Hicksville, N.Y.—After four months of heavy balloting, the time to cast your vote for the best manufacturers in Floor Covering News’ Award of Excellence is drawing to an end. The deadline is Jan. 31. Ballots can be submitted via traditional mail, by fax, by e-mail, through the FCNews Web site—www.FloorCoveringNews.net—or by stopping by one of the two booths at Surfaces 2005. They are located in the upper lobby before entering the upstairs exhibit hall, and exhibit space 7146 on the main floor, where you will also have the opportunity to meet many of the columnists who regularly appear in the publication, including Warren Tyler, Kelly Kramer, Lew Migliore, Marty Silver and Scott Perron.

Co-sponsored by the World Floor Covering Association ( WFCA), the industry’s largest retail advocacy group, the Award of Excellence remains the industry’s most coveted benchmark for success. “This is especially true in this, its ninth year,” said Matthew Spieler, FCNews’ managing editor, “as the industry really appreciated the changes we made to enhance the competition even more (FCNews, Sept. 27/Oct. 4). “With three weeks of voting still to go, we have far and exceeded the number of votes in the previous eight years.” One of the main enhancements to this year’s competition is in the way people vote. Eligible voters (everyone except manufacturer personnel) are allowed to vote for their top three companies—from first to third—in each category as well as in the Overall Best Manufacturer segment.

In the past, voters had to select only one in each category. This year’s competition is once again open to any mill participating in one of the six floor covering categories—Carpet, Area Rugs, Resilient, Hardwood, Ceramic and Laminate. Not only is every manufacturer eligible to win in its respective segment, it has the chance to take home the coveted Best Overall Manufacturer title. By having the contest open to manufacturers of all sizes the playing field is leveled, especially since unlike other industry contests, no entry fee is required to participate in the Award of Excellence, nor is there an illusion of a large company unfairly competing against a smaller one (i.e., a mill that does under a $100 million in one category but overall does over $1 billion is still a billion-dollar company, yet others pit them against those that truly do less than $100 million).

By doing it this way, it ensures winners are truly the best-of-the-best because they competed with every manufacturer in their respective category—just as they do everyday in the marketplace—as well as for the overall honor. In addition, it wasn’t against just those companies who elected to pay an entry fee to participate. The other big enhancement was to partner with WFCA for this important endeavor. “The WFCA is proud to co-sponsor the annual Award of Excellence program with Floor Covering News,” said Christopher Davis, the organization’s CEO. “WFCA is committed to enhancing quality in our industry and this competition is designed to both recognize and reward quality. “In this era of consolidation and with a dwindling number of manufacturer partners from which to choose,” he added, “it is critical for retailers to choose business suppliers/partners who focus on complete customer satisfaction. The Award of Excellence program recognizes those who are the best at delivering on their promise of design, quality, service and value.”

Al Wahnon, FCNews’ editor and publisher, said, “We are honored by WFCA’s sponsorship of this prestigious event. It is fitting the association representing the largest group of flooring retailers in the world is a co-sponsor of a program that involves retailers, who alone elect the recipients of the Award of Excellence. The participation of the WFCA in the Award of Excellence program adds another dimension to the industry’s most respected competition.” Beside the fact the contest winners are determined by its constituents, WFCA likes the fact there are no entry fees as well as the fact all manufacturers of floor covering are eligible to participate. “There are no fees to enter the competition nor any other barriers to nomination,” Davis said. “The procedures that have been put in place ensure these awards are open to all floor covering manufacturers of the product categories represented, regardless of company size, affiliation or origin.

“Most important,” he added, “the voter gets to make all the choices, just as it is in the marketplace.” The one aspect of the contest that has not changed deals with the reasons for selecting a particular company over another. The criteria goes beyond design, service, value, performance, quality, professionalism of sales force and management responsiveness. It gets more specific when it comes to three important busi ness components: • Ease of doing business, including order entry, order tracking, timely delivery and implementation of B2B supply side management systems; • Quality of merchandise, such as design aesthetics, high standards of manufacturing quality and shipping products according to the order, and • Customer service, incorporating speed and fairness of claims resolution and cost of claims resolution. Once the polls officially close, votes will be counted by an independent third party and the winners announced during a gala ceremony in the spring. For more information on the Award of Excellence, see the ad/ballot on page 34 of this issue, call 516/ 932-7860 or stop by an FCNews booth during Surfaces in Las Vegas, Jan. 26 to 28, at the Sands Expo & Convention Center.