Garner, N.C.— Pergo, the industry’s number one laminate producer, has decided not to exhibit at Surfaces 2005 in Las Vegas, Jan. 26 to 28. Rather, it will spend its energy focusing on more one-on-one meetings with distributors and dealers. David Small, director of marketing, told FCNews the decision came following a long process of evaluating the market’s “strengths and weaknesses. As we looked ahead to 2005, we needed to determine what strategic direction we should pursue in order to maximize our business.”

The final decision, he explained, was to bypass Surfaces—a show Pergo has exhibited at since first entering the North American market 10 years ago—and instead put more emphasis on its product kick-off events as well as face-to-face meetings. “This decision in no way lessens our commitment to the specialty dealer,” Small stressed. “In fact, we hope this will strengthen it as we will get to spend more quality time with them, which enables us to react better to their needs. “The full-line flooring retailer is an extremely important component to our business,” he continued, “and when it comes to new and exclusive products, displays and programs, they are going to see our commitment has not waned.”

When it comes to its kick-off events, Small said this is something Pergo has done with its distributors and key dealers for many years. “But, now, we will put even more emphasis on them.” He said before finalizing the decision, the mill contacted its distributors and key dealers “and they all gave us their support and understanding. “The fact is,” Small added, “we have always valued Surfaces and still do—it’s a great show. But we needed to make this decision on what we felt was best for Pergo and our customers. And for us, that has to do with putting our resources into more direct relationship building.”

With that, he noted, Pergo will still attend and exhibit at buying group conventions and similar shows where the company is a vendor. Also part of Pergo’s decision process not to exhibit in Las Vegas had to do with overall attendance at the show which ties to the fact the industry’s three largest mills— Mohawk Industries, Shaw Industries and Armstrong World Industries—are once again not participating. “Attendance is a key element,” Small said, “and those big mills account for a great deal of the people who attend. But this decision was not about whether those other manufacturers are not exhibiting, rather it is a strategic move that Pergo feels is the best way to allocate resources and show our commitment to the specialty retailer.”

As proof, the company does value what Surfaces offers, Pergo plans to still have a presence at the show through a newly created division for its Four-In-One-Molding system that was introduced at Surfaces 2004. Small said the company has had great success with the proprietary system and believes there are a number of opportunities for it to expand the business. Therefore, a separate group has been formed to handle this unique product, and Pergo is planning on the yet unnamed division to have a booth in Las Vegas to showcase just the accessories. “Obviously,” he added, “it will not be as large as the booth we normally occupy, but we will definitely be showing.”

In other news, Björn Edwardzon, Pergo’s senior vice president of Europe and a member of the Pergo Management Group, has left the company for a position as managing director of Hilding Anders Sverige AB, a furniture company in Sweden. He had been with Pergo since 1995, holding management positions in logistics, accessories and sales and marketing, before taking on his current responsibilities in 2002. —Matthew Spieler