How We Began
Northern Industrial Flooring was founded in 1984 by Jeff Berlew and two business partners. After graduating from Indiana State University, Jeff joined Freda, a paint manufacturer with a flooring division, as a salesman. Already familiar with the trade from completing flooring jobs during college, Jeff spent two years learning the industry before taking the opportunity to build a company of his own.
Over the following years, Jeff purchased his partners’ interests and became the driving force behind the company’s continued growth. Northern Industrial Flooring expanded its capabilities and market presence through years of steady work and strategic acquisitions, including the purchase of several competitors and, eventually, Freda—the company where Jeff’s professional career had begun.
What started as an opportunity in the flooring industry grew into a business built to last. Since 1984, Northern Industrial Flooring has continued to grow by embracing the same principle that shaped its earliest years: prosperity is earned through hard work, perseverance, and a commitment to the customer.
More than four decades later, that work ethic remains at the foundation of Northern Industrial Flooring and continues to guide the way we serve our customers today.