sales efforts. Rice has more than 25 years of experience in strategy and sales with both market and product development skills. Most recently, Rice directed national sales at Lackmond Stone of Marietta, Ga. Prior to Lackmond Stone, Rice was with Minneapolis, Minn.-based Granite City Tool and at GranQuartz of Norcross, Ga.

WFCA inducts Dossche into Hall of Fame

Dalton, Ga.-based World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) announced at TISE 2020 the granting of free primary membership, to build momentum for its Piet Dossche “Be a Part of the Solution” initiative that includes the formation of the

Floor Covering Education Foundation

(FCEF), the industry-wide effort to solve the installation crisis. The WFCA also officially welcomed Piet Dossche, c.e.o. and founder of USFloors, into the WFCA Hall of Fame.

New leadership roles at AHF Products

AHF Products of Mountville, Penn., has Michael Bell announced that Mike Bell, previously the chief operating officer (c.o.o.) for the company, has been appointed as the company’s chief commercial officer (c.c.o.). Darrell Keeling, formerly c.o.o. of Northwest Hardwoods, with be joining AHF as its new c.o.o. The c.c.o.’s role will be to segment and expand AHF’s customer and distributor base, both domestically and internationally, and also to introduce pro ducts. As c.c.o., Bell will be responsible

Darrel Keeling for global sales, product management, marketing, R&D and customer service. He has over 30 years in wood products manufacturing and product development, five of which have been in flooring. Bell served as vice president of the Armstrong Flooring Wood Division and v.p. of operations for Europe with Armstrong World Industries. Prior to Northwest Hardwoods, 31-year industry veteran Keeling held manufacturing leadership roles with Flakeboard/Arauco and Roseburg Forest Products.

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NWFA launches Virtual Wood Flooring Expo

St. Louis, Mo.-based National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) has an nounced that its first-ever Virtual Wood Flooring Expo will be held Wednesday, April 29 to Friday, May 1. The three-day event will feature education sessions, product demonstrations, technical skills demonstrations, and networking. Details include: six live education sessions with live Q&A; five recorded education ses sions; four skills demonstrations from NWFA Regional Instructors; six exhibitor demonstrations; and virtual appointments from 11:00 to 3:00 on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as 11:00 to 2:00 on Fri day. Free registration for the Virtual Expo is open at www.nwfaexpo.org.

DesignEx Vancouver Island

Just before Covid-19 gathering restrictions went into place, the Interior Designers of Canada (IDC) of Toronto, Ont., and the IDIBC Vancouver Island Chapter hosted another edition of DesignEx March 12 in Victoria, B.C. The event brought together IDC members,

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manufacturers, suppliers, and industry representatives on Vancouver Island, B.C. With over 145 designers in attendance, the event was held at the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria and featured Vancouver, B.C., Interior Designers Institute of British Columbia-approved (IDCEC) seminars, a networking lunch, and the signature table-top show including a door prize draw. DesignEx Vancouver Island presented three seminars including “Design Thinking at Work,” “The Waltz of Light and Architecture,” and “Carving New Spaces Together: Interior Design in Cultural Collaboration with Indigenous Artists.” The event also featured a tabletop show where 52 companies showcased their latest products and services. Attendees had the opportunity to explore new products and connect with manufacturers, suppliers, fellow interior designers, architects and others from the building industry, all in one place while enjoying drinks and snacks.