Beth Vessels

BrassCraft has promoted Beth Vessels to the position of national accounts manager. Vessels joined BrassCraft in October of 2006 as retail channel manager. She is leading the sales effort for both BrassCraft and Cobra to Wal*Mart and Target. In addition, she will spearhead sales growth for other mass merchants, e-commerce and grocery chain customers.

Johan Bouwer

Saniflo announced that Johan Bouwer retired as head of the company’s Canadian operations, effective July 31. A 20-year veteran with the company, Bouwer was president of Saniflo in Canada since 1987, and held the same post in the United States from 1998 until 2006. He will continue to work as a consultant at Euro Sales Inc., advising manufacturers on product certification and plumbing codes and standards, while also developing water-saving technologies.

Nicole Shillingford has joined Villeroy & Boch USA Bath, Kitchen and Tile as marketing manager. Shillingford will be responsible exclusively for the bath business segment, which includes the brand’s plumbing fixtures and cabinetry. Shillingford previously served in similar executive marketing positions at Time Warner and Lord, Abbett & Co., asset management. She will be based at Villeroy & Boch’s corporate office in Monroe Township.

Oliver Bleich	Alexander Wolf

Dornbracht Americas announced it has created a new Product Management department. Oliver Bleich, brand communication and marketing manager for Dornbracht Americas, will oversee the department. Reporting to him is Alexander Wolf , who joins the North American operations from the parent company in Germany. The Product Management department will focus on translating existing market needs in North America into clearly defined and detailed product requirements that can be incorporated into current designs and also into the development of future Dornbracht concepts and innovations overseas.

Aquatic Industries announced two changes in personnel. Jim Boerma has joined the company as Eastern regional sales manager. He will oversee the management and growth of sales distribution for Aquatic’s Eastern territory. Boerma brings to Aquatic more than 20 years of sales experience of high-end bath products and an extensive knowledge of territory management. His background in sales includes more than 10 years with Jacuzzi where he was a district sales manager. He also spent four years with Builder Resource Group as president of operations.

In addition, Roger Tebbe has been hired by Aquatic Industries as plant manager. Tebbe brings nearly 30 years of diverse manufacturing experience to the role. His most recent positions were director of operations for Ametek and plant manager for Emerson Electric, both in Reynosa, Mexico.

Wiseway Supply (Florence, KY) hired Stephanie Johnson as showroom manager. She was formerly involved in showroom operations at Ferguson Enterprises, Newport News, VA. Her primary focus will be to grow the Florence, KY, showroom and increase market share with the builder segment.

CAN-SAVE , a distributor of specialty building products, kitchen & bath products, and doors, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2007. Located in Barrie, ON, the company was founded in 1982 and has served the lumber & building material industry for 25 years. Can-Save serves over 1,200 retail LBM dealers, specialty retail dealers, and OEM accounts. The company stocks over 6,000 items and handles thousands of other items by special order.

Crawford Supply  (Morton Grove, IL), in conjunction with Kohler Co., Kallista and Tip Top Construction, held its first design contest with senior design students from Harrington Design School and Harper College in Illinois. Each school was provided with a list of challenges and a small budget. The winning teams were: Ladies Room—Harper College Team 3: Christian Gross, Debbie Habeck, Kellie Slovis; and Mens Room—Harrington College Team 1: Jillian Sorn, Lance Glass, Matthew Hudson.

Vendor News

Kohler Co. , a leading manufacturer of kitchen and bath products, engines and power generation systems, cabinetry, tile and home interiors, laid off 160 employees from its Kohler, WI, operations effective July 13. The layoffs are a direct result of a slower summer production schedule and the continued soft housing industry, and affect employees within the Cast Iron, Engine and Generator divisions, as well as the Distribution Center.

Falcon Waterfree Technologies , a Grand Rapids-based manufacturer of zero-water consumption urinals (pictured), has garnered four top product awards from leading national and international organizations. The awards include: American School & University’s Top Product of 2006; 2007 ADEX Platinum Award for Design Excellence; 2007 organicARCHITECT “organicAWARD”; 2007 TFM Show “Best of Show” Award.

Delta ’s Water-Efficient Showerhead with H2Okinetic Technology® was the recipient of the Stevie Award in the “Best New Product or Service — Consumer Products” category at the 5th Annual American Business Awards held June 11, 2007. The Stevies recognize and create awareness of the outstanding efforts, accomplishments, and positive contributions of companies and business people worldwide.

Jacuzzi Brands Corp. announced that its subsidiary, Jacuzzi Inc., has granted an exclusive license to Thurmo Medical Sleep Products, Inc. USA to manufacture and market luxury sleep systems under its Jacuzzi® trademark. The suite of products, to be known as Jacuzzi Sleep Systems™, encompasses mattresses and foundations featuring a proprietary gel visco-elastic memory foam that provides high comfort, superior orthopedic support and a cool sleeping surface.

Green Street

The American Standard FloWise® high-efficiency toilet (HET) (pictured) is among the first to bear the new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense label. FloWise qualified for the WaterSense program because it uses 20% less water than the codes require. Unlike other 1.28-gpf toilets, FloWise doesn’t require a dual-flush mechanism — just a lever flush. FloWise also features the new Champion 4 flushing technology with a funnel-shaped Accelerator™ Flush Valve that forces the water to accelerate as it enters the bowl through a piston action that allows 360 degrees of water to be released into the bowl in less than a second.

Alsons , a leading manufacturer of shower products, has introduced Fluidics spray technology, offering a 36% decrease in water usage compared to standard-flow systems with no loss of coverage and comfort. Fluidics spray technology controls the water’s shape and velocity, meeting the needs of the user with a full-body spray that uses less water. This unique spray provides a water-saving flow of 1.6 gallons per minute (gpm) as compared to the standard 2.5 gpm. It also delivers water at a higher velocity and distributes water that maintains uniform temperatures.

A.O. Smith Water Products Co. has signed a long-term exclusive brand license/endorsement agreement with the producers of the TV series, “Living With Ed,” and its star, Ed Begley Jr. (pictured) Under terms of the agreement, A.O. Smith will use the trademark of the show and the endorsement of Begley to market its Vertex™ line of residential gas water heaters throughout the United States. Vertex is a 76,000 Btu power-vent residential gas water heater that features 90% thermal efficiency.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently kicked off National Homeownership Month by unveiling America’s first PATH (Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing) Concept Home in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 6, 2007, in Omaha, NE. The 2,000-sq.-ft., technologically innovative home of the future was built to illustrate to customers that a quality, stylish, energy-efficient home fits within their lifestyle. Delta Faucet Co. provided all kitchen and bath faucets used in this concept home, providing products from the Delta and Brizo brands.

Using the new green design philosophy known as biomimicry — exploring nature-inspired innovation as a path to more sustainable design — Moen, Inc. has created its new Inspire™ line of showerheads. Moen’s research showed that if a showerhead has a large quantity of nozzles arranged in thoughtful patterns with a variety of shapes and colors, consumers perceive it will provide a pleasurable shower experience. Moen utilized this insight, as well as designs inspired by nature, to create a “naturally efficient” spray coverage from the patterned curves of nozzles on the showerheads, such as in the Inspire 9” Rainshower showerhead pictured here. These specific patterns can create a full shower experience, while conforming to federal regulations regarding water conservation.

Sustainable Facility , a new publication from the editors and publishers of Environmental Design + Construction (ED+C) and Sustainable Home magazines, will debut in October to more than 30,000 BPA-audited facility and energy management subscribers. The magazine will publish twice in 2007 with editorial content written for professionals overseeing commercial, institutional, industrial and government facilities. Editorial content will include all phases of commercial resource conservation unique to the “green” facility community, including alternative energy, building automation efficiency, sustainable design/build techniques for interiors and envelopes, and water conservation techniques, among others.

A new Ferguson showroom was opened in Naples, FL, and the opening event featured an ice sculpture surrounding an Elkay Mystic “river” entertainment sink, creating a cool curving slope that doubled as a martini chiller and dispenser. The showroom staff also used another Elkay Mystic to serve shrimp cocktail on ice (pictured). The Mystic signature “river” shape is a four-foot meandering secondary sink. The faucet and drain are positioned at opposite ends, allowing the water to flow through the eight-inch wide tapered preparation/work area, much akin to a stream or river.

First Supply’s Gerhards Showroom celebrated its grand opening June 26. Gerhards, a registered Kohler showroom, is located in Brookfield, IL, and has nearly 3,000 sq. ft. of fixtures, baths and whirlpools. More than a hundred customers stopped by the event to take a look and learn more about First Supply and Gerhards.

Gerber has released a video featuring its Ultra Flush Toilet in action. Click here to see Lowell “The Bowl” Brown, Gerber’s resident toilet technology expert, demonstrate the flushing capacity of the Ultra Flush Toilet with a variety of materials.

Announced at K/BIS in Las Vegas, the Fagor LFA-073 Dishwasher has claimed Honorable Mention status for technical innovation and design excellence in the appliance category at the annual Kitchen & Bath Awards, sponsored by Woman’s Day Special Interest Publications’ Kitchens & Baths magazine. All Fagor dishwashers are equipped with an Advanced Intelligence System that includes an alternating sprayer system and eco-sensor to determine water quality and adjust consumption accordingly.

Channel Marketing Group and Allen Ray Associates have joined together to execute a research study designed to better understand the invoicing challenges faced by contractors and distributors in the wholesale distribution industry. The study is being sponsored by Billtrust. The research will be presented to the industry in the form of a white paper and webinars later this year. Allen Ray will present preliminary results from the report at the upcoming IDEA e-Biz conference in Vancouver in September.

Distributors can take the survey at www.channelmkt.com or www.allenray.com. Survey participants will be entered to win a Nikon Digital Camera with wi-fi capabilities.

Ken Peterson (pictured), certified kitchen designer, has developed four new programs to aid kitchen and bath professionals and remodeling contractors. The four topics include: Proven Ways to Increase Showroom Traffic, Top 10 Things to Do During an Economic Slowdown or Recession, Getting a Bigger Return Out of Your Showroom Assets, and Recruiting the Right People 95 Percent of the Time. These one-to-two hour workshops are suitable for national conferences, kitchen and bath chapter meetings, national sales meetings, and leading industry tradeshows. Peterson is president of the SEN Design Group , a national organization of more than 240 independent kitchen and bath professionals. Visit www.sendesign.com for more information on these programs.