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NCAA Tourney Floors Have Local TiesLocal Company's Products Going to Three SitesBy Rick Rietbrock
Right in the middle of downtown Milwaukee, Jason Thomas Flooring is working on the next big project - getting the floor ready for March madness.
Owner/President Jason Heiman says "It's amazing, you go from floors that are local in Wisconsin to a venue like the NCAA you take a raw thing and create what everyone sees on TV in awe and 'how did they do that?'"
Wednesday the guys are putting the final touches on this floor that they will be shipping to Trenton, New Jersey. Two coats of oil modified polyurethane, the last step in this 16 day process.
"When we start to lay it out it takes a day to put it together," says owner/vice president Ryan Powell. "Then about two days to sand it and seal it then it take about another day to seal it and then 4 days worth a paint and the rest is dry time."
Jason Thomas floors are now nationally known for its sports floors, but this thriving company here in Milwaukee has some humble roots.
"We were mainly sub-contractors going down do floors for big contractors these were like small, small schools that you never heard of," says graphic designer Jeff Lazewski. "So it was quite an experience for two or three summers and now we're starting to do stuff in Milwaukee around the Chicago area."
They are nationally known now. They just completed three NCAA floors that will be shipped to Boston, Raleigh and Trenton for the tournament and they're not stopping there.
"I hope to be in a position were we could do two or three portable floors at the same time," says Heiman. "And we have a stage set in Wisconsin with the biggest and best systems and schools making a name for the company."
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