While the Floor Covering Education Foundation (FCEF) has spearheaded the mission to get the 10-week pilot program off the ground at Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC), support from others in the industry has been imperative to the success of the course. Several flooring manufacturers, retailers and distributors donated product and tools to the program. 

Week three of the course was resilient week. Dave Garden, CFI master installer II and course instructor, along with Joe Cea, technical specialist, Congoleum, taught the students the ins and outs of laying sheet vinyl. In addition to Cea sharing his extensive installation knowledge, Congoleum donated some of its luxury sheet products, luxury vinyl plank (LVP), setting materials and seam welding supplies. 

Having access to two different types of resilient afforded the students the opportunity to work with and get a feel for how each type goes down. The students got to install AirStep sheet vinyl, which can be applied over just about any type of subfloor. The other product was ArmorCore LVP. It is designed for the residential builder and multi-family property owner sectors. Both products are manufactured in the U.S. 

“[Congoleum] has been a phenomenal partner,” said Kaye Whitener, director of operations, FCEF. “We’d love for any other manufacturers who’d like to participate in helping to support the program either through materials or trainers or simply donating tools or whatever, we’ll take it. We need all the support we can get from each and everybody.”