For more than 25 years, Better Life Technology has been a leading provider of 100% solid polyvinyl flooring solutions for residential, commercial and OEM applications sold under the G-Floor brand.
What started as an idea just for garage flooring has grown to become flooring for trailers, sheds, boats and even restrooms. “We realized our ground-breaking, solid polyvinyl product had additional uses outside of the garage and above the floor,” said Terry Terrill, vice president of retail sales for G-Floor, based in Lenexa, Kan. “[But] G Floor is still the gold standard for garages.”
Until now, the company has sold its products to OEM customers as well as big box stores including Menard’s Home Depot and Costco. The company is now looking to forge relationships with the specialty flooring market through distributors or retailers. As Terrill noted, “We’d like to get in front of some flooring dealers.”
The company exhibited at Surfaces, albeit without much success at first. “Being in a niche market wasn’t very productive—we didn’t get the traction we thought we would,” Terrill said. “Attendees [at Surfaces] have their eyes set on certain things.”
Undaunted, G-Floor sees an opportunity for specialty dealers who may want to think outside the box and expand into alternative markets like flooring for garages, boats and sheds.
For starters, G-Floor has a Made in USA story, with all of its products made in Kansas. “Domestic production is becoming more relevant in the flooring industry, really every industry,” Terrill explained. “We certainly have been knocked off by some of the imported players in the past, but there is a significant difference in the quality of our material.”
G-Floor’s products are constructed of 100% solid polyvinyl without any layers or fillers. Terrill explained that when vinyl flooring is produced using thin layers, those layers have a tendency to break down quicker, tear more easily, dent under heavy furniture and become more brittle and rigid. “If the layers comprise fragile fillers commonly used in vinyl flooring such as paper, clay or foam, they get compacted together within the flooring product, actually decreasing product durability and performance over time,” Terrill explained.
G Floor’s Roll-Out Flooring, for example, uses a thick polyvinyl material that makes the floor impervious to damage normally caused by extended or extreme use, heavy storage or chemical spills. It rolls out for easy installation in garages. “You lay it down, pull into your garage and easily sweep out any debris you left,” Terrill said.
Another product, G-Floor Ribbed Channel Flooring, is available in free-floating mat sizes or rolls that can be joined easily for complete area coverage. Its grooved surface with raised ridges collects water, dirt and other fluids that capture the messes until the cleanup gets done.
Customer feedback
Over the years G-Floor has cultivated strong relationships with customers who vouch for their products and service. “When it comes to garage flooring, G-Floor is the original,” said Justin Krauss, co-founder and president of Grand Junction, Colo.-based Garage Flooring, a leading online distributor of garage flooring and storage products nationally. “We have been working with them for decades. They are simple to deal with— fast and budget friendly—with a seamless appearance that is hard to beat.”
Robert Heaton, general manager manufacturing for United Rentals in Stamford, Conn., said Better Life Technology has been his “go-to source” for flooring in all of its WorkPlex containerized office builds that repurpose shipping containers into functional, customizable and portable workspaces. “We build spaces that have to perform in a variety of demanding conditions,” Heaton said. “The durability and minimal maintenance required to keep them looking great make the G-Floor product our best-in-class pick over and over again.”
