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Cigarettes, Smoked Salmon and CARB Compliant Flooring

January 28, 2011 By Rob Banks 2 Comments
Smoked Salmon

I had a chat with one of our new employees about CARB and what ‘CARB compliant’ means when referring to flooring products. Without going into too much detail, CARB refers to California Air Resources Board, the clean air agency in California. Interesting to note that they are the only State allowed to have its’ own clean air agency regulating the State. Federal law was passed afterwards and all other States have to follow the Federal Clear Air Act (or I think they can follow California’s … [Read more...]

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Domotex Germany 2011 Pre-Show Preparation and Predictions

January 7, 2011 By Rob Banks Leave a Comment
Hannover Germany

Well my annual trip to Germany is just around the corner. Domotex Hannover, the largest flooring show in Europe, is the reason I go. I really enjoy this show, it really sets the tone for our supply chain department for the year going forward. A bonus is I get to see many friends I’ve made over the years in the industry ... and drink some great beer! The flooring industry trends usually start at Domotex Hannover and then they tend to make their way to North America later that year, or … [Read more...]

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Inside a Flooring Warehouse

December 3, 2010 By Rob Banks Leave a Comment
Chain

On a trip to California I took a brief video to show you what it looks like inside a warehouse of flooring products. This warehouse plays a key part in the Supply Chain. Supply Chain is defined as: "The network of retailers, distributors, transporters, storage facilities and suppliers that participate in the sale, delivery and production of a particular product". The warehouse plays a key role in the later part of the chain, too. When you buy from BuildDirect this is often the type of facility … [Read more...]

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BuildDirect Goes to Sweden

August 13, 2010 By Rob Banks Leave a Comment
Flag of Sweden

This past July, I took a trip with my family to Europe.  I stayed in Sweden for a while on a farm that dates back to the 1850s.  While I was there I saw an example of old European style long board hardwood flooring. Well it was actually pine flooring, so technically that's softwood flooring. I shot this video that explains more. I hope you enjoy the video! … [Read more...]

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On Importing New Lines of Flooring, and Other Building Materials

June 7, 2010 By Rob Banks Leave a Comment
Strand-woven bamboo-locking-system

When it comes to finding new products to bring to market, these things tend to unfold over time. There is rarely a fast new product launch. There is no one moment I can say that the discovery of a new line of flooring (or any other building material) was made. Bringing a new product to market can be an interesting process. It can very rewarding if you have done your homework, gauged the market, have a great supplier, and frankly, get lucky. I’ve been asked what it is like to bring … [Read more...]

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2010 Domotex Show in Germany and Wood Flooring thoughts

January 26, 2010 By Rob Banks 1 Comment
maple-coffee-engineered-hardwood-flooring

Great show in Germany last week (Jan 16-18th), Domotex is the largest flooring show in Europe. The traffic level felt busier than last year, so hopefully that is a positive reflection of what we can expect in the market this year. The exhibitors were a bit different than years past.  A few major players did not attend, particularly in laminate flooring. It felt like the area that housed the Chinese exhibitors was smaller this year, although they were still present. From an innovation perspective … [Read more...]

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Direct Print Bamboo Floors a Key Product in Lacey Act Compliance

November 2, 2009 By Rob Banks 2 Comments
couple walking in bamboo forest

I normally avoid doing product announcements on my blog.  But direct print bamboo floors are different. As bamboo is recognized as a rapidly renewable resource and a low emitting material it is a fabulous option for your flooring. The challenge for some people is that bamboo looks like, well, bamboo. Not everyone loves the look. Further, many of these people absolutely love exotic looking floors, like Brazilian Walnut or Brazilian Cherry, but are not confident that they can purchase these species … [Read more...]

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Testing Wood Floor Formaldehyde Emission at the Factory

August 4, 2009 By Rob Banks Leave a Comment

Here is a video of one of my visits to a factory a few hours outside of Shanghai. I attempt to show and explain a formaldehyde emissions test. Honestly it was a pretty average effort, I had done little research and I know no technical terms, so tried to wing it. Hey, I gotta be me! I don't speak Chinese and I spent awhile speaking with the chemical experts in the factory and unfortunately much of the communication was lost in translation, so I ended up winging it. You won't here anything … [Read more...]

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I walk the line; the wood flooring line, that is!!

July 17, 2009 By Rob Banks Leave a Comment

As Johnny Cash once did, I walked the line. In my case however, I walked a finishing line in an engineered flooring factory near the east coast of China. It is was a typical day in this region of China; 35C (95F) and thunder showers. When I was in the factory it was raining pretty hard. I wanted to show what it was like to walk along a line finishing line. I did this in an impromptu fashion so sorry for the lack of technical terms. Anyways, it's a little behind the scenes on how engineered … [Read more...]

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