Atlanta—When it comes to owning and operating a network of contractor businesses, it seems the formula is to let them run independently. The latest to find this out is Interface which has spun off its Resource Connect aligned dealer network.

The owners of these once again privately-run companies have decided to band together and form their own buying group—the Resource Commercial Flooring Network (RCFN). This now gives the industry two independently run contractor buying groups as RCFN joins the original contractor group, StarNet Commercial Flooring Cooperative.

RCFN begins life with 62 members and 78 locations in 29 states doing between $650 million and $700 million annually, according to Ron Lee, the group’s executive director. Lee is no stranger to these contractors or the buying group concept in general. He was one of the founders of StarNet and moved to Interface in 1996 to be president of Re:Source, the original name of the mill’s commercial network, for its first four years.

Since 2000, Lee has been vice president of Irvine, Calif.-based Commercial Interior Resources, one of the contractors that was part of the Interface system and is now once again privately-owned and operated. In fact, the company’s Ken Hurd has been elected as RCFN’s inaugural president.

Along with Lee and Hurd, RCFN’s management consists of the following: Thad Minyard of McCoys in Houston as vice president and Bob Pollock of Continental Interior in Detroit as secretary/treasurer. In addition, the following make up RCFN’s inaugural board: Bryan Little of Resource Ohio in Columbus, Ohio; Bob Plann of Resource Arizona in Phoenix; Keith Krueger of Flooring Resources in Chicago; Geoff Gordon of SCS Flooring Systems in Los Angeles; Rae White of Floor Décor Contract in Kansas City, Mo., and Dwayne Sherland of Sherland and Farrington in New York.

Board members will serve staggered terms from one to three years. New officers and board members are nominated and elected by the general membership and will serve two-year terms.

The group has also designated six committees—membership, national accounts, vendors, technical, marketing and education/training. With RCFN being formed just prior to FCNews going to press, Lee said it was too early to fill the committees and choose their respective leaders. “We’re hoping to have everything in place by the end of June.”

A Typical Member

As for the membership, he described a typical one as doing approximately $10 million per company. While they are all professional floor covering contractors, a majority of them are also involved with other interior products such as windows and furniture as a means to broaden their value to clients.

“Generally they focus on flooring,” Lee said, “with a high percentage of them using their own labor; they have a substantial market presence; they operate in all the primary and most secondary markets, and they are very attuned to the environment due to Interface’s eco-friendly atmosphere.”

While the group comes together with an established base, he said the goal is to add more members. “We want to be large enough to have an impact, yet still be able to maintain an intimacy in order for members to share information as well as develop and execute initiatives. “We will look for additional vendor support, and provide training and support that is specific to the dealer. The key is to ensure each member has available resources not necessarily available to a $10 million business.”

As for the growth, he said RCFN is looking for market segment partners. That is, contractors that are strong within a particular area of the contract market, such as corporate, education and healthcare.

RCFN is headquartered in San Clemente, Calif. A national convention is being planned for spring of 2007 though no specifics have been worked out. “We just closed the deal less than a month ago, so we first need time to stabilize everything,” he concluded.

For more on RCFN, call 949/681-8418.
—Matthew Spieler