For the month of October, the talented crew of installers with Ballin Knows Best, the first-ever AI-driven flooring installation chatbot, contribute content written by installers for installers in this editorial takeover. 

Smartlift's SL 609 Outdoor series is designed for mounting glass, marble, granite, and steel. 

Sherwin-Williams High Performance Flooring launched Accelera One is an advanced coating technology designed for decorative flake and quartz flooring systems that meet the rigorous demands of commercial and institutional environments, delivering a high level of performance, ease of application and chemical resistance.

Schönox FP is a flexible, one-part filling and priming compound for priming and filling in one step.

Taylor Adhesives 710 is designed for a variety of applications, including: applying seaming tapes, joining padding, sealing raw edges, securing binding, patching carpet, replacing damaged nap and reinforcing seams and weak backings.

Schönox Moisture Blocking Leveler (MBL) is a two-part leveling compound used on concrete substrates to control moisture before the application of floor coverings. It is a moisture mitigation system and subfloor leveling in one step. 

Designed to allow for an easier install process for hardwood flooring contractors by mitigating moisture on concrete and wooden subfloor systems, Bona launches Bona RollGuard.

HS Sturdy by Schonox is a hybrid active-dry technology-based rapid drying repair and smoothing compound suitable to provide a smooth finish on various substrates in interior areas.

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.

With the Federal Reserve beginning an easing of monetary policy and builder sentiment improving, single-family starts posted a modest gain in September while multifamily construction continued to weaken because of tight financing and an ongoing rise in completed apartments.

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

AHF said it continues to produce ways to grow the Do It Best partnership and drive sales, such as putting together pallet buy specials, creating a national drop-ship program and looking to get products into their distribution centers.

Flooring America welcomed four members to its Advisory Council. The Advisory Council convenes multiple times throughout the year to guide senior management and influence the strategic direction of our programs. 

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

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.

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

Architect Scott Faucheux is an expert at bringing magic to retail environments. Having worked on concepts for Urban Outfitters and Anthropology, Faucheux is now creative director at TPG Architects. Learn what he has to say about the role flooring plays in the design of retail spaces. 

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.

Roland Thompson, owner, Thompson Flooring & Installation and CFI member, was recently appointed to CFI Board Chair to help revamp the association’s chapter program. Here, he talks about his new position and CFI’s plans to grow the program. 

Belknap White’s Dave Godlewski, vice president ceramic, and Jane Twombly, director of specification, provided a more in-depth look at the company which is one of the largest flooring distributors in the country, discuss what’s coming for 2024, the opportunities they see on the horizon and the trends they are following this year.

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. 

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.   

The Food Traceability Rule is designed to facilitate faster identification and rapid removal of potentially contaminated food from the market, resulting in fewer foodborne illnesses and deaths.

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 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 resource provides information needed to prepare businesses to achieve compliance with the FDA Food Traceability Rule.

 In the final rule, the FDA announced its intention to consider exempting cottage cheese regulated under the Grade “A” Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) from the rule’s requirements.

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

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

VEMAG engineers developed the FT722 filling table, a new solution for bakeries to produce a variety of baked goods with exact weights.

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

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. 

An interest in shrinking the plant’s carbon footprint and a good neighbor attitude help ease hurdle rates for sustainability initiatives at this California craft brewery.

Finding a fun way to discuss carbon footprints in manufacturing and personal lifestyle requires a delicate balance, but New Belgium Brewing has found a way to strike the right note.

Efficiency was built into Frito-Lay’s Casa Grande plant a quarter-century ago, but the snack maker takes the facility’s energy- and water-conservation systems to a new level with near net zero.

A biogas system has transformed Stahlbush Island farms into a carbon negative operation, removing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it is responsible for creating.

The facility was not only constructed with sustainability in mind, but sustainability can be found everywhere you look. 

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.

This year Food Engineering’s revived Sustainable Plant of the Year Award has been given to Clif Bar for its newly built bakery in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Any milk dryer operation uses a lot of energy, and when you have the biggest operation in North America, you use…a lot of energy.

MycoTechnology, a Colorado-based manufacturer of mushroom-based protein powder, wins the 2020 Food Engineering Sustainable Plant of the Year award for its commitment to sustainability in design, construction and operations.

Cuisine Solutions and Stellar earn Sustainable Plant of the Year for sous vide facility in San Antonio.

Global food manufacturer Kerry is the winner of our 2022 Sustainable Plant of the Year award for its $125 million breadcrumbs and coatings plant expansion in Rome, Georgia. 

Renovating a facility to increase its capacity, energy use and water consumption doesn’t sound like it would earn Food Engineering’s 2022 Sustainable Project of the Year, but that’s exactly what Kerry’s coatings and seasonings facility in Rome, Georgia, has done.