By Louis Iannaco
SAVANNAH, GA.—With more than 100 people in attendance, the Floor Covering Installation Contractors Association (FCICA) gathered here from March 9 to 12 to network, learn and view the latest installation products the industry had to offer. The 26th annual convention also served to welcome several new members as well as a broad array of educational speakers.

“There were more first-time attendees here than we’ve had in a long time,” said Chris Capobianco, the association’s chairman. “The percentage of contractors and associate members was higher, so we had a lot more flooring contractors this year. There was really some excellent energy here.”

Carl Embrey, commercial sales manager for Apollo Distributing, agreed. “We have many new members, which is a wonderful thing because the lifeblood of the organization is not only the tried and true long-term members, but it’s new membership. It is very refreshing.”

He believes this is all a result of FCICA’s efforts to find creative ways to make it more attractive and get out its message. “To see that it’s working is great. It’s more difficult getting contractor members with all their other obligations and organizations than associate members. They may think being with StarNet is adequate, but many of our members are with both StarNet and FCICA. The networking has been great. The people here are from the technical side of the business and they tell it like it is.”

Gary Diel of King O’Tile joined FCICA because of its networking opportunities. “The best and most educational aspects of the show for me were the patterned carpet seminar and the legal presentation.”

Class in session

Commenting on a patterned carpet presentation given by Sim Crisler of LGM & Associates, FCICA veteran Dave Stafford of Dave Stafford Associates commented that it should have run for another 90 minutes. “Crisler just gave so many wonderful tips. We all work with carpet, but we forget sometimes some of the basics. He has a way of putting it across in such a flavorful and humorous way, but he makes his points. It was a real highlight, as was the presentation by Alan Beswick of J.W. Floor Covering on how to get into the ceramic tile business.”

Yet another educational high point during the convention came when Jeremy Stroop of the Carpet America Recovery Effort ( CARE) stressed to FCICA members the importance of recycling in the flooring industry. “The main thing I wanted them to get out of my discussion is they are on the ground level everyday. They are the ones who are going to be working with the collectors back and forth.

“Carpet recycling is a viable option. It is something we are all working toward, and, although there are challenges as we go forward, as with any new industry, we firmly believe it’s going to work out. You have to crawl before you walk. CARE has only been in existence since 2002. Before then, there were only five recycling centers/collectors in existence in the industry; now there are 61.”

Tabletop exhibitors

A major staple of the FCICA convention has always been its Associate Member Tabletop Trade Show. Bustling with activity, the exhibit room was full once again with members showing off their latest state-of-the-art wares to attendees.

“It’s been going really well for us,” said Tom Pope, business manager, distributor development for Taylor. “Traffic has been very good. People seem very interested in the products we have to offer. The trade show has been very successful.”

Charlie Nielsen, manager of technical services for Taylor, added, “FCICA has been awesome. The staff is extremely responsive as far as communication and dialogue. [Executive vice president] Kim Oderkirk is great to work with. They are very much on top of things.”

Jeff Johnson, product manager, Mapei, added, “This is a great show. The educational seminars are great. The networking and camaraderie has always been outstanding.”

Len Perkins, vice president business development of Impax Technology Group, makers of KoolGlide, said, “We’ve been doing really well. We have a lot of players who know what they are doing here. That’s the reason we’ve had such a high interest level.”

Barry Minter, executive vice president of sales for All Purpose Adhesive Flooring, noted, “We’ve enjoyed it. Our customers coming by to see us have been great.”

Wilsonart Commercial Flooring received a great response from its bamboo-look products. Commercial manager Randy Phillips noted, “This has been one of the more exciting FCICA shows I have ever attended, and I’ve been coming for five or six years now. There’s been a lot of excitement generated at the show. It’s a good group of people. The contractors here are good quality and they are the ones who need to be here.”