• Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • A&D
  • INSTALLATION
  • MARKETS
  • AWARDS
  • EDUCATION
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • MEDIA
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Breaking Flooring News
  • eNewsletters
  • PRODUCTS
  • Carpet & Area Rugs
  • Hardwood
  • Installation Products
  • Installation Tools & Equipment
  • Laminate
  • Resilient
  • Specialty
  • Tile & Stone
  • MARKETS
  • Commercial
  • Residential
  • AWARDS
  • Installation Awards
  • Top Flooring Products
  • EDUCATION
  • Continuing Education
  • Webinars
  • MEDIA
  • FLOOR Podcast
  • Videos
  • TISE 2025 Videos
  • Product Spotlights
  • eBooks
  • EMAGAZINE
  • eMagazine
  • Archive Issues
  • Contact
  • Advertise
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
    • Breaking Flooring News
    • eNewsletters
  • PRODUCTS
    • Carpet & Area Rugs
    • Hardwood
    • Installation Products
    • Installation Tools & Equipment
    • Laminate
    • Resilient
    • Specialty
    • Tile & Stone
  • A&D
  • INSTALLATION
  • MARKETS
    • Commercial
    • Residential
  • AWARDS
    • Installation Awards
    • Top Flooring Products
  • EDUCATION
    • Continuing Education
    • Webinars
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • MEDIA
    • FLOOR Podcast
    • Videos
    • TISE 2025 Videos
    • Product Spotlights
    • eBooks
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issues
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP

Industry Q&A: Tarkett's Bill Cralley and Gary Finseth

By Michael Chmielecki
September 17, 2010
NFT spoke recently with Tarkett’s Bill Cralley, president of the North America residential division, and Gary Finseth, vp marketing.

Tarkett’s FiberFloor (pictured) was recently named a “Best Buy” by Consumers Digest.


Editor’s Note: Welcome to Industry Q&A, an ongoing feature highlighting members of the industry and their companies. Interested in participating? Contact Jeff Golden at GoldenJ@bnpmedia.com or (818) 224-8035 ext. 2218.


NFT
spoke recently with Tarkett’s Bill Cralley, president of the North America residential division, and Gary Finseth, vp marketing. The two executives talked about streamlining their brands, introducing new retailer programs, being recognized by Consumers Digest, the company’s approach to sustainability, and what’s ahead for next year.


What has been the process of streamlining your brands under Tarkett Residential?


Cralley: In 2008, we started working on moving the Domco brand out of the marketplace. That incorporated changes in distribution as well as revising the sheet product offering, and eliminating some SKUs in Domco and Tarkett. We kept the good SKUs, and added new SKUs, merchandising and branding for Tarkett.

In 2010, we’re continuing to simplify. NAFCO is no longer a standalone sales organization, but a product line under the Tarkett brand. We combined the sales organizations of NAFCO and Tarkett sheet vinyl into one. We now have a single U.S. sales force representing the Tarkett Residential brand (sheet vinyl and fiber), along with the NAFCO by Tarkett offering and Tarkett Laminate.

As we go forward, our brand residentially is Tarkett, and our brand commercially is Johnsonite.


What new programs have you launched for retailers?

Finseth: This year we introduced our Tarkett Elite program, with platinum, gold and silver levels. Each one of those levels receives co-op advertising, incentive rebates, and an inspection program. If a retailer has a complaint, they can settle it themselves up to a certain point without having to get the distributor or the factory involved. All of this is available at all levels, except for retailer training, which for 2010 is only offered at platinum and gold levels.

We also recently launched our roomvue visualizer. It features a library of room scenes, or customers can upload their own room photo. Aside from choosing the floor, customers can choose wall paint colors from Sherwin-Williams, floor transitions and trim boards.


What does it mean to have FiberFloor recognized as a Consumers Digest “Best Buy”?

Cralley: I think it validates the work and the investment we’ve made in our manufacturing facilities, and our Tarkett Residential and Johnsonite design teams working together as one North American design team. This award is extremely important to us as we are becoming a bigger player in the marketplace. Our goal with customers is to become more relevant than in the past, and be a stronger global brand.

Finseth: That kind of endorsement is truly a wonderful thing. The announcement was up in Times Square right after it came out.


How important is sustainability to Tarkett?

Cralley: We’ve been one of the pioneers in sustainability long before we were calling it green. We’ve developed a unique program where, for example, when a very large retailer redoes their store, we take up 100 percent of the floors, recycle them and put them into new floors.

Today it is fair to say that some residential consumers are willing to pay a premium on a green product, but many are not. The green story right now is a little more valuable to end-users on the commercial side of the business. It’s going to take a little more time for consumers to fully understand it. But I believe that will change over time.

Finseth: All of our products are FloorScore certified. We also follow a very stringent sustainability charter. We are very stringent on our manufacturing plants to filter out any emissions and reuse as much waste as we can. We also want to be good stewards of the environment.


What are your plans for 2011?

Cralley: We’re gonna be looking at an update to our laminate collection going into next year. A lot of what’s being worked on right now is for 2011. This year, the Elite program has been quite an undertaking for us, along with the reorganization of our sales and our major NAFCO PermaStone update.

We’re also looking at improving and building a stronger dealer portfolio for our distributors. We are changing Tarkett month by month for long-term growth to add more value to our customers (distributors/dealers). Our goal is to be a more relevant partner. We want to grow our position within the industry, and have numerous strategies in place to do that.

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Michael chmielecki 200px

Michael Chmielecki wrote about the floor covering industry for BNP Media for more than ten years. As editor of Floor Covering Installer and senior editor of Floor Trends, he always sought ways to better connect and inform the installation and contracting community. Mike has a degree in journalism from the University of New Hampshire.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
To unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • resilient flooring

    The 7 Types of Resilient Flooring

    The resilient flooring category is comprised of many...
    Resilient Flooring
    By: Resilient Floorcovering Institute
  • QuickDrain USA’s ShowerLine linear drain

    Tips for Curbless Shower Installation Using a Linear Drain

    Consider these four tips when planning for a curbless...
    Installation How-To
    By: Darryl Jones
  • 2024 New Flooring Product Guide

    2024 New Flooring Products Guide

    We explore this year's introductions in area rugs,...
    Floor Coverings
    By: FLOOR Trends & Installation Editors
You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • eMagazine
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Subscription Customer Service

What Shaw Flooring Network Dealers are Banking on for 2025

What Shaw Flooring Network Dealers are Banking on for 2025

Retailers Share Top Takeaways from Shaw Flooring Network Convention

Retailers Share Top Takeaways from Shaw Flooring Network Convention

Takeaways from the 2024 AHSG Convention & Member Outlook for 2025

Takeaways from the 2024 AHSG Convention & Member Outlook for 2025

Shaw Flooring Network Retailers Report Post-Election Sales Surge

Shaw Flooring Network Retailers Report Post-Election Sales Surge

More Videos

Popular Stories

Schluter waterproofing system

Waterproofing Wet Areas: Three Essential Methods to Protect Your Bathroom and Shower Installation

AHF Products CEO Brent Emore

AHF Products Names Brent Emore CEO

Starnet 2025 Carlsbad CA

Future-Proofing Success: How Starnet Members Are Building Resilient Flooring Businesses


Download the Free Moisture Meters Guide

Events

June 9, 2025

NeoCon 2025

A trade show for the commercial interior design industry.

December 1, 2030

Webinar Sponsorship Information

For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com.

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Investing in your Business

What's Your Top Business Investment Priority for 2025?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

2025 BNI Interiors Square Foot Costbook

2025 BNI Interiors Square Foot Costbook

See More Products

FLOORtalk podcasts - Listen Now

Related Articles

  • Industry Q&A: Georgina Sikorski, CARE

    See More
  • Industry Q&A: Congoleum's Dennis Jarosz

    See More
  • Indebted to Our Past

    ‘Indebted to Our Past, But Not Bound to It’: A Q&A with WFCA CEO Scott Humphrey

    See More
×

We’re rolling out the red carpet of flooring knowledge!

Stay in the know on the latest flooring retail trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletters
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
    • Breaking Flooring News
    • eNewsletters
  • PRODUCTS
    • Carpet & Area Rugs
    • Hardwood
    • Installation Products
    • Installation Tools & Equipment
    • Laminate
    • Resilient
    • Specialty
    • Tile & Stone
  • A&D
  • INSTALLATION
  • MARKETS
    • Commercial
    • Residential
  • AWARDS
    • Installation Awards
    • Top Flooring Products
  • EDUCATION
    • Continuing Education
    • Webinars
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • MEDIA
    • FLOOR Podcast
    • Videos
    • TISE 2025 Videos
    • Product Spotlights
    • eBooks
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issues
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP