Two major flooring manufacturers said they are increasing distribution in keys areas. In separate announcements, Armstrong Floor Products named Apollo Distributing Co. of Fairfield, NJ, to distribute the Hartco hardwood line in the metropolitan New York, New Jersey and Connecticut tri-state area. Also, Domco said its sheet flooring and accessories will be among the lines now offered by the newly established company Design Tech Commercial Distributing LLC, of Houston.

Commenting on the Domco move, Lenny Wachowiak, vice president of marketing for Design Tech said: "We are a start-up company and, in a sense, Domco is a new brand. In less than two years, Domco has reinvented itself with a solid styling/quality/value positioning that mirrors our approach to the marketplace. Domco is a major strategic partner for us as we position our company in the region. We look forward to growing our sales with them."

Design Tech was formed in May by Ron Harris, CEO, and Linda Krienke, president. Both have extensive backgrounds in the flooring industry. The company has 11 sales representatives to service customers in South Texas. In addition to its headquarters in Houston, it also has facilities in San Antonio and Harlingen, Texas.

Commented Domco's vice president of sales and marketing, Stephan Guindon, "We are very pleased to add Design Tech to our network. They are a new company, but their management team and their sales staff are veterans of the industry and we look forward to our mutual sales success in Texas." He noted that the move is part of Domco's push to strengthen its position in the South and Southwest while it reviews distribution options in surrounding states.

Commenting on the addition of Armstrong, Apollo President Keith Slobodien said: "The synergies of packaging the entire Armstrong hard surface flooring portfolio - resilient, laminate and now hardwood - is a win/win for everyone. This partnership benefits the supplier, the distributor and the customer. Customers will now be able to combine their orders with the best that Armstrong has to offer, from a single source supplier."

Added Armstrong vice president Paul Murfin: "With Armstrong Hardwood Flooring by Hartco, there's now a much stronger opportunity for Apollo to help retailers move consumers up the flooring category chain to hardwoods. Apollo also will benefit from Armstrong's significant investment in new wood products - 125 new products across 12 collections - as well as new merchandising."