New York—For the fifth year in a row,
Mannington Mills has been named by dealers, wholesalers, installers, specifiers
and designers as the industry’s Best Overall Manufacturer in the sixth annual
Award of Excellence competition. Shaw Industries was voted the second Best
Overall Manufacturer. The mill also earned the distinction of being named the
Best Carpet Manufacturer at Surfaces 2002. In addition to the Best Overall
honor, Mannington was chosen as the industry’s Best Resilient Manufacturer for
the fifth consecutive year. Mannington was also recognized this year with the
runner-up prize in the wood segment, a distinction bestowed upon the company
since the Award of Excellence was established six years ago. And, the mill was
also voted runner-up in the Laminate category for the fourth consecutive year
(Mannington finished in a tie last year with Wilsonart).
As in the Award of Excellence’s first five
years, Mannington walked away with the most total awards, making the mill the
most decorated since the competition began. In the six years of the competition,
the Salem, N.J.-based manufacturer has walked away with 18 awards. Keith
Campbell, Mannington’s chairman said, “We are obviously delighted in the
fact that the retailers throughout North America have selected us for the fifth
year in a row as the top manufacturer. Our business is centered on the
professionally installed retailer and we’ve grown with them and are very
pleased and thank everyone involved for selecting us again.” Julius Shaw Jr.,
the company’s executive vice president, noted, “We are very thankful to the
customers for this. To me, it’s a tribute to our 30,000 employees. I’d liked
to thank them for their efforts because, without them, this could not have
happened.” “I’d also like to thank our wonderful customers,” he added.
“I’m very proud to be able to come here and represent Shaw to accept this
award. We all appreciate it.”
Sponsored by FCNews, Hanley-Wood Exhibitions
and the World Floor Covering Association ( WFCA), the Award of Excellence is a
way for manufacturers’ customers—retailers, distributors, designers,
specifiers, installers, etc.—to honor the companies they feel consistently
provide the best design, service, value, performance, quality, professionalism
of sales force and management responsiveness in their respective flooring
segments, as well as industry-wide. In other words, the mills which help them be
successful through-out the year. To honor the first and second place winners in
the six categories—Carpet, Area Rugs, Resilient, Hardwood, Ceramic and
Laminates—and the Best Overall, a gala ceremony was held here, in which
customized crystal trophies were presented to top executives who flew in from
around the country to see how their company fared.
The Winners Are… Taking home the top
individual honors were: • Carpet: First—Shaw Industries; Runner-up—Mohawk
Industries; • Area Rugs: First—Oriental Weavers; Runner-up—(tie) Shaw and
Milliken; • Resilient: First—Mannington; Runner-up—Armstrong World
Industries; • Laminates: First—Wilsonart; Runner-up—Mannington; •
Hardwood: First— Bruce Hardwood Floors; Runner-up—Mannington; • Ceramic:
First— Daltile; Runner-up— Crossville. To qualify for the Award of Excellence,
a company had to be exhibiting at Surfaces 2002. No entry was required. Readers
of FCNews nominated companies over a six-week period prior to the event which is
owned by Hanley-Wood Exhibitions and sponsored by WFCA. The top five vote
getters in each category were then placed on the final ballot.
At Surfaces, attendees (manufacturer employees
were ineligible) voted for the companies which they felt deserved to be named
the best in their respective categories, as well as for Best Overall. And, even
though attendees were not given prizes or other incentives to cast a ballot, the
contest continued its tradition of being the largest competition at Surfaces
with another strong showing in the amount of votes recorded. “Those who voted
for Awards of Excellence needed no inducements, they understood the significance
of the honor and cast their ballots honestly and without prejudice for the
companies they believe in—the ones which have helped their businesses
thrive,” Matthew Spieler, FCNews’ managing editor told the audience at the
awards ceremony.
Chris Davis, WFCA’s CEO, said, “this event
is a win-win for everybody. When it started, what the WFCA wanted was to build
some loyalty towards Surfaces—to give people another reason to come and
exhibit there. What we wanted for the manufacturers was something they could
showcase and, what we wanted for the attendees was their right to vote and
participate. Of all the contests that have been thought up for the show, this
one has turned out to be the most successful in that regard. “It’s great
that you have the opportunity,” he explained to the executives, “to hear
what your customers say about you and hopefully, you will herald that
information to the rest of the world, share it with your employees and everyone
else. Obviously, you people are the best-of-the-best and we salute you for
that.”
Davis also talked about WFCA’s efforts to
help get the flooring industry increased publicity through shelter magazines in
the coming months. Michelle Troop of Hanley-Wood Exhibitions thanked FCNews for
“allowing us to be part of an industry event which recognizes the
manufacturers and the efforts they put forth throughout the year.” As for the
future of Surfaces, she added, “We look forward to some changes and feel the
show will continue to grow and be the industry’s most important event. As we
go into next year, we look forward to working once again with Floor Covering
News and the WFCA as we put together another quality market and educational
program at Surfaces.” —Louis Iannaco
