Custom Floor Centre Merges With Ambassador
Ambassador, founded in 1985 by Bob Taylor and led over the past 10 years by his son, Kelly Taylor, reached an all-time high in revenues in 2006 despite uncertainties in the residential market. Ambassador opened a 50,000-square-foot showroom, office and warehouse facility in 2003 in Chesterfield. In 2004, the firm launched both its For The Home division and TTI Sports, Inc.. For the Home offers name brand home furnishings and accessories, primarily to home builders and boutique design firms. TTI Sports installs synthetic athletic fields around the country, including the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis and Giants Stadium in the East Rutherford, N.J. Earlier this year, Ambassador also expanded to Illinois, opening a 1,500-square-foot showroom in O’Fallon.
CFC Founder Jim Williams Sr. has joined Ambassador’s senior management team. His son, Jim Williams Jr., continues as a major accounts manager focused on the residential builder market. All CFC employees, consisting of office staff and installers, also made the transition. CFC inventory and physical assets, located in leased space at 10855 Metro Court in Maryland Heights, Mo., will redeploy to Ambassador’s Chesterfield headquarters at 17770 Chesterfield Airport Road in the coming weeks.
The acquisition expands Ambassador’s staff to nearly 175 employees, including more than 150 trained installers, all of them members of Floorlayers Local 1310.
“The merger is good news for both customers and employees,” said Kelly Taylor, Ambassador president. “Customers gain access to a larger pool of talent and benefit from our enhanced buying power, which ultimately enable us to become even more competitive in service and pricing. Employees benefit from new opportunities to learn and grow as part of a larger organization. Strategically, our broader customer reach will help us better weather the ups and downs of a new home construction marketplace roiled by fluctuating interest rates and energy prices.”
Ambassador sells and installs carpet, hardwood, ceramic, vinyl, marble and granite flooring. The company serves new home builders, custom home builders, commercial contractors and developers, interior designers, architects and home remodeling companies.