Randy Prewitt has been named president and general manager of Lockwood Flooring and Virgil Hendricks has assumed the position of CEO. Prewitt, who has served the company as general sales manager since last March, has more than two decades of experience in the hardwood flooring industry.

Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co. (3M) has appointed General Electric Co.'s James McNerney as chairman and chief executive, the first outsider to run the manufacturer of Scotchgard protective systems, Post-It Notes and 50,000 other products. McNerney replaces outgoing CEO Livio DeSimone, who will retire in April.

Armstrong Holdings Inc. announced that President and Chief Operating Officer Frank A. Riddick will assume the additional title of Armstrong Wood Products CEO and relocate to Dallas where he will lead the company's fastest-growing operating division. Floyd F. Sherman, currently chairman and CEO of Armstrong Wood Products, will remain chairman of Triangle Pacific Corp. during a 12-month transition period and then retire from the company. E. Dwain Plaster, currently president and chief operating officer of Triangle Pacific Corp., will also retire to pursue other opportunities.

Randy Gum, vice president of sales for Midwest distributor Misco Shawnee Inc., is replacing Paul Murfin as company president. Gum's floor covering career stretches back to 1983. He joined Misco in 1997 as vice president of sales. Murfin departs Misco to take the reins as president and director of BonaKemi USA, the North American subsidiary of BonaKemi International. Murfin replaces Gary Reynolds who has served as interim president pending the appointment of a successor.

Mannington Mills' Chief Operating Officer Thomas Davis has been tapped to replace retiring chief executive Tony Kelly as company CEO and president. Within the sales and marketing realm, Davis will work with his executive team to explore opportunities presented by e-commerce and the web, improve communication and information technology, and implement sales automation.

Ray Eppley has joined Wanke Cascade as regional sales manager for the Oregon, southern Idaho, and Utah sales territories. Eppley previously served as regional sales manager for Tarkett Inc. Also, Tony Norman will retire from Wanke early this year after working with the company for 36 years. He has served as the company's Oregon sales manager since 1984.

Lou Ziebold has been named senior vice president of Sales and Marketing for all of SI Flooring System Corp.'s business units, and Hugh McClain has been promoted to general manger for SI Concrete Systems. Other personnel changes at SI Flooring Systems include the appointment of Jule Smith as general manager and Jack Rooke as director of marketing. Vince Wilkins and Jeff Katz have been named marketing managers for residential and commercial products, respectively, at Tarkett Inc. Wilkins manages Tarkett's residential sheet, luxury floor tile and laminate product lines, and Katz handles the company's commercial sheet, floor tile and laminate products as well as specialty products and accessories.

Freudenberg Building Systems has appointed Philipp Leferenz to succeed Volker Siems as company president. Leferenz, who joined the company in 1985, comes to the United States division of The Freudenberg Group from its headquarters in Weinheim, Germany where he has served as CFO of The Freudenberg Group's Building Systems and Shoe Components Business Unit since 1998.