Danville, Va.—Columbia Flooring announced it acquired Malaysia Wood Industries (MWI), an engineered hardwood manufacturing business which has two plants in Sungai Petani, Malaysia, and sales offices in the U.S., Europe and Far East. It is the mill’s largest-scale investment in offshore manufacturing facilities, noted John Wootton, president.

Columbia has been supplementing its domestic production by importing finished flooring products under its own brand name. “We’ve been very effective in sourcing globally for products we sell in the U.S.,” Wootton explained. “It will enable us to further expand our sales horizons by driving Columbia’s U.S.-made product range into European and Asian markets—where MWI is already known and respected.

“In addition to establishing our presence in Europe and the Far East,” he continued, “this acquisition will enable us to couple the advantage of low-cost manufacturing with our strong U.S. sales and marketing expertise, thereby growing our standing in the global marketplace.”

The 20-year-old MWI includes two separate production plants that manufacture prefinished engineered longstrip floating floors. In other news, Michael O’Toole has been appointed to business unit manager and will be responsible for managing all sales activities surrounding the company’s national distribution network.

Regional sales managers will report to him and he will report directly to Steve Bunch, director of sales. O’Toole, who is based in Chicago, joined Columbia in 2002 as Midwestern regional manager. Succeeding O’Toole, Mark Machnicki has been named Midwestern regional manager. He previously held a sales management position at Eterna Wood Floors.

For more information, call 800/654-8796. —Kathlene Vercellino