www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcMBTwMJ48E

Starnet began with 12 members back in the year that Bill Clinton replaced George H.W. Bush in the White House and Jay Leno replaced Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show.  Now, the group has grown to more than 165 independent members generating billions of dollars annually. The partnership includes members in 48 states and 6 Canadian provinces and maintains relationships with the top manufacturers in commercial flooring.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmIt8ZBiRlM

“I don’t think the goal of Starnet was ever to take charge of what’s going on in the industry,” explains Starnet Member and former Chairman Harold Chapman of Bonitz Flooring Group, Inc., “But I do believe they’ve assumed a leadership role. Whether it’s innovation, new ideas, doing something better than we used to do it, I think the members – and the industry as a whole – are going to continue to look to them for that leadership.”

Over the past 20 years, Starnet has helped independent flooring contractors compete on a national stage by providing access to marketing tools, training, online programs an exclusive products. Currently under the leadership of President Jeanne Matson, the partnership is not resting on past success but looking to the future.

“I believe Starnet will become even a larger influence in the industry,” Matson predicts, “We’ve made great strides toward that goal already, but we can do even more to get involved in industry activities and find opportunities and new channels for our members to grow.”

Starnet strives to offer to its members and to its Preferred Vendor Partners the most progressive  initiatives possible.  Current programs include helping members meet the demands of a changing technological landscape with even more training opportunities and helping them meet changing business needs as many members look to transition to the next generation of ownership.

Starnet’s year-long Anniversary Celebration included a gala event at the group’s Annual Meeting this April in Puerto Rico. Members, vendor partners and industry professionals also came together to participate in a special video presentation commemorating the accomplishments of the past 20 years.

During the Starnet 2012 Annual Meeting in Puerto Rico in April 2012, two new Board members were elected following the term expiration of Randy Weis and Jim Burke.  The new Board members were elected during the Shareholder’s Meeting on Saturday, April 21:

David Meberg, Consolidated Carpet, New York, NY
Jim Vanhauer, Commercial Flooring Systems, Omaha, NE

We welcome Dave and Jim to the Board and look forward to working with both of them.

In addition, new Board officers were elected following the Shareholder’s Meeting.  The new officers are:

Chairman – Bill Croswell, CraftCroswell Inc., Ridgeland, MS
Secretary – Cheryl Acierno, Acierno & Company, Denver, CO
Treasurer – Skip Mancini, B.T. Mancini Co., Milpitas, CA

Several committee chair positions have also changed this year and the new leaders of the committees (and members of the Starnet Advisory Council) are:

New Members – Starnet Advisory Council

Environmental Issues: Carlton Billingsley, Floors and More, Benton, AR
Vendor Partnership: Les Lippert, Lippert Tile Company, Menomonee Falls, WI
Best Practices: Ian Martin, Great Floors, Coeur d’Alene, ID
Technology: Bob Murdoch, M.E. Sabosik Associates, Point Pleasant, NJ
Technology: Christiaan Nazarian, Howard’s Rug, San Diego, CA
Marketing & Business Development: Dan Ulfig, Master Craft Carpet Services, Redford, MI

Please join us in congratulating the new leadership of Starnet! We appreciate their commitment to the partnership.

The 12th annual Starnet Design Awards were presented to winners during a gala celebration at Puerto Rico’s El Conquistador Resort on Friday, April 20, 2012. Seven category winners, two honorable mentions and one Grand Prize Winner were selected from a record 118 entries representing 52 Starnet Member companies. Established in 2000 to celebrate the creativity and talent of professionals in commercial flooring and interiors, the Starnet Design Awards honors entries based on the creative use of flooring, the integration of flooring into the overall design concept, and the successful achievement of client objectives.

The Grand Prize Winner, which also won the Healthcare category, was Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona, designed by HKS, Inc. with Starnet Member Wholesale Floors LLC using products from Armstrong. Judges selected the hospital design for its sophistication and ability to appeal to children of all ages, as well as adults. The flooring design was well aligned with the project goals and integrated into the interior architecture of the space. It acts as an excellent way finding device, drawing people into the space. While those who are in the hospital are there for serious issues, the cheerful use of color and pattern in the flooring design is a positive distraction and clearly sends a message that the space was designed for children. The Healthcare category was sponsored by AAHID.

The winner of the competition’s first ever award in the Retail category was The Hen House Market remodel in Kansas City, MO. Completed by Starnet Member Interior Surfaces Enterprise LLC and designed by Jeff Maple Design, the design featured products by Armstrong and DalTile and used neutral backgrounds with unexpected splashes of color for interest.

Starnet Member Ruggieri Brothers, Inc. along with architect Saccoccio & Associates, Inc. won the award in Education for the New England Tech Building in Greenwich, RI, a technically complex, large-scale project expertly executed using products from DalTile, Mapei, Johnsonite, Roppe, Mats Inc., and Altro.

The Corporate category winner was Chicago’s United Airlines Corporate Office – Willis Tower, designed by Canon Design and completed by Starnet Member Mr. David’s Flooring International, Ltd. using products from J + J | Invision, Karastan, Armstrong and Johnsonite. Judges recognized the project for its seamless integration of flooring into the overall design concept.

In the Hospitality and Public Space category, judges chose two Honorable Mentions along with the category winner. The category winner was the Edmonton International Airport Expansion in Alberta, Canada, completed by Starnet Member Antex Western Ltd. and designed by Stantec Architecture. The project used products by Tandus and Tarkett/Johnsonite to create clever solutions to the challenges of international travelers.

Honorable Mentions in the category were awarded to New City Library in New City, NY, created by Lothrop Associates LLP and Starnet Member RD Weis Companies using Tandus products; and Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel and Spa Expansion Project in Whorley, ID by Starnet Member Great Floors LLC and designer MITHUN, which included products from American Marazzi, DalTile, Armstrong, Mannington, Tandus, EcoSurfaces, Roppe, Ardex and Mapei.

City of Houston Permitting received the award for Environmental Achievement, sponsored by CARE. Created by Quality Service Floor Covering and architect Studio Red using Lees, Armstrong, Roppe and DalTile products, the design achieved LEED Gold status by the use of flooring products with renewable resource attributes, low emitting adhesives, recycled content, and products that can be recycled.

The award for Unique Installation Challenge (sponsored by CFI) went to Portneuf Regional Medical Center in Pocatello, ID. Designed by Ascencion Group Architects LLP and completed by Starnet Member Wall 2 Wall Floorcoverings using Armstrong, Milliken and Johnsonite products, the project exhibited in-laid water jet designs, heat welded seams, and other details requiring master installers at the top of their game.
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The winners were selected by a team of judges that included Jacqueline Barr, IIDA, LEED AP, of Ted Moudis Associates; Gregory M. Bishop, CID, of Accolade Interiors, Inc; Henry Horn of Horn Design; Georgina Sikorski, Executive Director of CARE; Jocelyn M. Stroupe, AAHID, IIDA, ASID, EDAC, President of AAHID; and Jim Walker, CEO of CFI.

Additional images of the award-winning designs and all 118 entrants are available online at starnetflooring.com/design-awards/.

What do you get when you add a record-breaking 118 Design Award entries, to a cumulative 34 hours of judges’ deliberations?

The best of the best in
Commercial Flooring Design!

On Friday, April 20^th the winners of the 2012 Design Awards will be revealed during the 2012 Annual Meeting. The event will recognize all the entries, 7 outstanding Category Winners and one amazing Grand Prize Winner.

“In the past several years, a number of highly recommendable blogs from design curators, specialists and product manufacturers have been launched in our industry,” said Natalie Jones, Vice President of Brand Development and Creative Product. “These blogs post regularly about sustainability, providing in-depth information into programs and possibilities that are good for the industry.”

 ”But as we see workplaces shift to become spaces where social and business interactions are interchangeable, and feed off of each other, we found ourselves asking what social media is for,” Jones continued. “It’s about making connections, and sharing stories. And when we looked back at the past five years in Mannington’s design and development of products, we saw amazing connections, each hinging on a product that solves real, practical challenges for interior designers and facilities managers.”

 When building the site, Jones and her team developed it to broaden the conversation from a focus on product, sustainability or infrastructure to the human interactions that surround these products. Every interiors product is built upon the relationships that form among design teams, between designers and their clients – and the long term relationship between the product and the people who daily live and work in the built environment.

 ”As product manufacturers, we’re lucky to stand in the center of the many relationships that surround a built environment, creating the product that is the DNA of each one of these interactions,” said Jones. “ManningtonConnects.com tells the stories of some of our favorite recent connections – great stories of people coming together to make beautiful products.”

 Like other blogs, ManningtonConnects.com will be updated on a regular basis with new stories. But unlike other industry blogs, it is designed as a storytelling engine and presented in an editorial format. The website was also developed using an adaptive design platform, scaling the site experience based on whether a visitor is viewing it on a computer, tablet or smart phone – and is being launched as part of an integrated campaign that brings the content into social media tools such as Pinterest, LinkedIn and Facebook, where opinions flourish. 

 A fourth-generation family owned company, Mannington Commercial offers a wide range of flooring solutions from a single point of contact – so its customers need never compromise between styling, performance, sustainability and customer service. The range of choices that work in carpet and hard surface categories is unparalleled, and its sustainability platform is built upon innovative measures to close the recycling loop, reduce waste streams, reuse waste materials and continue its leadership position in energy efficiency. http://manningtoncommercial.com

According to ARDEX Americas President and CEO Stephan M. Liozu, the app complements an overall strategy to grow the TSIP business.

 “We are the global leader in tile and stone installation products, and we will now be a significant player in the U.S. premium market,” he said. “Access to product information and tools from mobile devices is just one more way we show our customers we are serious about meeting the needs of those who use our products.”

The ARDEX Americas iPhone app was launched in May 2011, has thousands of downloads and is five-star rated. The complete app, or TSIP update, is available via iTunes.

 ARDEX has plans for more tools and updates for mobile devices including the addition of TSIP products to its free smart phone app which is available in the Android Marketplace.

 For more information, visit www.ardexamericas.com.

The Tarkett Company, provider of the world’s most integrated high-performance flooring system, supports eco-innovation across its business from processes to products. The company’s ReStart Recycling and Reclamation Program allows commercial flooring job scrap (rubber, vinyl and linoleum tile and sheet, wall base, floor finishing accessories and tread-cuttings) to be collected and returned to Tarkett to be repurposed or recycled for other products or uses.

To recognize the individuals who fully utilize the ReStart program, Tarkett is honoring them with a ReStart Award. The 2011 ReStart Award recipient is Academy Sports+Outdoors of Katy, Tex. It has 140 stores in 11 states.

Academy has reached a phenomenal milestone in their contributions made to the recycling of flooring material during store construction/renovations. In just the last three years is diverted over one million pounds (1,028,990 pounds, to be exact!) of flooring. This is just from the VCT collected during store renovations. It does not count the carpet that was removed nor the material that is replaced from ongoing repairs/maintenance.

In recognition of this achievement, Tarkett invited Academy management, along with the contractor involved in the project, Texan Floors, a Starnet dealer, to Surfaces for the award presentation on Thurs. Jan. 25 in the Tarkett showroom, Mandalay Ballroom H

The ARDEX Android App also gives detailed product descriptions, directs users to their local sales professional and features an overview of ARDEX Americas.  The app is available for download in the Android Marketplace. The Android App complements the ARDEX Americas  iPhone Product Calculator app which has been downloaded nearly 2,000 times and is five-star rated!

February marked a special product launch: PANDOMO is now available in North America!  PANDOMO by ARDEX is a comprehensive system for contemporary concrete surface designs that allows for any architectural possibility. Comprised of a wide-ranging system of ARDEX high performance products, PANDOMO decorative concrete surfaces are perfect for use in retail stores, office buildings, hotels, casinos, restaurants, entertainment venues, lobbies or any interior area where a concrete surface is desired. 

A full range of PANDOMO colors are available and each shade can be altered as needed. The five color schemes – light, natural, pure, bright, emphasis – offer the perfect introduction to room design.

ARDEX Americas also redesigned product packaging for ARDEX 8+9™ Waterproofing Compound. The new four-color packaging is a single-unit case, easy to carry and includes a five-step application guide for installers. In conjunction with the new packaging announcement, a special promotion of a free roller with purchase of every unit of ARDEX 8+9 is runs through the end of April 2012.

The Armstrong Commercial Flooring Design Team was recently honored with a 2011 GOOD DESIGN Award for their newly refreshed Marmorette® linoleum flooring with CONTINUUM™.

The award honors visionary and innovative product concepts and Armstrong was one of only three floor manufacturers to receive the award.

Armstrong has also been awarded the IIDA Innovative Design Award for a design patent for the exciting new Casablanca LVT pattern in the Natural Creations® Mystix® collection. This design patent makes this pattern unique to Armstrong – and one-of-a-kind. Casablanca has a damask-like visual inspired by global design influences.

Along with Armstrong’s GOOD DESIGN and IIDA Innovative Design Award, their linoleum and BioBased Tile® structures now carry the NSF 332 Gold Certification, indicating they have met the sustainability metrics created by NSF International. The NSF/ANSI 332 Sustainability Assessment for Resilient Floor Coverings is the standard by which resilient flooring products are evaluated for sustainability. All the products in their linoleum and BBT categories now have the gold rating – including new STRIATIONS™.

For more information, please visit www.armstrong.com.