OUR RESPONSE TO COVID-19 May 22, 2020 FloorForce Interview: Michael Raskin - founder of Raskin Industries Here’s a quick post to share the interview I did with John Weller of FloorForce a couple of weeks ago. They did a great job with this production including photos of my dad! It was really good to talk about how Raskin Industries has evolved from our first collection to where we are now. Thanks so much John, I totally enjoyed it. Hope everyone is healthy and safe. Looking forward to seeing you all out there soon. Have a great Memorial Day Weekend! Michael WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE August 29, 2018 Raskin Donates FloorNation to Home of Active-Duty Marine LVT, charitable causes Deerfield Beach, Fla.—Summer is the season of patriotic holidays: Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. At the same time, it’s the time of year that many people take the opportunity for home improvement projects in between barbecues and trips to the beach. With that, the team at Raskin Industries decided to help with a summer home remodel and lent a hand to one of our country’s brave servicemen. Earlier this year, Raskin connected with Gunnery Sergeant Jeffrey Boyer of the United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, better known as MARSOC, for a home renovation project. Boyer finds himself working on projects throughout the house when he’s not deployed (he recently returned from his fifth tour in the Middle East) and this summer saw the revitalizing of two main areas of the Boyer home: the dining room and the living room. He lives in Wilmington, N.C., with his wife, Lara, a personal trainer, and their six-year-old son Gunnar. Reviewing Raskin’s extensive portfolio of luxury vinyl options, the Boyers landed on Pride from the FloorNation collection, a flooring line that is exclusively made in the USA. FloorNation is ideal for an active home as it comes standard with Raskin’s G88 ceramic coating system which delivers unparalleled stand resistance, and anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Pride’s 20 mil wear layer and lifetime residential warranty mean nothing can stand in the way of maintaining its beautiful, natural-looking wood visuals. “This floor is a dream floor,” the Boyers said of FloorNation Pride. “It’ll last as long as we’ll be in this house—and we have no plans to move any time soon. It’s so much more aesthetically pleasing and much cleaner than the carpet and laminate we had before. Also, we know it’ll stand up to our two dogs and an active child. We just love how clean it is and the durability.” Local flooring contractor Carolina Commercial Floorcovering donated time and services to get the install in the Boyer home completed. Raskin connected with Dan Brock, Carolina Commercial president, who handed the project over to contractor Tim Dupree and installer Bryan Jones. “The install was fast and easy,” the Boyers explained. “In a day and a half, the main areas of our living space were done. There was minimal prep and getting the floor down seemed effortless. We love the fact that it’s made in the USA. We had a scare with big box laminate made overseas that we had installed in our dining room and foyer; we keep non-toxic products in our home.” The Carolina Commercial team added, “We are thankful for the opportunity to share in this project. It was an honor to provide the installation for such a deserving family; they were very helpful to us during [the project]. We would also like to thank Raskin for providing the FloorNation product that was not only easy to install but looks beautiful. We know the Boyers are very happy with it.” Michael Raskin, founder and CEO of Raskin Industries, said, “We get to live our lives and conduct business in a free society because of brave men like Jeffery Boyer and to have our floors in his family’s home is truly an honor. We are so happy to give the Boyer family a refreshed interior with floors they can count on and that are proudly made in the USA. Providing peace of mind is priceless.” For more information on FloorNation, visit raskinind.com/floornation. Contact: Jenna Rehberg jenna@raskinind.com July 10, 2018 Raskin Industries expands via To Market acquisition New York—Raskin Industries earlier this year acquired the assets of To Market, a direct-to-design chain supplier, and will work in concert with company founder and industry icon Phil Wexler to continue developing unique, proprietary products that offer more profitability. The acquisition of To Market, which specializes in LVT but also sells recycled rubber and cork, opens up a new channel for Raskin. “I’m all about design, color and innovative products,” said Michael Raskin, president. “That is also the hallmark of To Market. So the acquisition is synergistic in that it affords me the ability to build the Raskin brand as a leader in color and design through multiple markets and channels. This gives me another outlet for my creativity.” Raskin will design products exclusively for To Market with Wexler, who in 1979 founded Bentley Mills, quickly becoming a style leader on the West Coast. Raskin felt he needed to have a stronger presence in the A&D community. “I saw where the market was going; it was going to become much more competitive. The majors would only continue to get better at it because they have the resources to put more feet on the street. I felt I needed to have a hands-on approach to have the ability to compete.” Raskin Industries already sells product into the commercial market through its distribution network, but he plans on differentiating To Market through branding. “Raskin is more like the hip brand you would see in Brooklyn, and To Market is the refined brand you might see on Madison Avenue.” To Market will likely evolve into Raskin’s premium brand with higher price points. But make no mistake: Unique design will be at the cornerstone of both brands. “I want to bring excitement to this industry,” Raskin explained. “Think John Varvatos. I want to bring that to the flooring industry.” Despite the two brands, Raskin sees minimal overlap in product, and only in areas where there is no distribution for the Raskin brand. “My job is to provide the ammunition and profitability—the proper marketing tools and designs—to my customers, whether they are distributors, distributor reps, commercial sales force or our exclusive sales agents on the To Market side to be successful.” To Market will now be based at Raskin’s Deerfield Beach, Fla., headquarters but its Oklahoma City warehouse and offices will remain open. In addition, key personnel— including Wexler, who remains president, and Alex Lapree, vice president of sales—is staying on. Full Article on Floor Covering News June 18, 2018 RASKIN CERAMIX WINS Best of Surfaces – Innovation 2018 LVT Las Vegas—Six manufacturers were voted best of class in the 2018 Best of Surfaces competition, a contest sponsored by Floor Covering News and Informa Exhibitions, which owns and operates The International Surface Event. The awards program, now in its seventh year, has become the benchmark for new product excellence and booth design at the industry’s premier trade show. The winners, which announced on the show floor at Surfaces, are as follows: Innovation: Ceramix from Raskin Industries Style & Design: Emser Tile Sustainability: Congoleum Technology: MagneBuild from MBS Best Booth Design (over 1,200 square feet): Anderson Tuftex Best Booth Design (under 1,200 square feet): Arte Mundi The judging was initially conducted by a panel of floor covering retailers who were tasked with poring over the scores of entries in each category to come up with six finalists by the start of Surfaces. Specifically, they were each asked to explore all submissions and select their top six picks that they believe best represented the category in which they were entered. The most popular selections by consensus in each category made it to the final round, which were viewed on the first day of Surfaces—in some cases by the original judges as well as select retailers who agreed to offer their time and input. The category winners are as follows: Innovation Raskin Industries After taking home the Best of Surfaces award for innovation six years ago, Raskin returns to form this year with a win for Ceramix, billed as the industry’ first loose- lay LVT with built-in grout. Ceramix provides dealers with an alternative to ceramic tile and porcelain that can be installed in a day or two. While there have been other products with grout lines attached, none have achieved the level of realism that is inherent with this product line. Full Article May 18, 2018 Ten People Making a Difference “ E.J. Welch has had virtuallyzero complaints with Raskin products, which is quite extraordinary considering the millions of square feet sold. But perhaps that’s not such a surprise when you consider that the Raskin family introduced LVT to the U.S. over a generation ago. 710 South Powerline Road, Suite G Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 CALL 561-997-6658 FOR ALL INQUIRIES, INCLUDING CUSTOMER SERVICE PLEASE CONTACT: info@raskinind.com Subscribe Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. SIGN UP We respect your privacy.