Join Flooring Africa, Barry and Belinda Doveston and guests for a celebration of the flooring community and the master craft through self-isolation, informal online interviews with industry players. These conversations focus on product insight, upcoming innovation and inspiration to keep us going. Let’s dispel the blues by sharing expertise and giving back.

No one could predict the scale and speed of the corona virus and its impact on global trade and life as we know it. Time will tell how this story ends and whether humanity can rise to the challenge or will fall through ego, ignorance and selfish motive. Despite that, if you are tuned to seeing opportunity to step-up and give back, there is always opportunity to do something incredible. We call on you to join us in a rapid-fire industry response to this crisis and to seize the opportunity to keep your doors and hearts open to those you serve. Click on each video icon to play the episode or to open it in YouTube.

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Jonathan Bodley

In our first Online Flooring Expo interview, we chatted to Jonathan Bodley from The Flooring Connection about a revolutionary floor installation system that we know is going to get you very excited.

Their Acoustic Cradle system is locally made in South Africa from recycled truck tyres and is a very cost effective approach to raised flooring, acoustic and underfloor heating options, deck installations on waterproofed surfaces and much more.

Meet the man with a passion for our environment and a keen focus on quality substructure solutions.

Brandon Park

With over 50 years of successful trading under their belt, this team knows how to handle great projects and attract the right quality partners. KBAC (Kevin Bates Albert Carpets) Flooring is a national commercial and residential flooring service and product provider that leads from the front. With a reputation for getting the job done right and not walking away until every client is fully satisfied, it’s entirely understandable as to why they have the reputation they have. It’s because they’ve earned it.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Brandon Park, CEO of KBAC Flooring, and asked a few gritty questions as to how their secret sauce was developed and refined.

Andy Paige

We all love real wooden floors and sometimes printed vinyl and ceramic tiles printed to look like wood just doesn’t cut it. When bamboo flooring first hit the global market, we all thought BOOM… this was going to revolutionize and redirect the world’s insatiable consumption of old-growth hardwood trees. It hasn’t happened yet. Maybe with the shock of Covid-19, many more consumers will reassess the decisions they make from day to day and, with a little luck, materials like bamboo will hit the mainstream.

One company that has globally proven itself as a responsible and bankable bamboo material producer and promoter, is Moso Bamboo. We spoke to Andy Paige, managing director of Moso Africa. We got to explore some of Andy’s and, in turn, Moso Global’s core foundational principles in delivering great sustainable products and leading teams through tough times.

Tandy Coleman

Flooring in public spaces needs to perform to a very strict set of criteria. This is not somewhere where you take shortcuts, swap out products for cheaper questionable alternatives, nor use untrained installers. All of these facets and more form the backbone of great bankable results that one comes to expect from the likes of Polyflor products around the world.

Here in South Africa, Polyflor has been led by a single guiding family that understands these attributes and more. Three generations that, each in their own right, have hard-earned the respect of the flooring, construction, and that of the medical industry. Fortunately for us, we received the awesome opportunity to talk to Tandy Coleman, CEO of Polyflor South Africa about the trials and tribulations of being a self-built female leader in a demanding male dominant world while holding onto her heart and passion for this brand and product. In today’s quickly changing world, it’s as much about the people behind the product than it is about the product.

Jurgens Terblanche

We spend so much time and effort choosing, specifying, and installing beautiful flooring yet we give so little time and consideration to protecting this investment in its most vulnerable period.

Post-installation protective products should be a compulsory purchase for any discerning site manager or installer, and that’s why we were so excited to interview Jurgens Terblanche from Dewpoint Industries, who are specialist suppliers in this field. Having seen multiple floors damaged or trashed due to unconscious post-installation contractor abuse or accidents, it’s easy to understand why a founding objective of Flooring Africa is to educate the market about tools, skills, and products like these that are readily available to save floors.

Greg Wilson

It’s not every day that you get the chance to meet such a passionate modern-day pioneer. Greg Wilson and his crew are exactly that. Pioneering their way forward in possibly one of the most important refinements of hardwood alternative technologies.

This interview will give you a slight window into what it takes as a person and as a team to break new ground and lead from the front. Hempwood, it’s a product we need in our future and our united industry needs to support it.

Eva Kaiser

While we are all fairly familiar with the various formats of luxury vinyl flooring by now, the natural progression of this segment is to evolve from fixed shapes and decors into the wonderful world of customization. Never before have we seen the variety of possibilities available to us as presented by Amtico Commercial, a world leader of quality and design.

We chatted with Eva Kaiser, director of Evalution Flooring, and importer of the Amtico ranges into South Africa about her passion for colour, pattern, and sustainable management of this beautiful medium, also being Global Green Tag certified. Designers take note: if you are looking for an opportunity to elevate a flooring space beyond the traditional, then this is something you should definitely consider.

Niek Besuijen

In a modern world, we are exposed to a plethora of products, brands, and options of products we may or may not need. It’s not very often when you come across a product that is so versatile and capable of delivering true value, that it steps 100 paces ahead of the competition.

We have been following Excentr and their beautiful range of products for some time now and are super excited to share this interview with Niek Besuijen with you, explaining why an investment into this company delivers true bang, for your buck. This crew and brand are hard to ignore.

Jeremy Stewart

In this episode we showcase technology advancement driven by passion. Jeremy Stewart, owner of Seamless Flooring Systems, reveals his latest creations and products that take variable types of natural or recycled granule-based materials and transform them into technical, modern, and functional wall and floor mediums that wow the viewer.

From coloured quartz stone, glass, cork, or ground truck tyres and more, these materials are coated with variable pigments or glow in the dark solutions to deliver exciting technical solutions for our modern residential and commercial flooring industry. These products, paired with Jeremy’s passion for education and localized product development, propel him to the forefront as a homegrown South African flooring innovator and leader.

Terry Newman

When you see a timber specialist committed to their art of timber excellence, it makes you want to raise your game no matter what role you play in the industry. We were blessed, yet again, to chat with another passionate flooring specialist who understands the essential balance of a qualified team, correctly sourced materials, and product design that can allow their products to endure for many decades, if not centuries to come.

Terry Newman from EcQuality Timber Products is an Australian timber enthusiast with his own production facility near Shanghai China. Terry is making some of the most highly respected timber products coming out of China today. These products can now be procured directly for special projects.

Miles Suckling

Working efficiently is the SECRET SAUCE to maximizing return in an ever more competitive and evolving market. When first introduced to this system of products, we knew it was a game-changer. It is the technology, and comprehension of how these technologies can accelerate your game, which will provide you with that competitive advantage and security in the end results.

In this interview, we chatted with Portamix Global’s CEO Miles Suckling and their UK and European sales director, Brian Burwood, on how this product delivers advantages and the benefits of this system in a post-Covid19 contractors’ world.

Sasha Kozinsky

SPC is big news, especially in Southern Africa. Yet we also know that every new product we get to experience has a story, a journey of how it has evolved and developed over time. Quality comes through persistent experience and commitment to product refinement.

We chatted to the MD of Finfloor, Sasha Kozinsky, about Finfloor’s journey with SPC or Stone Plastic Composite. We looked into their testing approaches and get more insight into their three SPC ranges – Diamond Core, Sapphire and Diamond Tile. If you work with or are interested in SPC, this is a very insightful discussion that will expand your perspective on this important product category.

Renalde Pretorius

In setting trends, you need to lead and sometimes take large calculated chances. Renalde Pretorius has done just that and got it right. Her brand – Wanabiwood – is now a recognized South African flooring brand that continues to deliver products of value and quality across our nation.

Renalde chatted to us about her story and she shared some of her history on how she came to be in the flooring industry and what inspires her to step out and lead from the front. We also got a tease into what’s coming next in the Wanabiwood portfolio for 2020/21.

Jaco Vermeulen

When things just work, such as when there is clear communication, a diverse and well price offering, good stock holding, and well thought and refined internal systems, you don’t need to get fancy with clever marketing or wild card product offering. The clients will come to you, and all because your products and services are bankable, a safe and profitable choice to inspire moving volume.

We chatted to Jaco Vermeulen, general manager of Likewise Flooring, South Africa. We explore their vision and mindset in being a one-Stop flooring solution for our professional flooring trade here in South Africa and surrounding countries.

Pasi Muzvidziwa

Every industry needs a champion who leads and motivates its people to higher levels of competence, understanding and engagement to make it better. Here in Southern Africa, we have Pasi Muzvidziwa, a flooring specialist who continues to push the boundaries of quality service and industry leadership.

While steering his own business – PasiFlooring – through these tough times, he is also our local flooring association’s (Southern African Wood, Laminate, and Flooring Associations) chairman, an organisation responsible for being the guiding light and champion of our industry. We had the awesome pleasure of exploring various questions and views on skills development in Africa and the unique structural dynamics of our local industry.