Surfaces Construction Group Hosts CFI Two-Day Course,

Surfaces Construction Group Hosts CFI Two-Day Course, Spanish Translation Offered

CFI Two Day Training with Surfaces Construction Group

(Back row: left to right) Daniel Troyer, Justin Evans, Jim Love, Dave Garden, Tom Aldredge, John Steier, SantaCruz Lorenzo, Mario A. Leon, Patrick F. Johnson and Jimmy Salisbury.

(Front row: left to right) Julio Batras, Saul Medina, Eddy Aluarez, Angel Aldrete, Kim Montoya, Mark Herakovic, Jose S. Lopez, and Alfonso Campechano. Photo: John Steier.

Surfaces Construction Group, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, hosted a two-day Certified Flooring Installers (CFI) certification for hardwood, laminate and luxury vinyl plank (LVP) on November 2-3. Participants sat through classroom instruction and hands-on demonstrations, covering the importance of floor covering industry standards.

Many of the participants represented Surfaces Construction Group; however, Mario Leon traveled 10 hours from Aruba to take the course. Alfonso Campechano, a class participant and native Spanish speaker, and his wife Kim Montoya, a Spanish interpreter, just recently launched their own installation company. A large portion of the class participants were Spanish speakers so Montoya's skills were beneficial to the entire class, including the instructors.

"After working for someone else for a few years, [my husband] decided he wanted to create his own company," said Montoya. "He started sharing his flooring knowledge with me as well as common standards and flooring jargon."

CFI in Indianapolis at Surfaces Construction Group Jose S. Lopez and Eddy Aluarez installing hardwood. Photo: John Steier.

Participants worked in modules installing various types of hardwood, laminate and LVP, practicing the industry standards and CFI proven methods of installation.

Justin Evans has attended two certifications this year. Back in June he attended the two-day CFI carpet certification, "I love coming to certification and learning from the instructors and attendees. I am so much more confident in my skills thanks to CFI."

CFI in Indianapolis at Surfaces Construction Group

Justin Evans and Mario A. Leon removing and replacing a damaged piece of hardwood. Photo: John Steier.

Lead instructor Dave Garden shared with the class his experience with learning the floor covering trade, "When I was able to work with my hands, I was able to open my mind to learning."

Mark Herakovic with MDG Flooring America, Jimmy Salisbury with Blue Crew Installations and John Steier of Steier Flooring assisted with the hands-on portion of the training. All are new trainers to the growing CFI certification team. CFI in Indianapolis at Surfaces Construction Group trainers (Left to right) Trainers Dave Garden, John Steier, Mark Herakovic and Jimmy Salisbury. Photo: John Steier.

"I started my career as an installer; educating our team of installers is something we take very seriously at Surfaces Construction group," said Tom Aldredge, director of business development for Surfaces Construction Group. "I am proud to bring in CFI training to my team."

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John Steier, owner, Steier Flooring LLC, Algona, Iowa, entered flooring in 2004 and was instantly addicted to the craft of floor covering installation. He installs carpet, sheet vinyl, LVP/LVT, laminate, hardwood and tile. In 2020, Steier opened a retail location servicing his hometown. He is CFI#14097 with certifications in carpet, laminate, hardwood and resilient residential. He is eager to pass installation knowledge on to anyone willing to listen.

Beth Miller began her journalistic journey in 2005 while still working as a mechanic in her dad’s garage. She has written about everything from artists to WWII veterans and in 2010 stepped into the healthcare sector where she created digital content for 11 years. She, then, received her master’s degree in English from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. In 2017, she took the leap into the flooring industry. Here, she has discovered a place where she can apply both her technical and journalistic abilities.