Gerry Swindale

Thrust Floor International

Australians are experiencing the world wide recognition of the outstanding life long benefits that are obtainable in the use of a quality hardwood floor.

But where will the Australia wood floor industry be two years from now?

This massive resurgence of support for timeless use of a fantastic resource must not be compromised by opportunism nor mediocrity.

The industry as a whole must lift its game or suffer the consequences of imports taking their place.

Government statistics have consistently identified that wood flooring is second only to leaking showers as the most complained about products in the construction industry!

Therefore any attempt to have people in the industry look towards improving their standard of work should be welcomed by all, not least the consumer.

For 15 years people in the wood floor industry have worked hard to bring about a single National body which can truly represent the many diverse segments of the industry, from the saw miller to the floor finisher.

All of these have an important part to play in achieving professional outcomes.

Complaints cost money, leave lasting bad feelings, and discourage future sales.

The cost of complaints in the wood floor industry alone runs into millions of dollars every year - and they can be avoided!

A great amount of these complaints can be sheeted home to “attitude”.

Unfortunately, the Australian “she’ll be right” attitude is now just simply unacceptable, and we all need to recognise that we need to “go the extra mile” or we will not retain market share.

Over the years many have been content to just look after their patch and not be too concerned for what is happening in other sectors of the industry.

However, at the end of the day, it is the consumer who makes a value judgement call on what is delivered by way of quality of timber, workmanship and finishes, as well as the overall finished package.

I am fully committed to the view that within two years Australia will have achieved a very much more “customer focused” and much more “specialised” industry, more conscious of client expectations and striving to deliver quality products at the highest possible level.

In Australia we are blessed with a very high quality of life. We have people who know the difference between mud and clay, and they want what they want.

The flooring industry can command a far greater portion of market share by simply giving their clients what they want.

A high quality Australian product, properly installed, will not give problems.

We can achieve that technically, we can do it by improving our attitude, and by policing a point-of-difference in attitude among all our staff.

I must also add that anyone who believes that you can operate in this industry and never have a problem has not been in it for very long.

Assessment of complaints in any given technical area can be very subjective and it has always been very difficult to ensure that all inspectors are using the same “tape measure” when making any given assessment.

To this extent, the widespread introduction of National Wood Flooring Association of Australia’s (NWFA) “Problems, Causes and Cures” publication goes a very long way to being the common “tape measure” that all that sectors of the industry can now use.