By Matthew Spieler
NEW YORK—For the second year in a row,
Shaw Industries has won the coveted Best Overall Manufacturer title in the 12th Award of Excellence competition. The company also took top honors in the carpet category, a recognition it has received six times since the benchmarking competition began.
Sponsored by Floor Covering News and the
World Floor Covering Association (
WFCA), the Award of Excellence is a way for manufacturers’ customers—retailers, distributors, designers, installers, specifiers, etc.—to honor the companies they feel consistently provide the best service, professionalism of sales force, management responsiveness, value, design, B2B, handling of claims and ease of doing business.
In other words, those manufacturers they feel help them the best in running successful, profitable business operations, whether it be a retail operation, distributorship, design center or installation workroom.
“The WFCA is proud to cosponsor the annual Award of Excellence program with Floor Covering News,” said
Chris Davis, the organization’s president and CEO. “WFCA is committed to enhancing quality in our industry and this competition is designed to recognize and reward quality.”
Randy Merritt, Shaw’s president, said, “We are honored to be recognized by our customers as the Carpet Manufacturer of the Year and the Best Overall Manufacturer. There is no better award than one voted on by the customers we service. We pledge to continue to work to earn the trust and respect of Shaw retailers. On behalf of the entire family of Shaw associates, we thank the retailers and Floor Covering News for this honor.”
To receive the Best Overall honor, readers of
FCNews, members of the WFCA as well as any other industry personnel visiting trade shows such as Surfaces and not employed by a manufacturer voted for the companies they felt best met the previously mentioned criteria in the six individual floor covering categories—carpet, area rugs, resilient, hardwood, ceramic and laminate—as well as the top overall mill.
This was the second year that individual category winners were selected in two groups based on their volume. This was to put companies on a more even playing field based on the fact the industry has become polarized in many ways. This is especially true at the manufacturing level where some companies’ sales in certain categories are so huge they do in a week what it takes others to do in a year.
“This was not done to denigrate the smaller mills,” said Matthew Spieler, FCNews’ senior executive editor, “Many produce products and provide services that in some cases outdo their larger counterparts. The problem is they tend to get lost in the shuffle when thinking of the industry as a whole.”
So as a way to recognize them, the six floor covering categories were divided into Group A and Group B. The only sector not divided was rugs. “We didn’t set some arbitrary figure,” he added. “Rather, with the help of the WFCA, we used common sense to determine the groupings. The idea was to give every company the same chance to walk away with an award.”
The new format once again proved to be a success. Not only were more than 5,000 votes cast between last October and Feb. 29, companies such as The
Dixie Group and Johnsonsite were represented on the winner’s podium for the first time in the competition’s history, while American Marazzi returned to the top after a 10-year absence.
In addition to Shaw,
Mannington Mills took home the most awards with two, taking home Group A honors in the resilient and laminate categories. Since the Awards of Excellence began, the company has won more honors than any other mill.
And the winners are…
A total of 12 Awards of Excellence were handed out during a special luncheon here. The winners for 2008 were:
• Best Overall: Shaw Industries.
• Carpet, Group A: Shaw Industries; Group B: The Dixie Group.
• Resilient, Group A: Mannington Mills; Group B:
Johnsonite.
• Laminate, Group A: Mannington Mills; Group B:
Alloc.
• Ceramic, Group A:
Dal-Tile; Group B: American Marrazi.
• Hardwood, Group A: Armstrong; Group B: Mirage Prefinished Hardwood Flooring.
• Area Rugs:
Mohawk Industries.
During the awards ceremony, Davis told the invited guests that along with the fact contest winners are determined by their constituents, WFCA likes the notion there are no charges 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. 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 does in the marketplace.”
Davis concluded by noting in this era of consolidation, the Award of Excellence provides a great barometer for manufacturers on how they are perceived in the marketplace. “With a dwindling number of manufacturer partners from which to choose, it is critical for retailers to pick 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.”
Voting for the best manufacturers in 13th Award of Excellence will begin in October.
