A newcomer to the industry, Ground Control Surfaces plans to turn up the volume and make some noise in the commercial market with the debut of its new Chords and Rhythms collections.
“Ground Control Surfaces was inspired by two partners that, after a bottle of a fine California Cabernet, had a vision to create a flooring company that would break the mold of the stuffy corporate resilient flooring world that we’ve all grown to expect,” said Mark Walcoff, co-owner of the company.
Walcoff and co-owner Michael Wendt are no strangers to the flooring industry. Walcoff is president of Tajima Flooring USA and previously the vice president of Parterre Flooring, and Wendt is the founder and president of Club Resource Group (CRG). With Ground Control Surfaces, the California natives are taking a fresh approach to commercial flooring.
Drawing inspiration from California’s music scene, Walcoff and Wendt developed the Chords and Rhythms luxury vinyl plank and rubber flooring collections. Featuring products with names like Fillmore Jams, Ocean’s Roar and Day on the Green, the collections and products give a fresh, upbeat style to commercial spaces and truly embody the Golden State’s iconic culture and hip vibe.
“To understand the inspiration of our collections, Chords and Rhythms Surfaces, you have to go back to the company name,” said Walcoff. “Chords was initially inspired by the music of the Doors or the Beach Boys to famous concert venues like the Fillmore in San Francisco or the Roxy on the Sunset Strip where we remembered going to back in the day. These were fine times and I couldn’t think of a better way to memorialize them.”
Walcoff added, “For anyone who ever played the drums, Rhythms will resonate with you. Since rubber is an inherently sound absorbing material, Rhythms seemed a most appropriate name. We had 3 levels of color concentrations for design so we selected 3 of 6 drum beats to describe them. It’s that simple.”
With the LVT market the most competitive it’s been in 25 years, according to Walcoff, 2017 was the opportune time to introduce the industry to Ground Control Solutions, and a new way of doing business.
“Our strategy is a bit different than most companies, which will set us apart from a competitive standpoint, to a design and solution company,” Walcoff said. “Our products will not only be attractive but they will be functional and solve real problems common in today’s commercial environments.”
In terms of LVT, creating attractive products means achieving a level of realism that consumers have come to expect from resilient flooring, all while offering durability.
“The intent of LVT is to create the illusion of the natural material it’s replicating in a more durable and environmentally appropriate product,” said Walcoff. “It is our intent to design products that exhibit these characteristics and avoid designs that don’t.”
On the business side, the co-owners’ time and experience in the flooring industry have taught them what works and what doesn’t work.
“I’ve probably learned more of what not to do from my previous experiences beginning with my biggest asset…my people,” said Walcoff. “I’ll continue to produce quality product that provides the design elements and practical application at a competitive price for their customers, but I will never forget who got me there. Without them, there is no Ground Control Surfaces.”
