NWFA’s
NWFA’s 2014 Wood Flooring Expo Grows By 30% Photos By Gary Miller Chesterfield, MO–The National Wood Flooring Association’s (NWFA) Wood Flooring Expo has continued its growth trend for the third year in a row. The 2014 Expo, which took place recently in Nashville, TN, grew by 30 percent, with attendance topping 3,000 for the first time in more than five years. The show was at the new Music City Center in Downtown Nashville. The trade show had 20 more companies on the floor than in 2013, with 51 first-time exhibitors. “We’re very pleased with this growth,” states Michael Martin, President & CEO of NWFA, headquartered here. “It demonstrates that our industry is recovering after a sustained economic downturn. To have our show grow 30 percent in 2012, 20 percent in 2013, and now 30 percent again in 2014, is an indication that we can finally relax a little as an industry and start to enjoy our successes.” The NWFA completely overhauled the Expo in 2012, rebuilding the show, and the show staff, from the ground up. “We’ve tweaked the show a bit each year since then,” said Martin, “but essentially, we’ve found a formula that works for our industry that we’re pretty happy with.” Changes in 2014 included additional trade show hours, as well as expanded education hours. “This year, we tried something new as well in response to attendee surveys,” Martin explained. “We added a three-hour Wood Flooring University track on the last day of the show to give our attendees a deep-dive into issues affecting their businesses. We had tracks for certification, contractors, and for distributors and manufacturers. We also added a mill tour to our program, hosted by Somerset Hardwood Flooring, in conjunction with two continuing education units for architects and designers. This is the first time we’ve offered this kind of tour to reinforce our education sessions, and we had a waiting list of people wanting to participate. It was very wellreceived.” Another education change was adding the NWFACP Symposium to the front end of the show and bringing in speakers that had expertise in areas impacting certified professionals. This helped to increase Symposium attendance by more than 50 percent from 2013. Also new this year was entertainment. Because the Expo was in Nashville, also known as Music City, music was incorporated into every aspect of the show. A bluegrass quartet opened the show, the keynote speaker, Robin Crow, incorporated music into his performance, the welcome reception included a live local band, and the Awards Dinner featured a private concert by CMA and Grammy winner, Pam Tillis. “We’re proud of what we accomplished this year,” says Martin, “but we’re fully aware that we need to make it even bigger and better next year in St. Louis for NWFA’s 30th anniversary.” The 2015 Wood Flooring Expo will be held April 27-30 in St. Louis at the Edward Jones Dome, home of the St. Louis Rams. Visit www.nwfa.org for more information. At the Awards Dinner, Dana Lee Cole of the Hardwood Federation, Washington, DC, briefly explained to flooring manufacturers, distributors and others in attendance what her organization does. Tommy Maxwell of Maxwell Hardwood Flooring, Monticello, AR, offered to take two people on a two-day duck hunt at his duck hunting club in AR if they contributed at least 0 to the Hardwood Federation and won the drawing they had to win this trip. About ,000 was raised for the Hardwood Federation the evening of the Awards Dinner. Futhermore, during the National Wood Flooring’s Board of Directors’ meeting at the Expo in Nashville, Tommy Maxwell (Maxwell Hardwood Flooring, Monticello, AR), Rick Holden (Derr Flooring Co., Willow Grove, PA), and Don Finkell (American OEM, Greenville, SC) each committed ,000 to the Hardwood Federation and challenged the rest of the Board to match by donating what they could to either the PAC, the Operating Fund or both. The National Wood Flooring Association is a not-for-profit trade organization, with nearly 3,000 member companies worldwide, dedicated to educating consumers, architects, designers, specifiers and builders in the uses and benefits of wood flooring. The NWFA is located at 111 Chesterfield Industrial Boulevard, Chesterfield, MO 63005, and can be contacted at 800-422-4556 (USA & Canada), 636-519-9663 (local and international), or online at www.nwfa.org. ■ 24 JUNE 2014 ■ NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE
Connor and Kevin Cloer, Brad Bradley, Roland Weaver and Bobby Cloer, Oakcrest Hardwood Flooring, Buena Vista, GA; and Michael Steele, Floors Inc., Opelika, AL Mike Gaines, Northland Corp., LaGrange, KY; Vera Shekhets, RQ Floors, New York, NY; Janos Spitzer, Flooring Consultant, New York, NY; and Tim Girardi, Northland Corp. Chris Moore and John Patterson, Taylor Lumber Inc., McDermott, OH Mark Miller, Josh Brennan and Jon Mixell, Frank Miller Lumber Co. Inc., Union City, IN Tom Supplee and Richard Pumphrey, Pennsylvania Lumbermens/Indiana Lumbermens Insurance Co., Philadelphia, PA Lisa Durbin, Brian Greenwell, Tressa Samdal and Amber Stringer, Mullican Flooring, Johnson City, TN Rich Miller, RM Design, Greenville, SC; Crystal Oldham, Hardwood Forest Foundation, Atlanta, GA; Sally Johnson, Batey Ltd., Mt. Pleasant, IA; and Jim McNutt, Woodstream Hardwoods, Knoxville, TN Rose Mary Cummings, Tommy Maxwell and Kristi Prince, Maxwell Hardwood Flooring, Monticello, AR Justin Rutledge and Darwin Murray, Spring Creek Flooring, West Plains, MO; Matt Stevens, Clint Gorham and Brook Davis, Floor & Décor, Atlanta, GA; and Steve Bunch, Spring Creek Flooring Steve Arnold, Missouri Walnut LLC, Neosho, MO Additional photos on next page JUNE 2014 ■ NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 25
