Dear Calibre Nominee,

Congratulations on your project's nomination for Calibre Award!

The IIDA Southern California Chapter created the Calibre Awards to honor design excellence and consultant teams who have exceeded the expectations of the interior design profession. All of the qualified projects, including yours, are included in the jury process by which the awards are selected. You should be proud and honored to have been nominated for this prestigious award.

In the event your company is a Calibre winner, this is what to do:

	The project name, design form, and winning team members will be announced from the podium.
	We ask that a representative of your firm come to the stage to accept the award from the nominating designer.
	If you wish, you may express your thoughts on winning the award. (Please plan on 20 seconds maximum).
	You will then be escorted off the stage to the Green room for pictures.

We look forward to seeing you on March 27th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Good luck and we hope you enjoy the evening's festivities.

Sincerely.

Kathy Pray, IIDA Pressident Calibre Co-chair	Larry Bisson, IIDA, CID President Elect Calibre Co-chair	Elizabeth Dea, Ind, IIDA Calibre Co-chair.

Cleaning solutions can help keep your carpet looking its best between professional deep cleanings. But not all products in the marketplace have the same cleaning effectiveness. That's why you should only buy cleaners with the blue and green CRI Seal of Approval. It's your assurance that a cleaning solution is up-to-the-job.

Spot removers and pre-spray/in-tank solutions receiving the CRI Seal of Approval pass a stringent set of tests that are administered by an independent accredited laboratory.

The Seal of Approval program tests for:

	Efficacy (the ability to remove stains)
	Resoiling (whether the product attracts soil at an accelerated rate)
	pH (excessively acid or alkaline products can affect dyes and fibers)
	Optical Brighteners (can adversely affect color, appearance and performance)
	Colorfastness to light (residues on pile yarn can accelerate color change)

Water is used as a control standard. This means that the performance of a product is measured against the performance of water, for all of the criteria outlined above.

Spot testing program takes on the toughest stains

Staining agents tested include: mustard, ketchup, hot black coffee, grape juice, permanent marker, chocolate syrup, dirty motor oil and American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) synthetic soil.

	Evaluation of cleaning efficacy is performed using the AATCC Gray Scale for staining and is rated by three independent, trained technicians.
	Resoiling is tested by applying AATCC synthetic soil to the cleaned carpet sample. As with efficacy, the differential soil level between the cleaned sample and control sample is rated by trained technicians.

Pre-spray and in-tank products pass multiple spectrophotometer readings

As with spot removing products, pre-spray and in-tank products are applied to carpet according to manufacturer's instructions.

	Cleaning efficacy is based on a product's ability to remove soil and thereby improve the appearance of the carpet. The differential soil level between the cleaned sample and control is rated instrumentally and by a panel of independent technicians using the AATCC Gray Scale for color change.
	Rate of resoiling is evaluated by applying the test product to a standard carpet sample. Then, by applying synthetic soil in accordance with ASTM D-6540. The differential soil level between the cleaned sample and control is rated instrumentally and by trained technicians.

Other Testing Criteria

Similarly, spot removers, pre-spray and in-tank products are tested for pH levels, optical brightness and colorfastness to light. Some cleaning products which are extremely acidic or alkaline can adversely affect dyes and certain carpet fibers. Seal of Approval certified products have more neutral pH levels. They have no amount of optical brighteners because such additives are know to affect fiber color, appearance and long-term performance. Finally, Seal of Approval carpet cleaning solutions must show that they do not contribute to residue on pile yarn that can accelerate color change.

The bottom line: Seal of Approval cleaning solutions effectively remove stains and soil without adversely affecting the appearance or the performance of the carpet -- which is a wise investment for both consumers, commercial and institutional purchasers.

If you would like to submit a Cleaning Solution for testing, please visit our Certifying a Product Under the Seal of Approval Program page or feel free to contact CRI's Technical Department at 706.428.2101.

Certified Cleaning Solutions

Resistech® carpet maintenance treatment product type pre-spray manufacturer DuPont (with INVISTA as exclusive distributor) address INVISTA 175 TownPark Drive Suite 200 Kennesaw, GA 30144 USA phone 877-5ANTRON website www.antron.net

DFS Flooring in San Diego is now offering carpet reclamation through the INVISTA Carpet Reclamation Program, the first and only nationwide carpet reclamation program that recycles all types of carpet.

"Recycling is a major component of our business' environmental initiative," said Greg Keyes, Executive Vice President. "INVISTA's Carpet Reclamation Program is the perfect outlet through which environmentally-conscious dealers can achieve their goals." DFS Flooring is a member of the Antron® Aligned Service Providers Program, a network made up of exceptionally skilled and talented professionals within the commercial flooring industry in North America.

"ANTRON® carpet fiber continues to expand its environmental efforts and recycling is a major focus," said Bobby Berrier, vice president - INVISTA commercial & transportation flooring. "Our reclamation program was designed to be flexible to meet the needs of people practicing environmental responsibility. We are encouraged that DFS Flooring wants to be part of the program. We urge others to join our efforts. Dealers and end-users interested in recycling should contact our fiber consultants for more information."

Since opening, the center has collected more than 100 million pounds of carpet, resulting in more than 400,000 cubic yards of conserved landfill space. In 2002, the reclamation center became the first carpet reclamation facility to be certified as a carpet reclamation and processing facility under Scientific Certification Systems' Environmental Claims Certification Program. After a second rigorous evaluation, the INVISTA Reclamation Center was re-certified last year.

A number of products are produced with recycled carpet and commercially available:
EcoSoft® carpet cushion
Ceramic backer board

In addition, many other products for other end use markets are also produced from recycled carpet fiber such as:
Filtration devices
Automotive parts
Packaging materials
Furniture

DFS Flooring, a Southern California flooring and maintenance company owned by Greg Keyes and Richard Friedman, announced today its acquisition of the Van Nuys and San Diego locations and the maintenance business in Fullerton of The Invironmentalists, a leading flooring sales, installation, and maintenance company and the exclusive provider of the ResisTech cleaning chemistry.

The purchase of these locations of The Invironmentalists, formerly DuPont Flooring Systems, has allowed Friedman and Keyes to return this full-service commercial flooring business back to local ownership.

For the past 16 years, Friedman and Keyes have had key management positions with The Invironmentalists and have played leadership roles in guiding the business through a time of industry consolidation. They intend on using their experience in the industry to focus on organic growth, technology and brand services.

"This business is about people delivering services. When you have many hard-working employees, many of whom have been with you for more than ten years, we can offer a level of service and experience that attracts loyal customers rather than a project focus," says Keyes, co-owner of DFS Flooring.

DFS Flooring will continue to operate their facilities in San Diego and Van Nuys and a maintenance department in Fullerton. The business will continue under the same management and staff.

"We look forward to continuing our relationship with INVISTA Interiors and the quality which they deliver in brands such as Antron. One of our primary goals will be to grow our quality maintenance business since we are the exclusive provider in our area of ResisTech chemistry," said Richard Friedman, co-owner.

Firms thriving as contract shows vigor
The contract market has come back strong from a significant downturn that started in 2001, long before 9/11. While that event certainly had an impact, the dot-com-bomb — the implosion of high-tech stocks — took the lucrative corporate segment out of business. Thankfully that's all in the past as the industry reports corporate showing vigor along with all other segments of the market.

One group that's already benefiting from that strength is the nation's commercial flooring contractors. These firms are an often-overlooked link in the chain that takes products from manufactures to end users. These companies sell and install product, and they are likely to offer after-market services such as maintenance and reclamation. They are also likely to sell a wide variety of flooring products and serve many market segments.

In keeping with a long tradition of looking at the biggest and best, FCW adds the Top 25 commercial flooring contractors (see chart on page 12) to the Top 50 floor covering retailers and the Top 25 distributors. Like those lists, this one was based on extensive industry research conducted by the staff. The intent was to look at the 25 largest firms doing business in the specified commercial market.

(A word about methodology: FCW asked for input from industry manufacturing executives along with executives of StarNet, the nation's largest commercial flooring contractor cooperative. Based on that research, the staff identified the likely candidates and then contacted those companies directly for the information on this list.)

Laminate flooring continues to lag when it comes to glamorous commercial contracts, but the category has made headway with smaller periphery installations, according to several of the nation's top flooring contractors.

"Laminates are not being specified in New York City'" said Thomas Meberg, senior vice president of Manhattan-based Consolidated Carpet, which ranks fourth on FCW's list of Top 25 commercial flooring contractors. "We have men who can install laminate but we just haven't seen the bids for it. Stockbrokers and banks would rather go with real wood when it comes to their offices and conference rooms."

It's not just the big cities that are passing on laminate floors, either, said Chuck Alsteen, vice president of commercial interiors for Green Bay, Wis.-based H.J. Martin and Son, which ranks No.7 on FCW's list of Top 25 commercial flooring contractors. "Very seldom do you see laminate floors specified - and I deal with customers of all sizes, from Target stores to the guy down the street," he said. "Even the mom-and-pop shops are starting to spend a few extra bucks on ceramic instead of laminate because there isn't much difference in price when your figure it all out."

Still, there's money to be made in commercial laminate flooring. Exact sales figures for 2005 have yet to be tallied (see FCW's upcoming Statistical Report, July17-31), but executives at Alloc and Wilsonart Flooring say commercial sales represent 3 percent to 5 percent of the category's total value, which reached an estimated $1.4 billion in 2004.

Alloc president Claes Wennerth estimates commercial laminate floors sales topped $100 million for the first time last year. "The commercial side of laminate floorings the big push for us," he said. "Right now it might be worth between $100 million and $115 million, but we believe it is going to develop to $350 million in a few years."

Alloc and Wilsonart have good reason to feel optimistic about a segment many laminate suppliers abandoned years ago. Last year, Wilsonart enjoyed several high-profile installations, including Blockbuster, Crabtree & Evelyn, J.C. Penney and MSNBC's "Nightly News" studio. This year Alloc was called back to expand an earlier installation at London's Hearthrow International Airport.

"We put the initial floor in Hearthrow four years ago and it's performed beautifully," Wennerth said. "When it stands up to the test it increases confidence and that gets the momentum going. It also opens the eyes of the A&D community that the product can withstand the rigors of heavy traffic."

Aside from these high-profile installations, the real push on the commercial side is happening in more subtle and smaller venues, said Richard Friedman, CEO of Los Angeles-based DFS Flooring. "Commercial laminate is definitely bigger today than where it has been in the past," he said. "As the price of carpet keeps getting higher, the cost of laminate becomes even more competitive. That's why you're walking on it in more places than you think: at your local coffee shop, hair salon and doctor's office. It's these types of places - your corner, no name clothing retailer - that are finding value in laminate flooring."

When comparing laminate to other commercial categories, the segment's average selling price dropped 22.8 percent between 2000 and 2004 while the average price of carpet rose an estimated 7.7 percent. "Obviously commercial is an area where our products are being very readily accepted," said Curt Thompson, president, Wilsonart Flooring. "We've done work in retail, hospitality, health care, government- across all segments, quite frankly. It is a very solid portion of our business."