Much like the mythical Phoenix that rose from its own ashes, Flooring Innovations and Interiors has recovered nicely from its own trial by fire. OK, the Phoenix analogy might be a bit much. But Flooring Innovations and Interiors, a business
Much like the mythical Phoenix that rose from its own ashes, Flooring Innovations and Interiors has recovered nicely from its own trial by fire.
OK, the Phoenix analogy might be a bit much.
But Flooring Innovations and Interiors, a business that has pretty much thrived since its inception in August 1993, is back at a new Rice Street location with a brand new showroom.
The new location opened March 21.
The company used to be located in the Puhi Industrial Park until that fateful fire Jan. 19, 2004 sent them packing into a temporary location.
“We were waiting for it to be rebuilt, but we really needed to get our showroom back,” said company President Judie Hilke Lundborg.
According to Lundborg and company Vice President Mark Jones, Flooring Innovations and Interiors is the largest installation company on Kaua‘i.
Company leaders and employees do a lot of large commercial projects, and works closely with a number of major contractors.
“We’ve done every resort on the island, condominiums, the hospital, we’ve done them,” said Jones.
Jones, who along with Lundborg worked for another flooring shop for six years before quitting and setting off on their own, began his career with the company as a carpet and flooring installer.
Lundborg said he is among the best at what he does.
“I rarely do installations now. I was in the field for the first six years. It’s tough on the knees and the back,” Jones said.
One of the reasons Flooring Innovations and Interiors leaders are able to do so many large-scale installations, aside from their established reputation for quality, is because they have a large number of crews, the officers said.
They can get most jobs done within two weeks, they said.
Lundborg said the company has six crews and 16 employees. When the business opened nearly 12 years ago, there were only two or three employees.
Another advantage the company leaders enjoy is that all the employee-installers are licensed through Jones. Also, company leaders offer warranties for their products.
“It’s important to customers, because they know there will always be somebody to back up the work,” Lundborg said.
“We kind of grew into the commercial end of the business. We figured we could make a living without taking advantage of staff or customers,” she recalled.
She said the biggest challenge over the years has been finding and keeping employees.
In addition, the company is offering more environmentally friendly flooring types, like linoleum and bamboo.
Oddly, Flooring Innovations and Interiors is one business seemingly not dependent on location for its success.
“We don’t do any advertising,” Lundborg said. “Most of our business is over the phone,” she said. The new showroom contains many samples of what the company offers.
In addition to flooring materials of many types, including wood and cork, Flooring Innovations and Interiors leaders also sell wallpaper, ceramics, and a special type of vinyl preferred for the exterior of condominiums.
Lundborg said the company, while not exactly a mom-and-pop business, is still a family enterprise. Jones’ brothers and Lundborg’s husband work for the company.
For more info, please call 246-3401.
