The industry, for at least the 40 years that I have been a part of it, has had an installation problem, and most likely a good while before that. Although the complexion of the problem has changed over time, the problem has never been tackled on an industry-wide basis until last year. That is when the first Installation Summit sponsored by the Floor Covering Leadership Council was held last August in Dallas and then the follow-up summit, which was held this past August in Orlando, Fla., at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort.
On hand for this year’s summit were installers, contractors, distributors, a few retailers and some hard surface manufacturers. Industry leaders led the discussion, and the panel included John McGrath, director of INSTALL; Robert Varden, executive director of CFI; Harold Chapman, chairman emeritus of Starnet and former CEO of Bonitz Flooring; Dave Garden, Installation Services; Don Styka, Tarkett and Dan Welch of Welch Tile & Marble Co.