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AHFA Announces 2018 Regulatory Summit

Furniture World News Desk on 8/11/2018


The American Home Furnishings Alliance, sponsors of the 2018 Regulatory Summit, recently announced that the Summit will be held Wednesday, October 24, at the Conference Center at Guilford Technical Community College in Colfax, North Carolina.

Joseph Mohorovic, a former U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commissioner, will open the day-long summit. Mohorovic has tackled consumer product safety issues from both the public and private sector perspectives. He served as chief of staff and director of international programs under former CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton before spending seven years as a senior vice president with Intertek, a multinational product inspection, testing and certification company.

Mohorovic returned to the public sector in July 2014 when he was appointed to a seven-year term on the CPSC. He resigned from the post in October 2017 and is now a senior consultant on the product safety team in the Chicago office of Troutman Sanders. His summit presentation will share predictions on what the home furnishings industry can expect from a new Republican majority at CPSC with respect to rulemaking, penalties and investigations.

AHFA’s Regulatory Summit is a one-day conference exploring the issues, policies and emerging challenges surrounding regulatory implementation and compliance.

“The Summit gives companies the opportunity to get one step ahead of regulatory changes and compliance updates,” said AHFA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Bill Perdue. “With top officials and technical experts on the 2018 program, attendees will gain better understanding and clearer solutions to today’s top challenges.”

The 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. program will be held at The Conference Center on the Cameron Campus of Guilford Technical Community College in the facility’s state-of-the-art, 250-seat auditorium. The Conference Center is located on Highway 68, less than 7 miles from Piedmont Triad International Airport and minutes off Interstate 40.

In addition to Mohorovic, AHFA has invited the newest CPSC Commissioner, Dana Baiocco, to address the Summit. Other confirmed presenters and topics for the 2018 Summit include:

  • Erik Winchester, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He will provide an update on the federal formaldehyde rule, including the approaching deadline for import declarations.
  • Matthew Howsare, Mintz Levin. He will address product safety issues.
  • Michael Taylor and Adam Suchy, both staff members for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, along with Neal S. Cohen, Neal Cohen Law, and Len Morrissey, ASTM International. This panel will discuss the most recent furniture tip-over data and its impact on the voluntary furniture stability standard.
  • Michael O’Hara, Derek Marsaa and Doug Lockard, all from Underwriters Laboratory. This panel will present the new UL/AHFA “Stability Verified” program being introduced this fall.
  • Andrew Lock, PhD., and David Miller, both staff members for the U.S CPSC; and Nicholas Oliver of the California Bureau of Electronic & Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation. Their panel discussion will focus on upholstered furniture flammability and the likelihood of a federal flammability standard.

Registration is $149 for AHFA members and $349 for non-members. A light breakfast and lunch are included. All details are posted on the events page at www.ahfa.us.

AHFA’s Regulatory Summit is open to all home furnishings manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and retailers whose regulatory compliance efforts rely on accurate, up-to-date guidance and authoritative answers to industry-specific questions.

More about the AHFA: The American Home Furnishings Alliance, based in High Point, N.C., represents more than 200 leading furniture manufacturers and distributors, plus about 150 suppliers to the furniture industry worldwide. AHFA serves as the industry’s advocate in Washington, D.C., on all legislative and regulatory matters and leads the development of voluntary environmental, product safety and construction standards for home furnishings products.