SAN FRANCISCO—The last few years have not been the most fruitful for the member-owned ReSource Commercial Flooring Network. But the worst is in the rearview mirror—that is, if the optimism that abounded at the group’s annual convention here earlier this month is any indication.
According to Ron Lee, executive director of the group, many of the flooring contractors have been experiencing a steady, albeit gradual, increase in their business since August. “We have seen segments that have had little to no activity becom-ing busy, such as corporate. And healthcare continues to be strong.”
Lee noted that a slow recovery is not the worst thing in the world—far from it. “One of the good things about a slow recovery is many companies in the group can finance it. If the economy grows too fast, growth consumes cash.”
In fact, Lee cited cash flow as the group’s biggest challenge. “In this slowly rising economy— after coming out of 39 months of slow business and banks not as willing to lend money—keeping as much cash to grow and taking advantage of the opportunities out there is critical.”
Cash flow is not the only challenge facing ReSource’s 67 members, who operate about 100 locations and collectively do about $850 million in business. Moisture is still the single greatest challenge in regard to floor covering, Lee said, and it’s getting worse. “The time between building and occupancy is not adequate to install floor covering anymore. And so much work is in older structures where we have no idea how they were built. The solution is better testing, better design of the concrete, and designing adhesives and remediation systems to block the moisture. But it requires a huge amount of dollars and energy trying to fix certain situations.”
Another of the more significant headaches for these flooring contractors may actually begin long before they arrive at a jobsite. While the prevailing thought is that most problems are technical and installation related, the truth is many lie within the specification community, on which the flooring contractors have little influence. “Designers think of us as installers,” said Alan Beswick, ReSource Floors, San Diego. “They value the opinion of a 22-year-old manufacturer’s rep more than ours. It’s because we can’t get to them. The librarian will stop us.”
A panel of designers that featured Ruth Cline, studio principal, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, Charlotte, N.C.; Jana Gunsul, principal, DES Architects + Engineers, Redwood City, Calif.; and Annette Wiley, associate principal, Perkins + Will, Los Angeles, tried to frame the issue and provide solutions.
“You need to find an avenue to build trust,” Gunsul said. “How? Maybe it’s through participating in IIDA so we can build a relationship. Put together a list of things you can help us with or educate us on.”
The economy and resulting downsizing of staff has created a big gap between veterans and a younger group of designers. So there are many people who need to be trained, and having flooring contractors give short presentations to young designers may be a way to get in the door.
“Focus on things that are important to us, like sustainability,” Wiley said. “It’s about problem solving. Sustainability has brought with it changing backing types, fiber types and adhesives. Keep us out of trouble. Tell us about the pitfalls. What should we know based on your experiences? We can take that information back to the clients.”
But that doesn’t necessarily ensure the flooring contractor can still get in the front door. Often, the general contractor does not allow his subcontractor to meet with architects and designers or the developer, something that would help in ensuring the right product for the job. On the other hand, the general contractor often relies on the flooring contractor for his knowledge.
“The architects technically aren’t as good as they used to be,” said Ken Russell, project executive, Pepper Construction, Chicago. “They don’t know about carpet beyond what it looks like. So I’m relying on my flooring contractor to tell me the product the architect is specifying is not a good choice for these reasons. My most valuable subs are the ones who will say I’m not going to do it that way.”
Unfortunately, not all general contractors subscribe to that theory. One ReSource member told FCNews, “We rely on the general contractor for work, the architects and designers for work and the developer for work. If we tell the architect his spec isn’t going to work, we won’t get any more business from that architect. We tell the general contractor something won’t work, we won’t get any more business.”
So what’s the solution? At the end of the day, knowledge, understanding and communication was the consensus.
The flooring manufacturers not only see the value in the group, they find them to be professional, knowledgeable and an asset. For example, Joe Tuttolomondo, general manager, XL Brands, said he prefers to deal with groups that are proactive, strategic with their thought process and embrace technology, and that embodies ReSource. “ReSource has forced us to be a better supplier and continue to offer value-added products and technologies that are beneficial to members and their customers.”
Dominic Rice, vice president of commercial flooring, Armstrong, called ReSource members professionals committed to the business and very supportive of preferred vendors. And Lee Martin, vice president, sales and marketing, J+J/Invision, applauded that ReSource members remain close to their businesses and are not absentee owners.
The power of association
ReSource was set up as a member-owned organization five years ago and Lee, with over five decades of industry experience, was tapped to lead the group with the edict to do things as an organization the members couldn’t do on their own. That would include training, education, marketing and technology.
“Building our JobRunner software is one example,” Lee said. “We also created a marketing manual, all digital, specific to all the different market segments. It’s an entire catalog of templates and logos so the members can customize their businesses very inexpensively. Our goal is not to market ReSource but to market our members. When our members are successful, we are successful.”
But maybe the biggest asset is the communication amongst members. “We have an incredible variance in companies, from size to market segment to whether they have in-house labor,” Lee said. “We have companies that have solved problems other companies have not yet experienced. So we have developed a communications system that has many components:
- live meetings where they can share knowledge and best practices;
- an online university for education not only on the services side but also on the product side, and
- a member-only online forum for sharing information.
“It’s all about leveling the knowledge of the whole network,” Lee said. “When you are doing business in your local market, you don’t have an opportunity to see the national trends. We talk to manufacturers, follow economists and use what we learn to help our members become more aware of what’s going on. We work on their business while they work in their business.”
-Steve Feldman