Where will you be when January 2002 rolls around? As a floor covering industry professional, most likely you'll be aching to see the newest flooring innovations at Surfaces 2002, the world's largest floor covering industry trade show and exhibition.

Returning to Las Vegas with a vengeance in 2002, Hanley-Wood's Surfaces extravaganza will display the wares of more than 900 companies in the approximately 500,000-square-foot space of the Sands Expo & Convention Center from Jan. 30 through Feb. 1.

Sponsored by the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA), Surfaces 2002 will once again offer a conference program that tackles the hottest topics facing the industry today. The expanded program consists of 40 sessions, including pre-show workshops scheduled for Jan. 29, seminar sessions during the show and various industry panels. Covering issues in marketing, business, sales, design, installation, and new technology, the sessions will give professionals both the opportunity to track industry trends and to learn the best ways to handle industry-wide challenges.

In addition to offering new classes, Surfaces will also give seminar attendees the chance to earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) applicable to the WFCA retailer certification program. CEUs will also be given for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and all member organizations of the Interior Design Continuing Education Council.

This year's conference program will include sessions led by several industry leaders.

National Floor Trends magazine will sponsor two panels at Surfaces. NFT Senior Editor and longtime industry stalwart Howard Olansky will moderate "Thinking 'Outside the Box' to Outfox the Big Boxes." In this session, Olansky will lead a panel that includes Gary Wasmund of House of Carpets Carpet One and Ron Leach of Rafael Floor Coverings Inc. in a discussion focused on ways to thrive in a marketplace populated by a growing number of big-box retailers. The panel will detail field-tested strategies that have proven effective in competing with and beating the mass merchandiser's business model.

NFT Publisher Jeff Golden will lead a panel of retailers and contractors in a discussion of how maintaining a skilled crew of installers can win customer satisfaction and loyalty at "Installation as Competitive Advantage: Why the Installer Should be the Specialty Retailer's Best Friend." Panelists scheduled to participate in the discussion include Alan Delahunty of Floor Coverings by Certified, Brooks Mancini of BT Mancini Co. Inc. and Tom Jennings of Bud Jennings’ Carpet One. This session will teach retailers how to transform installation services into a profit center.

Also, Warren Tyler will discuss ways to double sales and improve profits. David Hunt returns to Surfaces in 2002 with his "Weaving Dollars from Woven Carpet" seminar that covers how properly marketed woven and Wilton carpet lines can increase profits. James P. Schmid will lead "Solving the Installation Crisis" with a panel of independent and union contractors and installers.

For the fifth year, the WFCA will bring together winners from regional competitions to vie for top honors in the National Installation Contest, which is co-sponsored by National Floor Trends and Floor Covering Installer magazines. Twenty finalists, competing in carpet and resilient categories, will be judged on their performance on a written exam, repair work and a hands-on project.

If you are looking for a place to network with your colleagues and competitors, discover new business strategies and learn about the future of the floor covering industry, then Surfaces 2002 will deliver what you seek.