Armstrong Spinoff AHF Products Acquires Cumberland Flooring

Only, TN—AHF Products, the former Armstrong hardwood flooring business, acquired American OEM, the owner of Cumberland Products Group, LLC, and a manufacturer of engineered hardwood flooring under the Raintree, Hearthwood, and Emily Morrow Home brands, as well as private label products.

Founded by Don Finkell in 2013, American OEM manufactures at its plant in Only, TN, midway between Nashville and Jackson, in a broad range of styles and species including red oak, white oak, hickory, maple, and walnut. The plant in Only is a Prison Industry Enterprise program located on the campus of the Turney Center Industrial Complex, a state correctional facility. American OEM serves flooring distributors, specialty, and national retailers across North America.

“American OEM and Don Finkell have made a name for themselves in the industry with style and innovation, and we look forward to integrating these capabilities and these brands into AHF and our strong stable of brands,” says Brian Carson, CEO and President, AHF Products. “The American OEM capabilities provide us with new products and capabilities produced right here in America, offering reduced lead times at a time when this is more important than ever to our customers.”

Finkell joins AHF Products to head the OEM brands business. “We approach business in a similar fashion as AHF Products; product development is a collaborative effort between American OEM and its customers,” Finkell says. “This is one of the reasons for AHF Products’ tremendous success.”

Finkell has a storied career in the flooring business. The retired CEO of Shaw Hardwood and former CEO of Anderson Hardwood (acquired by Berkshire Hathaway-owned Shaw Industries Group in 2007), Finkell’s 30-plus years in the flooring industry includes many product innovations, including pioneering highly designed and hand-scraped hardwood flooring.

Finkell is vice chairman of the Hardwood, Plywood and Veneer Association (HPVA), and immediate past chairman of the Hardwood Federation, an association of 25 hardwood industry trade associations dedicated to advancing the interests of the U.S. hardwood industry. He is also past chairman of the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), and chairman of the NWFA Education and Research Foundation.

A tireless sustainability advocate, Finkell also serves on the NWFA Legislative Relations Committee and was responsible for the NWFA’s adoption of a formal stance against illegal logging, a move that ultimately led to passage of the Combat Illegal Logging Act—commonly known as the Lacey Act Amendment.

 AHF Products originated as a spinoff of Armstrong Industries wood flooring business, which was sold in a $100 million deal in December 2018. That deal, which closed in January 2019, left the luxury vinyl tile and other non-wood flooring business with Armstrong. In the portfolio of American Industrial Partners (AIP), AHF Products manufactures solid and engineered hardwood flooring products under the brands Bruce, Hartco, LM Flooring, Robbins, Capella, HomerWood, Autograph, and tmbr, at six sites and one distribution center in the U.S. and Cambodia. (American Industrial Partners is the same entity that acquired Armstrong’s cabinet businesses.)

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