STATE LOAN ASSISTS

Flooring company moving to larger digs

Toledo firm has grown quickly

12/17/2015

A Toledo company that installs commercial flooring throughout northwest Ohio will purchase a much larger location in East Toledo and add employees thanks to a recently approved state loan.

American Flooring and Interiors LLC has enjoyed tremendous growth over the last five years. Owner Gary Johnson said sales have shot up 500 percent over that period of time. In 2014, the company was named the 11th fastest growing inner-city business in the country by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City in Massachusetts.

This year, American Flooring and Interiors is on pace for sales of $6 million.

“We've just kind of grown out of the current facility we're in,” Mr. Johnson said. “This new facility is really going to lend itself to us having continuing growth and being better able to serve our customers and continue to do what we're doing.”

The 10-year-old company is on Morris Street near the Anthony Wayne Bridge, but soon after the first of the year, American Flooring will move to its new home on Front Street in East Toledo’s Birmingham neighborhood. In addition to having more than twice as much office and warehouse space, the new location will give the firm room for a small design showroom.

American Flooring installs a wide variety of flooring, ranging from carpet to epoxy to hardwoods, with 95 percent of its work being in commercial and industrial buildings. The company has 50 employees.

With the added capacity from the larger building, Mr. Johnson said the company projects to hit $10 million in annual sales within three years and should be adding seven full-time employees.

The move was made possible by a $195,000 loan, approved this week through the Ohio Development Services Agency’s Minority Direct Loan program, which provides low-interest loans to certified minority-owned businesses.

Contact Tyrel Linkhorn at tlinkhorn@theblade.com or 419-724-6134 or on Twitter @BladeAutoWriter.