Builder sentiment for new single-family homes increased in October, despite ongoing affordability challenges. The National Association of Home Builders reports optimism for 2025 market conditions, with builders anticipating easing inflation and moderating mortgage rates. The upcoming election remains a key factor in housing policy outlook.

Homeowners are shifting their approach to bathroom renovations with personal comfort and long-term usability increasingly prioritized over resale value considerations.

Despite a slowdown in Q3 2024 construction sector activity, home renovation professionals express optimism for Q4, according to Houzz's latest Renovation Barometer. 

USA Flooring announced the launch of a Partner Rewards Loyalty program, designed by The Incentive Group for Pro Customers, with support from Shaw Industries. 

Flooring franchise Floor Coverings International continues its expansion in Arizona with a new mobile showroom in Sunrise. As the real estate market booms and demand for its services grows, the franchise actively seeks partners in several Arizona cities.

In a recent Floor Talk podcast, we spoke with Grogan about his goals for 2024, how his past roles at Bentley and Parterre will help him grow connections and market share within the architecture and design community, and what he anticipates for the adhesives and commercial flooring markets for the next year.

AHF Products President and CEO Brian Carson, Crossville President Greg Mather, and Lindsey Waldrep, VP of marketing for the Crossville brand, recently spoke with FLOOR Trends & Installation about how the acquisition came about—and what it means for flooring retailers.  

Mannington Commercial's Shane Totten, AIA, director of sustainability, offers insights into the manufacturer's recent sustainability announcements. 

Bona’s Matt Casey, director of professional marketing and the Bona Certified Craftsman Program, has been with the company for nearly two decades. During that time, he has witnessed a multitude of contractor challenges as well as the evolution of new product solutions. He details the current state of sustainability in the wood products industry, offering a few tips on how to work smarter not harder. 

Louisville Tile Distributors recently promoted Tina Boyle to the position of Chief Operating Officer. She shares perspective on her career path and leadership roles for women in business.

David Gross, executive director, INSTALL, shares his experience, how he came to land in a union organization and provides next steps for flooring installers who are interested in moving into another role within the flooring industry.

The INSTALL Warranty Contractor designation is a unique offering in the flooring industry because it guarantees that the installation work is of the highest quality and stands behind that guarantee with a free extended warranty on labor.

After losing family members to gun violence, Charity Adeoti discovered her passion for making a difference. Learn how this graduate of the Floor Covering Education Foundation 10-week installation program aims to inspire youth to get off the streets to pursue careers—and successful futures—in flooring.

Leslie Del Pozo, vice president of marketing content & communications, QEP/Roberts has been supporting the installation community in a variety of ways for several years now, including sponsoring our Installation Awards for the second year in a row. Here, we dive more into her flooring journey, what supporting the installation community means to her and the importance of just showing up.

David Gross, executive director, INSTALL, highlights the Sisters in the Brotherhood (SIB)—a women’s union organization within the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. He provides an update on how the unions have evolved over time and talks in depth about the support and resources the SIB offers.

Fishman Flooring’s new president Shane Richmond discusses the benefit of Employee Stock Ownership Plans, succession planning and the future of flooring distribution. 

At NeoCon 2024, Floor Trends & Installation met up with AHF Products Chief Commercial Officer Jennifer Zimmerman and Vice President of Commercial Fred Reitz to learn more about the company’s commercial channel strategy, incorporating AHF Contract, Armstrong Flooring, Crossville Tile and Parterre brands.

Learn how this leader in resilient flooring emphasizes long-term planning, approaches the evolving role of digital printing, and discusses the importance of clear product storytelling. Plus, Wu highlights Novalis' commitment to domestic manufacturing.

SCI Floor Covering, backed by Ranier Capital, is expanding through strategic acquisitions in the Midwest. Despite some market softness, SCI President and CEO Dave Elberson remains optimistic about the flooring industry's outlook. Learn about his acquisition strategy, business outlook and SCI's career path for installers. 

Get an inside look at the art of flooring design through the eyes of Audra Keiber, Mohawk’s director of design & development. In this episode, Keiber gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the Mohawk Design Summit, bringing retailers and designers together to forecast 2025 and 2026 trends and product ideation.

The Belknap White Group recently announced the brand merger of Belknap White, JJ Haines and Swiff Train under the UCX umbrella. Here, UCX CEO Ray Mancini discusses the merger and the future of distribution.   

David Winkler, regional director of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 5, discusses the importance of training, provides insight into the inner workings and benefits of IUPAT and dispells some common misconceptions about trade unions. 

No doubt, artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay, but how is it being utilized in flooring installation? App developer and installer Jason Potts walks us through the newest features of AI bot Ballin Knows Best and what it means for the future of installation.

Learn how Showroom Pricing, founded by Kristen Stensby, offers QR code-driven solutions for flooring retailers, enabling real-time pricing updates and comprehensive data reports. 

Vince Lowe, senior VP and general manager home specialty and flooring with Synchrony, talks through the high points on“The Future of Retail” report, reveals more about consumer shopping trends, how technology is shaping the shopping experience and where technology is heading in the next six years.

FDA has initiated an onsite inspection at the Austrofoods facility located in Ecuador.

This new requirement was established following a months-long infant formula shortage sparked by insanitary conditions at one of the nation’s largest infant formula facilities. 

D-tagatose must be declared as an added sugar on the Nutrition Facts label, but it contains fewer calories than sucrose or table sugar.

The updated list includes select food ingredients (including food and color additives), food contact substances and contaminants under FDA review.

The request includes an increase of $495 million—or 7.4 percent above the FY 2023 funding level.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a revised draft Introduction and Appendix 1 to the multi-chapter draft guidance for industry titled “Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food: Draft Guidance for Industry” (PCHF Draft Guidance).

The alert gives the FDA the ability to help prevent entry of human food products into the U.S. if they are found to be contaminated with a broad range of human-made chemicals.

The meeting is designed to help the agency improve its understanding of how it can leverage data and technology to exponentially advance food safety and achieve better health outcomes.

The guidance describes how firms can voluntarily engage with the FDA before marketing food from genome-edited plants.

The study sought to better understand the ecology of human pathogens in the environment in the Southwest agricultural region, particularly how pathogens survive, move and possibly contaminate produce prior to harvest

The joint efforts aim to reduce waste, increase recycling of organics, reduce climate pollution, save families and businesses money, and support a circular economy.

The sampling was conducted to better understand the extent to which these products potentially contain unintended milk at levels that may be hazardous to people with milk allergy.

Filtration efficiency is an important element in dust collection system design for the food industry.

Selecting the right pump to convey product in a food-safe manner during processing steps or to remove waste from processing operations to a waste facility is important for poultry processors.

The California-based company is adding equipment, resources and production space to accommodate production of USDA-certified meat and poultry-based products.

In this four-part series on dust collection for the food industry, we’ll cover everything you need to know about air filtration.

The facility offers live demonstrations of the company's 3D printers, showcasing real-time production of plant-based meat and seafood alternatives and promoting customer engagement.

ProMach’s Wine & Spirits Solutions team is positioned to solve the unique challenges of processing and packaging traditional bottled products, small-format bottles and ready-to-drink (RTD) products in cans and single-serve bottles.

GEA’s new system is designed to reduce microbiological risks, ensuring safer and more efficient processing operations.

When it comes to production, similarities exist among alternative and animal protein processes, but several differences occur, particularly around operational footprint, equipment, and water and energy usage.

Mattoni 1873, a distributor of soft drinks in Central Europe, has invested more than €40 million ($43.66 million) in technology for its various plants in the last three years.

Learn how long cartridge filters last, how to know when they need to be changed and what you can do to extend their life and performance. 

In the past, Food Engineering’s Sustainable Plant of the Year story has focused on a single plant at one geographic location that has made significant strides in sustainability.