Mohawk Flooring made the daring decision during the height of the pandemic that the show must go on. Half a year later, the aptly named Momentum Road Show wraps up at The International Surface Event (aka SURFACES) at Mandalay Bay Convention Center, June 16-18, in a fully opened Las Vegas.

The traveling showrooms, each about 20,000 square feet, made four stops – Dallas (Jan. 25-27), Atlanta (Feb. 1-3), Indianapolis (Feb. 9-11) and Huntington Beach, Calif. (March 2-4) – in what was essentially one giant product launch.

With the ongoing housing renovation boom, there simply was not time to wait for the pandemic to end before hitting the road, explained Ryan Thiele, senior director of national accounts at the Art Guild, who runs the operations for Mohawk’s endeavor.

“There is a very finite window for the buying season,” he said. With no other flooring industry events occurring, Mohawk decided to fill the void.”

While the show went on, it did not go on as usual. Normally, Mohawk would put on more than 20 regional shows. Understanding that was not practical, it strategically chose fewer sites while maintaining a high production. At one point, the tour was originally scheduled for seven stops but pandemic concerns limited the number to the final four.

Two-hour appointment blocks were set up to limit crowds while maximizing exhibitors’ efforts and buyers’ demands. Other safety measures included:

• Non-invasive thermal temperature scans at all guest and employee entrances
• Complimentary Mohawk guest face coverings
• Hand sanitizer stations
• A team of cleaning professionals sanitizing common areas continuously.

“Flooring and surfaces are a very physical, tangible product that doesn’t translate well to virtual,” Thiele said.

Given the heightened safety regulations and need for the industry to do business, Thiele acknowledged there was pressure to perform well.

“It was either going to be one of my proudest moments or my biggest failures,” he said. “It was one of my proudest moments for sure.”

The show also allowed Thiele and his team a chance to work when many within the industry were forced to sit and wait. “It may sound a little bit hokey, but everybody was really appreciative just to be part of this,” he said. “This was a real unique opportunity.”

Run by Informa, SURFACES is the largest North American flooring event serving the floor covering industry, bringing together buyers and sellers from around the world to see the latest floor covering products, tools, trends, services and technologies. Mohawk will be one of 187 exhibitors on-site, but may have a leg up reaching its community on the road.

“Mohawk didn’t stop innovating during the pandemic, and customers can count on us to bring the momentum they need for 2021 when it’s needed most,” said Jeff Meadows, Mohawk’s president of residential sales.

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