Pergo Partners with The Home Depot for Flooring Makeovers
ATLANTA—Pergo and The Home Depot teamed up with the American Widow Project, a national nonprofit supporting military widows, to thank two Atlanta women with flooring makeovers.
“When thanking our military, it’s important to recognize the service and sacrifice of their families, too,” said Mary Boland, senior manager of brand marketing for Pergo. “It is an honor and a privilege to support these women as they rebuild their lives, and we hope these home makeovers bring added joy to their holidays.”
Erikka Mitchell, widow of U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Omoro Mitchell, used the gift to repay her sister for supporting the family since 2013. She chose Pergo Outlast+ Antique Cherry to replace their worn-out carpet.
“When Omor passed, my sister graciously took us in and used her savings to pay for the services,” said Mitchell. “Home repairs took a backseat while she supported us, so these beautiful floors are an incredible way for my son and me to say, ‘thanks for everything.’”
Mitchell then paid-it-forward to Kara Gardner, 10 years after U.S. Army Sgt. Freeman Gardner died in Iraq. Since 2007, Gardner has fronted costly home repairs while pursuing her Doctorate.
“Like most military widows, I’ve struggled to make decisions without my husband by my side or his full income,” said Gardner. “I’ve needed new floors for a while, but other things took priority. This is a dream come true–I’m excited to invite guests into my home again.”
Pergo laminate flooring is made from recycled wood and the highest quality materials that are safe for families and pets.
For more, call (800) 337-3746 or visit pergo.com.
CARE Names Bolden First Full-Time Director
DALTON—Jacy Bolden is the first full-time director of the California Carpet Stewardship Program (CARE).
Bolden comes to CARE with extensive experience in product stewardship, waste and environmental policy as the founder of consulting firm, The JBC Groups. Her work includes corporate sales, solid waste systems, recycling and composting operations, and nonprofit management, as well as municipal and local government program operations and policy development. In 2004, she was named Recycler of the Year by the California Resource Recovery Association.
“We are delighted to welcome Jacy to the California team,” said Robert Peoples, CARE executive director. “The program is growing rapidly and has extensive responsibilities in increasing collection, recycling and market development. Jacy’s depth and breadth of experience is a major addition as we strive to engage stakeholders from carpet mills to local government to retailers, installers and processors in the business of recycling carpet. We have a major challenge to meet the new demands of AB 1158, and Jacy will play a key role in ensuring success.”
In collaboration with Peoples and the CARE team, Bolden will be responsible for the management and administration of all aspects of the program, including delivering services to its target audiences to increase reuse, recycling and diversion of post-consumer carpet discards in California.
For more, call (706) 428-2127 or visit carpetrecovery.org.
Mohawk to Acquire Godfrey Hirst Group
CALHOUN—Mohawk Industries has agreed to acquire the Godfrey Hirst Group, a flooring company in Australia and New Zealand. Mohawk operates a warehouse and sales network in Australia and New Zealand to distribute the company’s wood, laminate, LVT, vinyl and carpet products.
Established in 1865, Godfrey Hirst provides broadloom, modular carpet and hard surface products for both residential and commercial applications. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the first half of 2018, pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
“This is a great opportunity for Godfrey Hirst, our employees, customers and suppliers,” said R.G. (Kim) McKendrick, CEO and chairman of Godfrey Hirst Group. “Mohawk and Godfrey Hirst share a long history as flooring industry leaders and a commitment to product innovation, design, and superior customer service. This common heritage in our cultures, performance expectations and focus on excellence will enhance our growth opportunities in both soft and hard flooring.”
Jeffrey Lorberbaum, Mohawk’s chairman and CEO, added, “Mohawk’s strategy in Australia and New Zealand has been to build a leading position in the flooring market. Godfrey Hirst’s marketing, manufacturing, and distribution leadership will complement our current hard surface distribution and strengthen our portfolio. We will leverage our global flooring resources and talent to support Godfrey Hirst’s outstanding management and accelerate their growth strategies.”
For more, call (706) 629-7721 or visit mohawkind.com.
Coburger Joins Nemo as Director of Product Merchandising
NEW YORK—Matthew Coburger has joined Nemo Tile + Stone as director of product merchandising. In this role, he will be in charge of streamlining Nemo’s distribution processes, presenting a consistent approach to all markets.
Previously marketing manager at Merola Tile, Coburger has a strong background in the tile and stone industry, which he plans to leverage with his new role with Nemo. With an eye for photography, he appreciates tile as a beautiful and versatile medium for self-expression and representation. In his role, he will also be helping to inspire Nemo’s consumer base with the development of new collateral showcasing Nemo’s innovative and versatile collections, allowing them to visualize how the product will look in their home.
For more, call (212) 505-0009 or visit nemotile.com.
Emser Tile Makes Training Top 125 List
LOS ANGELES—Emser Tile has been named a 2018 Training Top 125 winner. The award, now in its 18th year, is determined by factors such as the scope of development programs, financial investment in employee development, and how learning and development programs are leveraged to achieve business goals and objectives.
“The 2018 Training Top 125 winners are game changers,” said Training magazine editor-in-chief Lorri Freifeld. “They constantly look for innovative ways to effectively deliver and measure employee training, and they are rewarded with an engaged, passionate workforce and organizational success. Congratulations to these stellar organizations for their unwavering commitment to learning and employee growth.”
Emser’s customized, multi-tiered learning and development program, Emser University, uses videos and webinars to teach a myriad of topics in both on-site and virtual trainings–from a flooring industry overview to technical specifications and usage guidelines.
“We designed Emser University to be a venue for educating and training our associates and customers, and it has grown to be one of our most appreciated and valuable initiatives,” said Eddie Loussararian, training manager for Emser. “It is a privilege to be entrusted with developing such motivated and talented individuals.”
For more, call (323) 650-2000 or visit emser.com.
QFloors Hosts ‘Dive Deeper’ User Conference on Cruise Ship
COZUMEL, MEXICO—New partnerships, new products and new features were announced during the 2017 QFloors “Dive Deeper” User Conference, which was held on the Norwegian Escape cruise ship.
The flooring software company hosted 61 people at the cruise conference, and attendees participated in business and software training, collaboration and roundtable discussions during the days at sea. When the ship docked at the various ports, they relaxed and enjoyed the Caribbean sunshine.
QFloors CFO Trent Ogden, provided in-depth business training for attendees. “Dive Deeper is the perfect theme for this conference because this is not just a high level ‘click here to do this’ type of software training. We’re not just showing how to access important numbers and reports through QFloors; we’re teaching them how to evaluate and use those numbers to make the very best decisions for their business.”
During the conference, Chad Ogden, president of the company, announced a new partnership with Measure Square Corp., and there was a great deal of buzz around the new browser-based cloud software product, QPro POS+.
The conference concluded with Chad leading a roundtable discussion on features attendees would most like to see added to the legacy QFloors software.
The conference was time well spent, according to attendee Brook Ledbetter of National Flooring and Supply. “I realized that we are only taking advantage of a quarter of what QFloors can do for us. As a small operation, where everyone wears multiple hats, there is so much more that we can incorporate that will really help us out. It’s been helpful to find out what we don’t know, as funny as that might sound.”
For more, call (801) 563-0140 or visit qfloors.com.
Mohawk Group’s Lichen Wins two Nightingale Awards
ORLANDO—Mohawk Group won two Nightingale Awards for its Lichen modular plank carpet system at the Healthcare Design Expo & Conference.
Presented by Healthcare Design and Contract, in partnership with The Center for Health Design, the Nightingale Awards recognize contribution to the healthcare built environment through product design and innovation that helps facilitate healing. Named in honor of Florence Nightingale and initiated in 1990 by Contract magazine’s editors and The Center for Health Design’s founders, the Nightingale Awards recognize products that are juried by seasoned healthcare design professionals and healthcare facility managers. The jury makes selections based on the product’s contribution to a healing environment, functionality, quality and durability, aesthetics and style, pricing and innovation.
Receiving best of competition and gold in the carpet category, Lichen is a new carpet plank system resulting from innovations that merge leading concepts in biophilic design and sustainability.
For more, call (800) 554-6637 or visit MohawkGroup.com.
CRI Names Winner of Joseph J. Smrekar Memorial Award
DALTON—The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) presented the Joseph J. Smrekar Memorial Award to Troy Virgo, director of sustainability and product stewardship for Shaw Industries.
The Joseph J. Smrekar Memorial Award was established by Milliken in 1998 to honor the late Joe Smrekar, Ph.D., who volunteered on many CRI committees. Dr. Smrekar set the standard for service to CRI and the carpet industry. CRI staff members chose the recipient of the annual award.
Virgo has served at Shaw Industries for 22 years and has been in positions of increasing responsibility for environmental permitting and regulatory compliance for all of Shaw’s manufacturing and distribution operations.
For more, call (706) 278-3176 or visit carpet-rug.org.
