DALTON, Ga. -- Beaulieu Group LLC (Beaulieu of America) has instituted measures to realign its hard-surface business. The changes include a reduction in servicing to some areas of the country, along with select location and personnel changes.

Beaulieu will now focus on the historically strong core markets of LDBrinkman in the West and the Southwest. Sales representation and service locations throughout the balance of the country will be reduced or closed, along with some additional closures within the new focal area of the company.

"We had tremendous support from National Accounts and were starting to develop some significant business with select regional independent dealers", said Paul Murfin, executive vice president of Hard Surfaces. "Unfortunately, we did not have the infrastructure in place to support this business as profitably as was necessary, hence our move to retrench to areas of core strength."

Beaulieu is working with some regional distributors who have expressed an interest in continuing to support select programs in the markets they are vacating. "We are working with at least two notable distributors to offer continuity of supply to as many customers as possible," said Murfin. In the interim, Beaulieu will service all markets until mid-January, with the expectation of offering reliable alternatives for customers in these regions going forward. Additionally, Pergo distributors in the upper Midwest, and Northeast will be transitioned to other regional alternatives.

Within the newly defined core market area, Beaulieu has slated 10 branches for closure, although the company plans to continue to service these markets. The branch location closures include: Lubbock, Austin and El Paso, Texas; Fresno, Calif.; Shreveport, La.; Jackson, Miss.; Nashville, Tenn.; Little Rock, Ark.; Orlando, Fla.; and Greensboro, N.C.