Focus on Leadership – May 2011

By maintaining focus on our commitments to superior service and products, and successfully delivering, the retailers and installers who work with our floors and the homeowners that live with them keep coming back to us as a company they trust. 

Q: Do you think manufacturing brands are as important today as they were 20 years ago? A: Brands may be more important than ever before. There is so much competition for mind share that having a strong brand and a trusted name, particularly with a rich legacy like ours, helps people make decisions and feel good about them. But a brand can’t do it all; it’s critical to have the product and service quality and corporate reputation to back up what you claim in the marketplace.  

Q: How is your relationship with TPG? Are they active partners? A: As a private equity firm that has a 13% economic interest in Armstrong, TPG has two representatives on the board who are very engaged and supportive of where the management team wants to take the company. They’ve understood our overarching strategy for transformation and provided valuable guidance particularly in lean manufacturing and making investments to drive growth.  

Q: Armstrong has been very public about its goal to reduce $150 million of annual expenses per year. What progress are you making toward achieving that goal?  A: It’s never easy to reduce overhead expenses at this level because it always involves cutting jobs.  But we’re operating in a very competitive landscape in a very tough economy.  We must be as efficient as possible, in our operations and in our corporate selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) cost structure. So making progress against that $150 million goal is a priority, and we have made progress.  We are on target to reach our goal by 2012; by the end of 2011, we’ll be two-thirds of the way there.  

Q: We made note that in 2010 alone, the company closed three resilient flooring plants and two previously idled wood flooring plants. Is your capacity now aligned with demand or are there more closings to come? A: Yes, our capacity is now more aligned with demand. We don’t anticipate closing additional flooring plants, but we can’t predict what the future holds or how our business could be impacted by things we can’t control.   

Q: What are your specific strategies for increasing the environmental sustainability of your vinyl products? A: Environmental sustainability is very important to us as a corporate citizen and manufacturer of building products. We’ve been very successful in realizing reductions in energy and water usage at our manufacturing plants. We’re actively seeking reliable clean sources of recycled and renewable materials as part of our product development initiatives. And we are ramping up a reclamation program for vinyl.

Q: I see where you were a track and field athlete at the University of Idaho.  Do you still run to keep your head clear and stay in shape? A: Well, my pole vaulting days are behind me, but I work out daily to stay in shape.