Mike Gaughan

Watts Water Technologies announced that Mike Gaughan has rejoined the company as the Western regional manager-Automatic Control Valve Group. He has more than 29 years of experience working with pipe, valves, fittings and instrumentation in the water, plumbing and industrial markets.

Masco Corp. promoted Jai Shah to vice president – strategic planning/group vice president responsible for Watkins hot tubs and spas and also its window operating divisions, including Milgard Windows and the U.K. Window Group. In addition, Shah will continue to coordinate Masco’s strategic planning efforts at both the corporate and operational levels. Shah previously served as Masco’s vice president for strategic planning.

Maax named Amy Henderson to the new position of luxury segment director-North America, bathroom sector. She will work closely with the company’s newly appointed vice president sales - wholesale USA and Canada, Richard Paquette, and Don Raymond , also newly appointed as vice president - marketing, and their respective staff members. Henderson’s 10-year design and marketing background includes stints at Taps Bath Center and Wolseley.

Joe DeAngelo, CEO, HD Supply

Bain Capital, a global private investment firm based in Boston, The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm based in Washington, and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc. (CD&R), a New York and London-based private equity investment firm have jointly purchased the HD Supply wholesale distribution business from The Home Depot for $10.3 billion. Full story >>

First Supply hosted its third All-Star Challenge, presented by The Bold Look of Kohler. The event took place at the Madison International Speedway on June 26 and was highlighted with the return of NASCAR champions Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart. The main feature of the night was a 100-lap contest, and more than 8,000 people watched Kenseth take the checkered flag, notching his first win in the annual late model special.

Mid-City Supply Co., Inc. celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, will partner with Habitat for Humanity of Elkhart County to sponsor a house for the Adams family of Middlebury, IN. The seven-day Habitat House Build will take place during the week of Oct. 13-21.

Vendor News

TOTO USA President Kazuo Sako (left) and Senior Vice President of Sales and Branding Katsuhito Nojima attended the grand opening party for the company’s new Chicago gallery in June.

This is the fourth gallery that TOTO has opened in design districts across the country: New York (Soho), NY; West Hollywood, CA; Fort Lauderdale, FL; and now Chicago.

Kohler Co. has introduced The Complete Solution™ for four of its two-piece toilets. Each Complete Solution features a two-piece toilet (tank and bowl), seat, wax ring and floor hardware — all packaged in one box with just one model number to order. The Complete Solution is currently available on four models, all packaged with the Brevia™ toilet seat: the Wellworth® round-front toilet in white, Highline® Comfort Height™ elongated toilet in white and biscuit, Cimarron™ Comfort Height round-front toilet in white, and Cimarron Comfort Height elongated toilet in white.

Green Street

Caroma announced that 20 of its 30+ dual-flush toilets for the North American market have been certified to carry the EPA’s new WaterSense label. This label ensures that a toilet uses 20% less water than the currently mandated 1.6-gal. toilets and has met rigorous testing requirements for performance. Caroma’s remaining toilets are expected to be certified by late summer.

According to Delta Faucet Co., the key to green, water-conserving products is providing the same (or better) user experience while using less water. Using proprietary technologies, Delta has come up with several water-saving products that do just that.

Delta’s Water-Efficient Showerhead (pictured) uses H2Okinetic Technology® to offer the same user experience while using 36% less water. The spray jets used in Delta’s Jetted Shower™ systems and the company’s medium-flow custom shower systems also feature H2Okinetic Technology. The Vesi™ Channel and RSVP™ lavatories by Brizo® both flow at 1.5 gpm (a 30% water savings). Delta’s electronic products like the Pascal™ Culinary Faucet by Brizo and e-Flow™ by Delta turn water off automatically when it’s not needed. Plus, Delta Commercial offers a complete line of water-conserving products.

To address water-conservation issues, Sloan Valve Co. offers 0.5-gpf manual and sensor-operated urinal Flushometers, which effectively and hygienically wash down vitreous china fixtures while providing substantial water savings. Sloan’s exposed, manual urinal models with 0.5-gpf (1.9 Lpf) flush cycles include: Royal, Royal II, Regal and Sloan Flushometers, which are diaphragm-type Flushometers; and Crown, Crown II and Gem·2 models, which are piston-type Flushometers. The G2 Optima Plus line of sensor-operated Flushometers also offers a battery-powered 0.5-gpf urinal model.

Watermark has a patent pending on a new water reducer designed to decrease showerhead water consumption. Model SH-1.5ADP is adaptable on any of the Watermark showerheads. Watermark’s creation of this green device was based on the “Bernoulli Principle”, a standard of conservation of energy developed by physicist Daniel Bernoulli in 1723. The trick is aeration. Due to the injection of air into this specialized water-saving adapter, the flow of water is reduced to 1.5 gpm while giving the user the same “feeling” as using a 2.5 gpm showerhead.

Implementing conservation measures can be intimidating because of the complex and often unpredictable state of natural systems. This intimidation can be overcome by remembering some simple principles. Full story >>

Ferguson/J.D. Daddario recently celebrated the grand re-opening of its expanded showroom at 5 Forge Parkway in Franklin, MA. More than 3,500 sq. ft. of space has been added to the now 15,000-sq.-ft. store, which offers a selection of bath fixtures, lighting, kitchen cabinetry and appliances. Stock Building Supply, a supplier of building materials and construction services for home contractors, also has a presence in the store with a full line of kitchen cabinetry products and a dedicated customer service team.

Nu-Way Kitchen and Bath is opening its fifth Michigan showroom in downtown Birmingham. The new 8,000-sq.-ft. state-of-the-art showroom in downtown Birmingham offers the finest products in the kitchen and bath industry, all presented in a comfortable lifestyle shopping environment. Three generations of the Merritt family (pictured) are currently involved in the 68-year-old business.

George Morlan Plumbing , Portland, OR, hosted a concert in its showroom June 30 for about 250 listeners of Portland radio station KPAM (860 AM) who earned tickets by signing on to the KPAM Web page. The event was called “Bobapalooza” and featured morning announcer Bob Miller’s Almost All Star Band. Attendees gathered in the showroom — which carries toilets, bathroom and kitchen sinks and faucets, spas and bathtubs — to hear the music and be served food and beverages by the company’s salespeople. Full story >>

Rep Update

Elkay recently held its annual Chairman’s Dinner to honor its “Rep of the Year” at the Wynn Hotel during the 2007 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas. Rep South of Charlotte, NC (pictured), was chosen as the “Rep of the Year” in recognition of its outstanding performance and hard work throughout the year.

Sloan Valve Co. announced that its products are now represented in Oklahoma by Pannell/Associates Inc. of Tulsa, OK.

Blake Products PCS Protective Covering Solutions offers the Tub-Wrap™. The company also sells the ToiletWrap™, CounterWrap™, FloorWrap™, StairWrap™, CarpetWrap™, WindowWrap™, and VentWrap™. These are patented surface protection products to protect tubs, HVAC, doors, cabinets, counters, floors and all other surfaces during construction. TubWrap is an engineered corrugate that is being used by more than 200 builders to protect the bathtub while the home is undergoing construction.

Neptune’s Bora bathtub features a sleek diamond shape that makes it ideal as a corner tub for enlarging the perception of small bathrooms. All massage systems are available for this model, and available options include mood light, Chromo+System, handle, neck pillow, Neptuner (surround-sound system) and more.

Swanstone has introduced the Fit-Flo™ drain for all of its shower floors. A molded-in drain with fewer seals than a standard drain, the Fit-Flo offers an easy, economical option with less chance of future leaks. Because the drain is included in the shower floor, there is less installation time required. Fit-Flo drains also work with no-hub, cast iron and PVC pipe connections.

The complete offering of Hansgrohe bath faucets, showers and accessories is now available in a new, 106-page, soft-cover brochure from the company. The brochure includes full-page color photos showing Hansgrohe products in “lifestyle” settings, while also providing individual “silhouette”-style images of virtually every item in the extensive offering. The new brochure devotes separate, multi-page presentations to showerheads, handshowers, wallbars, showerpipes, showerpanels, and bodysprays, as well as the Hansgrohe Shower Column.

The NEOREST Bath Collection from TOTO USA features the NEOREST Programmable Airbath with Audio Command Confirmation. Program the desired water level and temperature, and the NEOREST Airbath will sense when it has reached the water temperature and depth you desire and automatically stop the water’s flow. The easy-read, deck-mounted color LCD touch-panel controls the NEOREST Airbath’s functions. The integrated Waterfall Roman Tub Fill channels the incoming water as a thin, translucent sheet, which is electronically controlled via the LCD Touch Panel. Hidden inside is a flexible handshower. The 72” x 55-1/2” airbath can accommodate two bathers comfortably.

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