August 4/11, 2014; Volume 28/Number 4
By Ken Ryan
For more than 50 years, the family-owned Pedross Group produced and marketed moldings and flooring accessories in Europe, where it became an internationally recognized name. Three years ago it set out to make a name for itself in the U.S. as Pedross America, billed as a “one-stop shop” for customers requiring either a large variety of flooring accessories or a customized order.
“No order is too small or too large” is the company’s mantra. To back up that claim, Pedross America established a facility in Springdale, Ark., where it could offer daily shipments to locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.
“Our first priority was to gain the confidence of the customers and become more visible and a well known supplier of flooring accessories in the market,” said Carmela Amico, chief sales and marketing officer of the Pedross Group and CEO of Pedross America. “Our brand name is recognized for a high degree of quality and expertise. We follow the highest standards regarding production and services. We also work to build up long and strong partnerships with our customers.”
Pedross America markets moldings for hardwood flooring, cork and laminate. It says it helps customers coordinate their flooring designs with transition pieces to match LVT and other flooring surfaces.
At Surfaces 2014 in Las Vegas, Pedross introduced what it called “unique slim LVT moldings.” Using its digital matching technology, the company said it could match the molding to the exact print of the floor, giving it a tailored look. This slim, two-in-one molding can be used as a T-mold or reducer, or as an end cap or stair nose.
Retailers are giving Pedross high marks for being able to deliver specific product on time. Betty Laferney, sales manager at RB’s Flooring & Care in Springdale, Ark., said Pedross is particularly adept at matching the right accessory. “We do a lot of restoration work and 99.9% of the time what they provide us is a perfect match,” she said. “I like their availability of product as well. They go out of their way to get us what we need in a timely manner.”
C. J. “Curly” Kuldell, president of Henges Interiors in O’Fallon, Ill., said his company has been buying Pedross trims for nearly four years. “They make a wide variety of trims that are custom matched to the SKUs we carry. We have found them to be responsive to any concerns we bounce off them. They really seem to understand their niche in the market and are looking to take their European manufacturing expertise and help customers here who buy into their business model.”
Kuldell said working with Pedross America has been a positive experience overall for his company. “When you generate the kind of volume we do in the builder market we service in St. Louis, and can capture the savings that a company like Pedross offers—while it isn’t huge dollars per job, the jobs do add up over time—it is well worth our time and attention,” he explained. “We can offer better value to our customers in that we aren’t paying the manufacturer to buy the product, mark it up and sell it to a distributor who then adds an additional mark up. We ultimately are the selling end of that chain.”
Amico added that Pedross’ primary differentiator is its product variety. It stocks more than 100 moldings and can match the flooring range not only with color but also in species.
She cited several other advantages to doing business with Pedross, including the competitive pricing it offers and exceptional customer service. The CEO said her company could offer better pricing due to the inherent value of veneer wrapping. “The customer gets any species she wants, but she also gets the added advantage of an oak backing wrapped with the expensive real wood veneer,” she said. “For instance, a solid piece of tiger wood would cost you much more than the veneer-wrapped one, and you wouldn’t even notice the difference. This gives our customers the possibility to increase their margins.”
Just as important, she said her staff is able to respond quickly to custom requests and demands and find the ideal solution for each project or need.