FCICA, the Flooring Contractors Association, says it held a successful 40th Annual Convention and Commercial Flooring Trade Show, March 21-23 at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Miss. Attendee numbers were similar to 2021, with 152 people registering and 36 member companies exhibiting.
Flooring industry professionals, commercial flooring contractors, distributors, manufacturers and consultants attended two full days featuring two keynote speakers, a trade show, four education sessions, three product demonstrations, networking opportunities and committee meetings.
On Tuesday, the first full event day, Board Chair Pat Kelly, Synergy Flooring, welcomed attendees and officially opened the event. The Opening Keynote from David Meberg, President and CEO, Consolidated Carpet, followed where he spoke on current industry challenges, opportunities and future outlook.
The Opening Keynote was sponsored by MAPEI Corporation. Jeff Johnson, FCIS Product Manager, shared information about MAPEI and introduced Meberg. Kelly then conducted the FCICA Business Meeting, where he recapped FCICA’s membership status, projects and future initiatives.
The keynote kick-off and opening remarks were followed by back-to-back meetings, an education session, product demonstrations from LATICRETE International and Novalis Innovative Flooring and the Commercial Flooring Trade Show.
The education session was a contractor panel on “Navigating the Flooring Industry in 2022,” moderated by Ron Nash, President of LATICRETE North America. Panelists included Meberg; Rod Von Busch, CIM, VP of Operations, C.D.I. Flooring; Bobby Diltz, CIM, President, Breegle Building Products; and Jesse Tranel, CIM, Vice President, DCO Commercial Floors
The second day opened with a keynote from John West, CIM, Flooring/Project Manager, FL Crane and Sons, who spoke about his first-hand experience as a CIM, practical application of his training and how it has benefitted his career and business. Also featured were three education sessions, a product demonstration from MAXXON Corporation, FCICA Industry Partner presentations and committee meetings.
The education sessions were “Strategies for Business Succession and Estate Planning,” presented by Bryan Evans, Federated Insurance; “Ceramic Tile Wall Applications and Considerations for All Sizes,” presented by Daniel Grant, CIM, CTI, CCSMTT, Technical Field Representative, ARDEX Americas; and “Protecting the Customers Investment and Your Bottom Line,” presented by Don Styka, CIM, Director of Field Services, Tarkett
The final program was held on Thursday, where the FCICA Board of Directors conducted its annual committee meeting to discuss association business.
FCICA looks forward to meeting again in 2023 at the 41st Annual Convention and Commercial Flooring Trade Show at the El Conquistador in Tucson, Ariz., March 27-29, 2023. For more information, visit https://www.fcica.com.
