FCICA, the Flooring Contractors Association, in cooperation with ARDEX Americas, is pleased to announce the Bruce Newbrough Memorial Certified Installation Manager Program (CIM) Scholarship was awarded to Jose Gonzalez of Preferred Flooring MI, LLC. 

Gonzalez, a partner alongside his brother Daniel, manages family owned and operated, Preferred Flooring, in business since 2010 in the Grand Rapids, MI area. Gonzalez described his business partnership with his brother as 'yin and yang' - he is more focused on generating accounts, whereas his brother is more technically skilled. But what they have in common is they are both ‘visionaries’ and ‘don’t like to fail’. Gonzalez shared that he likes the industry because it allows him to work with his hands, and most importantly, he likes seeing the visual change within a space, “the flooring is the final touch”. Gonzalez sees the CIM Program as a way to make better sense of the process and to improve his leadership skills, thereby helping his business and employees. Joining the CIM ‘group’ also will help with networking. He shared, “I’m grateful for this opportunity. And grateful to ARDEX Americas for supporting the industry.”

The Bruce Newbrough Memorial Scholarship sponsored by ARDEX Americas, covers the cost of the full Certified Installation Manager (CIM) Program including application, content and assessment fees.

The Scholarship was established to provide educational opportunities to floor covering Installation Managers who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to and excellence in proper substrate preparation and installation of floor covering. Named after Bruce Newbrough, former ARDEX Director of Technical Services and later working in Applications Development, tirelessly utilized every opportunity to further his vision and passion for industry education and training on proper substrate preparation, all for the purpose of achieving successful installations. This is the foundation on which FCICA, the Flooring Contractors Association, was built and the reason Bruce was a dedicated ambassador of the organization.

Certified Installation Manager (CIM) Program

The Certified Installation Manager (CIM) Program provides training tools and assessment for qualified professionals within the commercial flooring industry to enhance their core skill set, experience, and knowledge base, which are necessary to successfully manage commercial flooring projects. Individuals that reach this level of expertise will be easily distinguished by their achievement of the Certified Installation Manager (CIM) designation. The Certified Installation Manager (CIM) Program sets the industry standard for those involved in the management of commercial flooring projects.

ARDEX Americas, A Global Innovation Leader in High Performance Specialty Building Materials

Recognized by installation experts, ARDEX Americas is the leading solution and service provider of innovative building systems. We develop, manufacture and distribute high-performance specialty building products for all aspects of substrate preparation, floor covering, tile and stone installation systems and architectural concrete systems for commercial and residential applications. A family owned company, ARDEX leads through local customer interaction striving for excellence in all that we do. We ensure the job gets done right the first time, to specification and on schedule, minimizing risk and costly callbacks. As a complement to our products, we offer complete flooring installation solutions backed by the most comprehensive full replacement warranty in the industry, SystemOne^TM.

FCICA, the Floor Covering Installation Contractors Association, a nonprofit organization formed in 1982 and headquartered in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, is the resource for premier commercial flooring contractors. FCICA promotes the advancement and continuous development of Certified Installation Managers (CIM); provides technical education, business support and industry expert networking and delivers skills and knowledge to enhance the professionalism of commercial flooring contractors. FCICA is an international association whose contractor members serve the continental United States, plus Burma and Canada. For more information about FCICA: visit our website www.fcica.com or call 630-672-3702.

###