Kitchen & Bath Design News is the industry's leading business, design and product resource for the kitchen and bath trade.
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18 Kitchen & Bath Design News • January 2018 FEI Hosts Members at Annual Conference MARIETTA, GA — FEI Group, parent company of KBx and K&B; Alliance, recent- ly hosted its 19th Annual Conference at the JW Marriott San Antonio Resort & Spa in San Antonio, TX. Supply partners such as MasterBrand, Whirlpool, Riche- lieu, Cosentino and Houzz attended the three-day event, which experienced a record-breaking attendance. Speakers at the conference included Sandra Luttchens-Van Allen, corporate trainer, MasterBrand Cabinets; David Lupberger, owner, Remodel Force, and Jeff Lukes, director of sales, Tru-Wood Cabinet Co. Roundtable discussions provided engaging content, with members sharing business successes and opportunities with fellow members. Mike Stevens, co-owner of The Kitchen and Bath Showroom in Houston said, "Meeting the different vendors available to us was incredible. Speaking to peers with such openness about business and learning from them was so enlightening. I look forward to growing our business and enjoying a successful future as a result of our membership." FEI Group's kitchen and bath divisions welcomed 16 new supply partners and nine new members since the start of 2017 and recognized two members for their commitment to and support of the group: Chuck and Jeanette Rathburn, Active Plumbing Supply, received the K&B; Alliance Member of the Year Award, and Jeff Cox, Parr Lumber, was given the KBx Member of the Year Award. Festivities included a party at Knibbe Ranch, a working cattle ranch and one of the few remaining Century Heritage Ranches in the state of Texas, as well as golf and skeet shooting. The 20th FEI Group National Conference will be held Oct. 3-5, 2018, at The Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. Ferguson Opens Brooklyn, NY Showroom BROOKLYN, NY — Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery added a site in the Metro New York area with the opening of a 9,000-sq.-ft. showroom in Brooklyn's waterfront neighborhood, Brooklyn Bridge Park. The new Brooklyn location, the company's largest in the area to date, marks the 11th Ferguson showroom in the Metro New York area, with 280 showrooms nationwide. "The vitality and vibrancy of this Brooklyn neighborhood make this the perfect fit for Ferguson," said Mary Cifuentes, director of showrooms in the Northeast region. "As well, this addition reflects our abiding commitment to serving the world's design capital." The showroom, at 360 Furman Street, features working displays, in-store events, product demonstrations and other experiential activities. The new location also crowns an aggressive growth strategy by the company to create more than one million square feet of warehouse space to service the area's growing business. Photo: Courtesy of Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery INDUSTRY UPDATE NOTEWORTHY DEVELOPMENTS IMPACTING THE KITCHEN AND BATH MARKET Circle No. 9 on Product Card