News + Letters

NEWS

Slave labour drives remediation program to address any Canada’s customs tariff amendments non-compliance and adverse human On July 1, 2020, amendments to Canada’s rights impacts caused by the use of Customs Tariff and the Sched- forced labour in your business and its ule to the Customs Tariff took supply chains. effect, officially prohibiting from • Develop, roll-out and implement interimportation into Canada goods nal and supplier communications, stakethat are mined, manufactured holder engagement, employee training, or produced wholly or in part by supplier codes of conduct and effective forced labour. “Forced labour” procurement and contracting practices is commonly defined to be all to address the risk of forced labour in work or service which is exacted your business or its supply chains. from any person under the Further information from the federal govmenace of any penalty and for ernment and the Canadian Border Serwhich the said person has not vices Agency (CBSA) as to how this prohioffered herself or himself volun- bition will be enforced is still forthcoming. tarily. “Wholly or in part” would reasonably include the presence Loferski appointed of forced labour anywhere in a Bostik director of marketing supply chain. According to the Wauwatosa, international law firm Gowl- Wis.-based Bostik, ing WLG, Canada now joins a specialty the U.S., the U.K., Australia and adhesives and many other of its other trading installation partners that have already taken systems for legislative and regulatory steps building constructo combat modern slavery. tion, recently Canadian boards of directors announced that and CEOs must now take ac- Erik Loferski Eric Loferski has tion, advises the firm. Here are joined the five things Canadian businesses company as director of marketing, must do, it urges: Consumer & Construction Business Unit • Take steps to map your supply — North America. Loferski was most chains and understand the recently director of marketing at Milwauimplications of this new pro- kee, Wis.-based commercial plumbing hibition on your operations, product supplier Zurn Industries. Prior to procurement practices and that, he was at Wigwam Mills of Sheboysupply chains. an, Wis., and Milwaukee, Wis.-based • Conduct risk-based due dili- Briggs & Stratton. gence of your supply chains to assess whether forced la- Church partnership bour is present. to help create affordable homes • Develop and implement ef- Investments made by the Government fective internal controls and a of Canada and a partnership with the compliance and reporting pro- Toronto, Ont.-based United Church of gram to monitor and report Canada, means that up to 5,000 new on whether the prohibition affordable housing units will be built against forced labour is being around the country over the next 15 adhered to within your busi- years. The federal government Affordable ness and its supply chains. Housing Innovation Fund is providing the • Develop and implement a United Church of Canada’s newly formed 10 November/December 2020

United Property Resource Corporation

(UPRC), with a $20 million line of credit to be accessed for pre-development and pre-construction costs as the UPRC builds affordable housing across Canada. The UPRC will develop over 200 strategic sites in the United Church of Canada’s land inventory. More than 30 projects are currently under development by the UPRC, with a minimum of LEED Gold Certification or equivalent to be pursued for each project. At least 10 percent of units in a project will meet or exceed minimum local building code requirements for accessibility.

Shaw expands U.S. SPC floor manufacturing

Shaw Industries Group is expanding its resilient manufacturing capabilities in Ringgold, Ga. The company is investing approximately $20 million US to add to its existing SPC manufacturing at Plant RP. The latest installment — part two of an anticipated three-phased expansion — will come online in Q1 2021 with an additional phase of expansion being fully realized by Q1 2022. Shaw started manufacturing LVT in the facility in 2016.

M-D welcomes Fredrik Olsson as v.p. of sales

Fredrik Olsson joined the Professional division of Mississauga, Ont.-based M-D Building Products as the new v.p. of sales. Olsson initially gained his flooring experience during a tenure at Atlanta, Ga.-based The Home Depot where he

NEWS

was the product development merchant, Global Sourcing for a wide range of categories including flooring products. He then moved to North Fredrik Olsson American tile and stone distributor Emser Tile of Los Angeles, Calif., as its merchandising manager. Olsson also spent time at retailer Ikea where he gained knowledge of retail sales management and sourcing. He is based at his home office in Atlanta. A sampling of highlights from the Q2 report include: Q2 sales growth was down year-over-year by 11.7 percent during the quarter; Q3 forecasts are 15.4 points higher than Q2 results; full year 2020 forecasts are now up 10.3 points from Q1’s estimates; 18 percent of distributors have had retailers/ showrooms that they distribute to close in Q2 (versus 48 percent in Q1); 76 percent of distributors are still seeing issues with product delivery and sourcing; and, 100 percent of distributors had orders cancelled in the quarter due to Covid-19. According to Kevin Gammonley, NAFCD executive vice president, “the negative impact of the shutdown has not been as severe as initially feared.”

Collaboration to provide Uzin adds Nick Derr flooring contractor tools as technical manager

Pasadena, Calif.-based Measure Square, Aurora, Colo.-based a floor covering estimating platform for Uzin has ancommercial construction, and Spec-Intel nounced the of Chicago, Ill., an automated commercial addition of Nick product data company, have announced Derr as technical the integration their software platforms. manager, Tile & Said to save flooring contractors time and Stone. Bringing over further reduce the liability of manual data 20 years of industry entry, the technology is designed to ef- experience, Derr’s ficiently manage product data from bid Nick Derr responsibilities will to closeout packages, including sample be to help guide the ordering and product labels. company in best installation practices and provide training for its sales team, NAFCD distributors distributor partners and contractor base. project Q3 sales uptick Uzin offers a web-based job cost calculaThe North American Association of tor, and products such as primers, vapour Floor Covering Distributors (NAFCD) of moisture barriers, leveling compounds, Chicago, Ill., has released the results of its adhesives, tools and accessories. NAFCD Quarterly Sales Trend Survey for the second quarter Engineered Floors of 2020. The plans U.S. LVT production research and Dalton, Ga.-based Engineered Floors has benchmarking tool announced its decision to commence LVT collect data from production in the company’s Seretean industry distribu- facility. The revitalization of the 1.2 tors on sales results million-square-foot facility is intended to from the prior not only drastically reduce lead times, the quarter along with company says, but also allow for the Kevin Gammonley forecasts for the necessary flexibility to expand in the upcoming quarter. future. The U.S. domestic production of LVT is said to provide opportunities for 12 November/December 2020 research and development, design and quality assurance.

Unilin invests €11 million in Belgium site

Unilin has decided to increase its production capacity at its Vielsalm, Belgium, site to meet growing demand for laminate flooring, with increasingly higher quality requirements. The company employs 300 people at the site. The manufacturer says it is constantly striving to become a “zero harm” company and is the first and only flooring manufacturer to be awarded the European Ecolabel for its laminate products.

Schluter opens Texas distribution, office, and training centre

Schluter-Systems has opened a new distribution centre, office and training facility in Dallas-Fort Worth, Tex. The 500,000 square foot centre will carry the majority of the company’s 8,000 SKUs available in North America. The facility’s warehouse management system will be used to optimize all warehouse and

distribution processes, making the picking and packing procedures considerably more efficient, the company says. The facility is also a product customer, it adds. As an

example, the company decided to install its Ditra-Heat-Duo membrane with a built-in thermal break over the concrete slab with over 15 miles of its own heating cables. The membrane system is over 25,000 square feet and managed by 140 thermostats and power modules and warms both the porcelain tile and LVT floors.

NWFA announces 2020 wood floor awards

The St. Louis, Mo.-based National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) has announced the winners of it 2020 Wood Floor of the Year Awards. For the first time since the competition was launched in 1990, nonmembers were eligible to enter their floors. Recipients of the awards included: Endurance Floor Company of Davie, Fla., in the categories of Members’ Choice and Best Circular/Curved floor (shown); Young Brothers Hardwood Floors of Westminster, Colo., for Best Color/Finish & Textured Wood; Potter’s Custom Floors of Calistoga, Calif., for Best Parquetry; Archetypal Imagery of New York, N.Y., for Best Marquetry/Inlay; Yantarnaya Pryad of Khimki, Russia, for Best Historic Restoration and Best Use of Technology; and, Peachey Hardwood Flooring of Reedsville, Penn., for Manufacturer Spotlight. The awards were developed to encourage and recognize innovative craftsmanship and design in wood flooring installations. The 2020 awards presentation can be viewed at https://youtu.be/kRQyKf_60ww. The 2021 awards will be presented during the NWFA 2021 Wood Flooring Expo, to be held April 28-30 in Baltimore, Md.

I4F introduces new labelling system

Hamont, Belgium-based I4F, a group of companies providing patents and technologies to the flooring industry, has launched a new labelling system. The system accompanies its offer to all I4F licensees to sign up for a specific non-assertion agreement providing extra protection worldwide on certain patents for new materials with a locking. The development follows the separate settlement agreements I4F signed with Unilin of Wielsbeke, Belgium, and Viken, Sweden-based Välinge. Many I4F licensees have already applied for, and received, a non-assertion and will receive new sets of I4F labels as from July 1, 2020. Labels will differ according to four distinct geographical areas. All remaining I4F licensees are eligible to sign up for this additional protection from I4F, which will include separate fees. The new region-specific labels, based on the L2C program, are designed to protect I4F’s licensees, and their customers, from any potential infringement claims linked to those patents on new materials products including SPC, LVT and WPC with a locking system.

Material Bank adds Tarkett to partner pool

Material Bank, a free online service for industry professionals in North America, has added Tarkett to it pool of partners. With the service, architects and designers are said to be able to perform complex searches and explore new products across hundreds of brands and thousands of materials. Users can now request samples of hundreds of Tarkett’s soft surface and resilient flooring products and are able to filter materials by finish, design, colour, performance, and technical attributes on the platform.

LETTERS

FloorFolio awarded first E.U. patent

FloorFolio Industries of Edison, N.J., has been granted its first European Union Patent, giving its EnviroQuiet LVT a total of five patents. Already protected in the U.S. and Canada, the company says, the acquisition of the European Patent for the LVT product line strengthens and extends the innovative method of manufacturing for luxury vinyl tile/plank to be permanently attached to a rubber acoustical underlayment. Its product allows end users to directly glue-down an LVT with an affixed rubber sound pad that is said to cut installation time in half. The E.U. patent certifies full protection of all EnviroQuiet products.

Kellie Ballew named Shaw v.p. of Global Sustainability

Kellie Ballew has been promoted to vice president of Global Sustainability at Dalton, Ga.-based

Shaw Industries

Group. A 25-year company veteran, most recently Kellie Ballew serving as director of sustainability, Ballew has been focused on Shaw’s commercial business to ensure that the company’s sustainability strategy and execution helps create a competitive advantage for Shaw and its brands. Ballew will expand that role of internal consultant and subject matter

expert to the enterprise.

Re: Coverings e-letter Sixteen tons, other underlining issues that affect our posted on www.coveringscanada.ca lives and our future. Very few have come out and pointed out all the wrongs that Hi Kerry, all cultures have participated in. I stand I don’t normally reply or comment on corrected, lots of people have come out Editor’s notes or commentaries but after and pointed out the wrongs that our govreading your commentary I was com- ernments have participated in our history. pelled to write to you. Thank you for such However, those behaviors were culturally an insightful article. In the current times the norm at the time and culturally acwhen we are bombarded by “black lives ceptable at the time. Yes, we have come matter” issues (not that these are not im- a long way since but it’s unfortunate that portant issues), we get distracted from we can’t see the parallels of some of the Canada’s floorcovering magazine 13

LETTERS

events in modern day. Just like the Americans did not learn from the mistakes of the Spanish Flu to prevent the spread of Covid 19. I am now rambling, don’t get me started on Trump. I wish your perspective is discussed more in the mainstream media to get people thinking and questioning more about what our leaders are doing. Simply uneducated they are about credit. Talking cial education. They are not taught this in school sufficiently and most just stumble

giving away money is not sustainable. My 20-year-old son is on the receiving end as he is getting his $2000/month for the last few months, so yeah, it’s great. He is among the lucky ones that live at home and are supported by his parents for school and shelter. However, the governefits now, but what will be his price in his future? Also, I like your point about the unsuspecting victims (young kids) with credit cards who are not taught the devastating toll of credit card debt. As adults, we tend to forget how naïve kids are or to my son, who is 2nd year university, how apparently unexposed they are to finan-

ment doesn’t discriminate, so he benWith Super SAM 125 ®

your neighbors aren’t that loud.

and learn as they go through life if they don’t have parents who teach them. Again, thank you. I used to work in the Tile industry which is why I subscribed to your magazine. Now I am in the wallcovering industry. Moving up in the world. Lol. Melody Sum Odyssey Wallcoverings

Your racist and shouldn’t be putting your own racist opinion on a publication for flooring. I could debate your ideas if they were published in your magazine. Bob Sinden C&C Flooring

Hi Bob, Thanks for your time and your interest in Coverings magazine.

From my perspective, there is quite a bit to talk about in a very short space. First, to be accurate, I am definably not a racist. Of course, we are all entitled to our opinions, but the term “racist” is what they call in debate an ad hominem (at the man) assault and in a formal setting you would lose, as it’s a fallacy.

We have spoken many times on the importance of open discussion on current social issues in a business magazine. Business cannot function in an asocial environment, and politics determines how much you can make and how much you can keep. Books have been written….

That said, our policy of long standing is to provide an open forum for discussion, and an open chance for anybody that has a different take on what we cover in the magazine or newsletters.

The floor is yours, and it is probable we can get your response in the current issue if it’s posted today or tomorrow. We go to press on Wednesday, so I will have to tear up a page to get you in, but I can try, or I can propose an alternative.

Please note, you said “debate” and “ideas.” I cannot promise to publish emotional name-calling. Over to you.

Kerry Knudsen

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