A roundup of people in the industry...

Armstrong Holdings Inc. has named Michael D. Lockhart as successor to company Chairman and CEO George A. Lorch. Frank A. Riddick, Armstrong’s former CFO who was promoted to chief operating officer in March, assumes the additional title of president. Appointed chairman emeritus of the company, Lorch will remain on the board through the end of 2000 and act as an advisor to Lockhart and the Board until his retirement in January 2001. Thereafter, he will act as a consultant to the company for a two-year period.

Mohawk Industries Inc. announced that Chairman and CEO David L. Kolb will retire as the company’s chief executive effective Jan. 1, 2001. He will remain as chairman of the board and continue to be actively involved in the strategic direction of the company. Jeffrey S. Lorberbaum, currently president and chief operating officer, has been chosen by the board of directors to succeed Kolb as CEO.

Witex has appointed Steve Newman vice president of the Witex USA business unit. In this newly created position, Newman oversees the sales and marketing functions of the company, and manages day-to-day business operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Newman previously served as director of sales and marketing for Mohawk’s hard surface division. In addition, Hartwig Siemerling has been appointed CFO of Witex’s U.S. operation. He most recently served the company as vice president of operations/finance.

Bill Blankenship is the new vice president of Weyerhaeuser’s Oriented Strand Board (OSB) business. A 26-year veteran of the company, he previously served as vice president of Weyerhaeuser’s Appearance Wood Business Group. Rob Taylor, vice president of Weyerhaeuser’s Northwest Hardwoods lumber business, has assumed additional responsibilities for the company’s Appearance Pine business.

Joe Borak and Mike Schultz have joined W.F. Taylor Co. as district sales managers. Borak, who has more than seven years’ experience in the flooring industry, is responsible for an eight-state territory stretching from western Pennsylvania through Kansas. Schultz, with more than six years’ industry experience, most recently worked with Armstrong/W.W. Henry Co. His seven-state territory covers the upper Midwest from Michigan to the Dakotas.

Peter Costikyan has been appointed president of Costikyan Carpets Inc. He has been national sales manager for the past five years.

Mark Masters has joined XL Flooring Installation Products as vice president of operations. He is responsible for all internal business functions of the company, including manufacturing, finance, customer service, engineering, and purchasing. Masters comes to XL from Para-Chem, where he was managing director of marketing in the floor covering products division.

Carpet Co-op of America has named Mack H. Hale vice president of new business development. He is charged with handling membership recruitment, merchandising and related business development initiatives for Carpet One and America’s Carpet Gallery. Hale, a 30-year veteran of the industry, most recently served as executive vice president of merchandising for Flooring America and executive vice president of business development for Everythingdecor Inc., an e-commerce startup backed by Flooring America.

Ben McNabb has been named product manager at Harris-Tarkett with responsibility for evaluating building and design trends, and developing Harris-Tarkett products to meet current and future market needs. He also serves as a liaison between sales, marketing and manufacturing departments to assure cohesive and coordinated planning and development.

Universal Flooring has appointed Wade Hagan national accounts sales manager. With a decade of experience in commercial and residential flooring, Hagan is responsible for all Universal territories in the United States and Canada.