As the industry nears what experts are hoping to be the perfect storm's nadir, everyone is focused on tightening business strategies and securing new ways to increase profitability on existing sales while prepping for the turnaround boost. However, in the midst of a think outside-the-box mentality, some dealers are foregoing one of the simplest profit accents-moldings.

"If you"re not offering and selling moldings to nearly every job you get, you are missing an easy opportunity for substantial profits on every single sale," said Daniel Kalnback of ProSource of Cincinnati. "Generally speaking, 95% of your jobs will require moldings," he explained. "And, once a consumer has picked out flooring-the more expensive product-she usually does not think too much about the add-on cost of necessary trim, which is why profitabiliy oportunities remain high in the segment."

Similarly, Thilo Hessler, president of Versatrim, noted the most daunting part of moldings for a retailer is simply not offering them. "If you do not provide and showcase moldings in your store, you will not only lose all of the add-on profit opportunity, but many times entire jobs as well."

Gary Hernandez, president of Empire Mouldings Inc. (EMI), agreed consumers can never be truly happy with a job if moldings are not part of it. "Moldings complete a r.....

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Mills offer solution for commercial segment Impregnated process brings durability, style
Across the country, hardwood flooring resonates with more homeowners now more than ever. Bringing the natural elements indoors not only beautifies the home, it raises its value as well. On the contract side, however, the chances of seeing the warm/rustic look of real hardwood products incorporated into heavily trafficked areas is slim. "How do we get the natural beauty of hardwood flooring into the commercial arena?" has been an age-old quandary for the flooring industry spanning generations. How can this be accomplished without the products being damaged or destroyed within months or a few short years of installation? Well, through the use of new technology, a few mills are actually giving it a try. Armstrong Commercial Hardwood combines the styling of natural hardwood with the enhanced performance needed in today's commercial environments, noted Daniel Call, vice president of product management, wood. "Premier Performance Hardwood and Hardwood Parquet feature an exclusive acrylic impregnation process that produces floor boards which are significantly harder than unprotected wood of the same species. "In this process," he explained, "liquid acrylic is combined with stain and injected throughout the surface layer of the wood to fortify the fibers and protect the floor from dents. This provides two key benefits: durability and through-color. Acrylic infusion can more than double the hardness of a wood species.  "And because the stain goes through the top veneer," Call added, 'deep gouges that may occur are harder to see." And, Armstrong helps consumers realize there's something unique about acrylic infusion by giving these products its highe.....

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