THE SUMMIT 2025
Dalton, GA
FEB 17-19, 2025
#sport run Marathon
BRINGING THE
FLOORING INDUSTRY
TOGETHER
“Working together partnering and
promoting each other can greatly
improve our reach, influence
and overall impact.”
Robert Varden
President and CEO, UNITE
Even the great training Associations of today only have so much bandwidth.
—Robert Varden
WHO
WE ARE
UNITE is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding the next generation of floor covering installers and connecting them with resources for financial aid and certified training programs across the U.S.
THE CHALLENGE
No formal training
A large percentage of flooring installers in the field today have no formal installation training. While some may have developed decent hand skills, many job failures and claims are related to their lack of technical knowledge and training.
Fewer Installers
With fewer and fewer installers each year, the overall economic health of the flooring industry is being impacted by flooring suppliers, manufacturers, contractors, distributors, and retailers.
TIME
Consumers are waiting longer for their floors or opting for DIY installation, often with less than satisfactory results
Declining Professionals
Experienced and qualified floor covering installers are leaving the profession at a faster rate than they are being replaced.
Awareness
The next generation is largely unaware that floor installation is even a career option.
Culture
Conditioned by a culture that advocates a college degree over a trade as the pathway to success, many high schoolers will never even consider it.
Our Purpose
Our purpose is to be an advocate and uniting force for flooring installation training schools and efforts. We do this by:
Reaching high school students to make them aware of flooring installation as a career option
Providing them with information on how and where to get training
Being the conduit to connect students with training schools and financial aid
Encouraging training schools to coordinate their efforts to reach more students to recruit
Advocating manufacturers to specify only trained, certified installers are used to warrant their products
All Coming events
WHAT
WHERE
WHEN