I still remember the first time I attended the NWFA Wood Flooring Expo. It was 2014 and being held in Nashville, Tennessee, my market town, so I was able to drive in for the day and take it all in. I had only started my business, Neuroh Hardwood, a couple of years prior, and this was my first time seeing all the manufacturers and meeting other professionals from around the country.
I’ve always been an idea person, and now having the opportunity to meet decision makers from different companies, I started sharing from booth to booth the ways I’d thought to improve the machinery or other products we use. Obviously, these folks were accustomed to hearing improvement ideas from tradesmen, and none of them seemed all too interested in my ideas. After thinking about different ways to improve equipment for a few more years, I finally decided to do something myself and launched what is now Neulight in 2018.
Lighting on equipment was one thing that I always had a burden to improve. We often have to work in homes with poor to non-existent lighting, and the little bulbs on some of the equipment, or non-existent lighting altogether just wasn’t cutting it for me. Since I shared a shop space with a machinist, I worked with him to develop our first light for the American Sanders Super 7. Other improvements have followed, such as our buffer light, which helps you see 360 degrees around the machine, or aluminum hard plates which give a flat dish out free cut, or custom wire brushes that give patina and texture.
Since what was available in our industry was either limited, or not of the quality I wanted, I developed and made things I knew worked and then offered them up to other tradesmen. I have had a lot of positive feedback from users. We constantly are looking for new ways to create products to help the flooring contractor. The newest item we released is a budget-friendly diamond disc that attaches to the multidisc or directly to the edger for removing aluminum oxide finishes or subfloor prep.
I feel that flooring craftsmen have to be a specialist in many fields to be successful. We are part color specialist, part chemist, part mechanic, and even part marriage counselor (how many times have you had to help a couple when picking the color?!). Finding ways to make it easier on the end user is what I’ve always tried to achieve in making products. I know I’m only one of many others who have contributed to our niche industry in making the job a little easier. If you have a great idea, why not try making it a reality? It could be a real help to you and the rest of us who are always looking for a way to make things better.
Kyle Neuroh is the owner of Neuroh Hardwood and Neulight in Nashville, Tennessee. He is an NWFA Certified Installation Professional and Certified Sand and Finish Professional, a past NWFA Wood Floor of the Year award winner, and was named to Hardwood Floors magazine’s 40 Under 40 list in 2019. He can be reached at kyle@neurohhardwood.com.
