PUHI — On Jan. 19, business partners Mark Jones and Judie Hilke Lundborg’s livelihood went up in smoke.
On that fateful Monday night, a devastating fire broke out at the duo’s Flooring Innovations & Interiors business at the Puhi Industrial Park.
The roadside wall of the warehouse location was left marked by a large, circular burned out hole. Inside were burned carpets, backings, plastics and other materials. The fire started when stored carpeting materials ignited, according to the owners.
The fire could have put the partners out of business.
Jones and Lundborg at first thought the facility, located at 1810 Haleukana St., would require months of renovation before they could reopen.
“I talked with Mark early on Tuesday morning, and said, ‘Do we go forward and do we try and stay at this location?'” said Lundborg.
Jones and Lundborg have been in business together for 10 years, seven at this Puhi location.
After talking it over, the duo decided to move forward.
“The next day or so, my husband (Rich) and I called as many Realtors as possible, trying to find an available space to start over again,” said Lundborg.
It was later on Tuesday that fate interceded on behalf of the business partners.
Longtime friend and fellow flooring-business operator and competitor Glenn Naumu had a storage bay located a few doors down Haleukana Street next to his own business, Naumu Flooring & Supply.
“For me, they are friends before business competitors,” said Naumu. “They came to me and asked if I had any space. I told them that I had a storage area that they could use temporarily.”
Lundborg added, “It required a little bit of cleaning, but it worked.”
After cleaning out the area, Lundborg, Jones and the rest of the employees at Flooring Innovations were once again open for business on Wednesday afternoon.
“It was a Godsend,” said Lundborg. “We were truly blessed. I am just overjoyed.
“Thinking about it now brings tears to my eyes,” she said.
The business partners said the transition from the old location to the new one was relatively smooth despite the tremendous damage caused by the fire.
“One of the biggest things that we worried about was our technology,” said Lundborg. “But our (computer) systems weren’t damaged, and all of our business information was saved.”
The duo also believe that the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative’s (KIUC) speed in providing electricity to new the bay was helpful.
Lundborg and Jones are in the process of looking for a permanent location for their business, and are even contemplating building a new facility.
“We are so grateful and happy about this new opportunity and the friendships that we have made,” said Lundborg.
Business Editor Barry Graham may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or mailto:bgraham@pulitzer.net.
