AHF Products’ New CEO Discusses the Wood Flooring Category
Earlier this year, AHF Products named Brent Emore as chief executive officer (CEO). This followed the departure of Brian Carson, who had served as the company’s president and CEO for six years. Emore joined AHF in 2024 as chief financial officer, coming from Mohawk Industries, where he spent 15 years in various leadership roles.
AHF is the manufacturer behind brands such as Bruce®, Armstrong Flooring®, Hartco®, Robbins®, LM Flooring®, and more. In a conversation with Hardwood Floors magazine, Emore says that the wood category continues to evolve and AHF will remain committed to it. Here, he shares additional thoughts on the wood flooring market.
What does it mean to you to step into the CEO role?
It’s a tremendous opportunity to not only build on the accomplishments of the prior CEO, leadership team, and broader organization, but to build something unique. What I’ve found is that AHF has tremendous relationships with its customers. We’re building a culture of creative problem solvers. We’re all ready and willing to build the AHF of tomorrow. I think in three to five years, you’re going to see a different portfolio. We’ll still do a lot of the same things and develop the same things, but hopefully, the value we create with our products, distribution, and relationships is very different. I couldn’t be prouder of the legacy of quality, craftsmanship, and performance. We’re looking to bolt on to more innovation to drive those competencies forward and extend upon them. I’m excited about our domestic footprint, our innovation, and our continued commitment to wood.
What is next for AHF Products?
We are very focused on categories that are important to us, where we have advantages, and where we believe, even in a stagnant market, we can drive meaningful growth to the business and provide differentiated value to our customers. I’m cautiously optimistic that confidence is starting to improve here a bit lately. Maybe we get interest rates down a little, and our portfolio will start to see instant growth with the demand trends, just given the longevity in repair and remodel. We are focused on innovation and working on more unique features around water resistance, advanced finishes. We have introduced TimberTones densified hardwood technology for use in the commercial space.
Domestic will always remain central to our go-to-market strategy. I think the trade really values products made in the U.S. not only for quality, but for jobs, responsiveness, and there are supply chain advantages and traceability that having production here is a distinct feature to us.
Which wood flooring trends do you see as having the most demand right now?
More natural finishes, textures. The consumer, particularly the female consumer in her home, is looking for an authentic product, something that lasts a long time and is not damaged or stained in the short term. For me, I find the trends that I chase are more natural finishes, textures, and wide planks. What’s taken off lately is the customizable nature of the wood category with our unfinished wood portfolio. Water resistance is still a very key thing. Products that are also environmentally sourced in a responsible way have become more the expectation. You look beyond that, and now you’re in densified wood, hardwood, and other durability goals that consumers have. That’s what we’re responding to by building products and portfolios that meet those needs.
How has the response to Bruce’s new unfinished engineered and solid hardwood flooring been so far?
Our service levels are exceptionally good. It’s almost like we can’t do enough. It’s a great position to be in. It has provided future growth not only for us, but also for the category, offering attractive price points and allowing the consumer to customize the look of their home.
How can the wood flooring industry better share the benefits of real wood flooring with consumers?
It’s about reinforcing the practical and long-term benefits of real wood. The product is extremely durable, and it’s refinishable. I’ve done that twice now in my own home. The one I love is that it adds a lot of value to a home too. The fact that it’s made from natural materials and is renewable. Finally, it’s a long-term investment that outperforms most other product categories in both function and aesthetic. Leveraging that message is critical to consumers. We have such powerful brands that are so tremendously recognized for quality, durability, and longevity that we have to do more with that, and that’s what you’re going to see from AHF over the near term. We’ll continue supporting the message and we’ll continue driving the product category because it’s very important to us we will continue working on new product innovation, we will obviously market the benefits, we will partner with our distribution and retail partners to help ensure wood is a very visible and very valued choice at the end of the day.
What are the wood flooring market’s top opportunities for the remainder of 2025?
I think you lead with design leadership, craftsmanship, and performance innovation. It’s densified wood, it’s also about increasing adoption of antimicrobial, water-resistant finishes, new service textures, and continuing to grow our U.S. portfolio, all while expanding on our branding opportunities. We have products that blend aesthetic appeal with durability and reflect where the product category is heading. We can meet these demands with our domestic capacity and footprint and give our customers product within a reasonable lead time, control our cost footprint and push on the supply chain to make it that much more attractive to the end consumer. We’re excited to put our mark even further on the unfinished category.