Orlando, FL, May 25, 2006--Record sales help drive Orlando-based Blackton Inc.'s need to expand in Central Florida.
The Orlando Sentinel, reported that Blackton Inc., a 54-year-old Orlando roofing-and-flooring company, plans a major expansion of its distribution operations in the region after posting record sales for the fiscal year that ended in April.
Michael Blackton, chief executive officer of the family-owned business, said Wednesday he is looking for sites to open distribution centers in Daytona Beach and Ocala this year.
The company already operates a 128,000-square-foot distribution center at Poinciana in Osceola County. Blackton also has about 70,000 square feet of office and warehouse space and 55,000 square feet of storage yard at its Alden Road headquarters, off North Orange Avenue in Orlando.
Blackton said the company has benefited from the area's boom in both residential and commercial construction. Repair work related to the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes has also contributed to the record sales, he said.
"It seems like there's no stopping it," Blackton said. Sales in the most recent fiscal year were up 26 percent from the previous one. And Blackton is looking for a 35 percent increase this fiscal year.
"I'm very bullish on the area's economy," he said.
The company sells roofing supplies, from felt to asphalt shingles, and flooring that includes tile, carpeting and wood.
Blackton said the company sells material to roofing contractors and doesn't do installations. On the flooring side of the business, it does both sales and installation. The current payroll of 94 people will likely be expanded by 35 by the end of this year, Blackton said.
The company, started by Blackton's father in 1952, has a fleet of about 50 trucks and vans for deliveries and service. If there's a downside to the current business climate, it's operating that large fleet.
"The gas bills are staggering," Blackton said.
