Our Story

The purpose of the International Wood Flooring Association including immediate, short-term,and long-term goals. The goals will be revisited within an interim period and updated accordingly. The International Wood Flooring Association (IWFA) is an international not-for-profit trade association exempt under IRC Section 501(c)(3).

The International Wood Flooring Association (IWFA) was established to unite all segments of the global wood flooring industry, and its professionals as a worldwide, inclusive community. It is a mission-driven organization primarily focusing on raising industry standards through technical training and making technical education available for all skill levels internationally. It will advocate for all industry segments, work with local governments, raise levels of professionalism, raise, promote, and make technical standards accessible internationally. Promote global trade, increase industry profitability, enhance consumer satisfaction, foster highest level of professionalism and holding its members’ accountable to ethical business practices. It will have programs in place for its worldwide members of governance such as verified or certified manufacturer, distributor, supplier, or professional.

IWFA will establish programs to educate the general public in the care, and maintenance of wood flooring products, and provide court advocacy for its industry segments. The IWFA will communicate to its global community industry events, new member products and services offered, and provide its members with a universal resource directory.

IWFA establish relationships with national wood flooring trade associations to further the industry through joint efforts, developing new, and improving existing industry guidelines and standards. It will make all levels of technical education accessible and affordable to its members and non-members.

IWFA will review and accept other wood flooring trade associations' certifications, and other member and non-member organizations certifications, or technical education programs, and issue the equivalent certification by the IWFA.

IWFA will host education and technical training seminars catering to all industry segments, and organize non-industry outreach programs. IWFA will work with international sponsors to keep the cost of tuition down, make tools, machinery, supplies, materials, and equipment accessible to its students that otherwise would not be possible.

Long-Term Goals

IWFA will offer group health Insurance to its members, freight and shipping discounts, non-industry retail discounts, offer programs with member manufacturer, distributor, supplier, wholesaler, and retailer discounts to its members.

It will provide a cost-effective venue for an international tradeshow, accessible to members and non-members, including open to other industry segments such as architects, builders, designers, specifiers, developers, and consumers. A trade-show venue in the form of a permanent real estate with exhibitors in mind, giving year-round access for technical training, exhibitor setup, storage, minimizing all costs involved of exhibiting by offering permanent exhibitor trade-show space in the form of immediate, short-term, and long-term leases, or buy in option.

It will establish programs internationally to promote the development and training of the next generations of industry professionals, included but not limited to apprenticeship programs, vocational programs in conjunction with trade schools, upper secondary schools, post-secondary schools, and government institutions.