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North American Finishing readies for operation in Suring

June 25, 2013



WEDC provides loan to assist in startup of pre-finished wood flooring manufacturer

MADISON, May 23, 2013 – North American Finishing, Suring, Wis., is one of Wisconsin’s newest startup businesses, on the verge of full production of customized hardwood flooring. The company is nearing completion of the first stages of a planned $27 million investment.

The company has established its production operations at the former Evenflo facility in Suring, converting the 117,000 square-foot facility for its flooring processing. The investment also includes purchasing equipment, training and working capital. The company will prep, sand and finished customized hardwood flooring products. Northern American Finishing was created in 2010 by Tim Flaherty, president.

“The Suring location was chosen for a combination of reasons. The unique layout of the plant fit well with the design of our state of the art finishing line. This combined with a quality work force with extensive experience in the wood industry and the support from local communities made Suring the obvious choice,” said Flaherty. “We are very excited for the future opportunities this will bring to the Village of Suring, local businesses and vendors as well as the surrounding communities. This has been a long and exciting endeavor since the first conversations some years ago and we are looking forward to the initial startup in a few short weeks.”

The planned capital investment by North American Finishing is over $27 million using financial support from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), revolving loan fund loan and private lending and private investors.

“North American Finishing is making a significant investment to eventually create 250 jobs for the community,” said Reed Hall, secretary and chief executive officer of WEDC. “We are pleased to be a partner in such a major business development project for the area.”

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is providing a $1 million loan to assist in the expansion. The loan from WEDC is a five-year loan, with requirements for job creation. The Oconto County Economic Development Corporation (OCEDC) is providing a $100,000 loan.

“This is a phenomenal project for the county,” said Paul Ehrforth, executive director of OCEDC. “The job creation from North American Finishing is critical to the economic development efforts in Oconto County.”

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