The freshly expanded MDG Flooring America showroom offers a one-stop shopping experience for all things flooring, kitchens and baths

By Ken McEntee

Going back to when I was a kid, my family’s canines of choice have most frequently been toy poodles. That’s because they are small, they don’t shed, and they are considered to be among the smartest and most trainable breeds of dogs.

That’s good news for the carpeting.

A couple years ago, however, we adopted a brother-sister pair of chiweenies—a mix of dachshund and chihuahua—from a local rescue. While they are every bit as cute and lovable as our toy poodles, let’s just say they aren’t quite as cerebrally gifted—and they are more difficult to train.

That’s bad news for the carpeting.

But not to worry, assures Scott Powers, sales manager at MDG Flooring America, in Medina.

“Kids and pets can be hard on floors,” Scott confirms. “That’s one of many reasons why luxury vinyl tile (LVT) has been the fastest growing flooring product in recent years.”

With patterns that mimic flooring materials from ceramic tile to hardwood, LVT, Scott assures, is attractive, waterproof, can be used in any room and is a breeze to install and clean.

“If there is a spill, you simply wipe it up,” he says.

With a newly remodeled showroom, MDG has a larger variety of LVT—as well as carpet, hardwood and other flooring materials—than ever before, Scott boasts.

“The remodeled showroom, which now includes our new Kiba Studios kitchen and bath showroom, will create a better experience for our customers,” he promises. “It’s a little more wide open and makes it easier to get around the displays. It’s also going to allow us to expand our flooring product lines.”

A Family Tradition
Steve Walbolt, president and co-owner, insists that the closeness of family is what has set MDG apart since it was established more than 21 years ago.

“We are a very close family, but we also enjoy close relationships with our extended family, which includes the people on our team, as well as our customers,” Steve says. “We like to think of ourselves as the place where friends send friends.”

Mike Green, whose initials provided the name of his upstart business more than 21 years ago, learned the carpeting business from the ground floor up.

“Dad was a teenager when he went to work in a carpeting warehouse,” shares Christie Jackson, Mike’s daughter and client support manager at MDG. “He worked his way up from the warehouse to installation and eventually into management of flooring stores. From there, he had the opportunity to put all of his experience to good use by starting his own company.”

Although Mike has been retired from MDG since he was severely injured in a car accident in 2007, the store remains a family enterprise owned by Christie’s brother Donny and Steve, their cousin. Christie was involved in the enterprise even before her father became an entrepreneur.

“From the time I was little I had always kind of hung out with my dad,” she recalls. “When he was an installer I would go with him and help pick up carpet scraps. At the time, he was still working at another store, in Strongsville. I later started to work with him in the warranty department before getting into sales.”

At first, Mike’s new business—MDG Flooring Wholesalers—supplied flooring to building contractors from a location on East Smith Road, in Medina.

“He had built strong relationships with new home builders,” Christie says. “The emphasis on retail sales came later.”

Mike opened the retail showroom at its present location in 2004. Three years later, after his accident, Donny and his mother, Carol, took over management of the showroom. Later, Steve, who was looking to exit the corporate world after 13 years, partnered with Donny to buy the store from Mike and Carol, beginning the second generation of family owners.

“We knew that we’d make an awesome team,” Steve says. “My background was in retail and Donny knew flooring inside and out. It’s been so much more fun coming to work where we continue to build a family legacy. Besides working with my cousins, my mom also works here. It makes it fun, and I think our customers enjoy walking into a friendly, family oriented atmosphere.”

Scott says he was sold on MDG long before he joined the company in April 2021. As a former home builder, he chose MDG to install his floors.

“Quality of installation was important to me and it’s still one of the biggest advantages we offer over most of our competition,” he insists.

Steve agrees.

“Our family has always taken pride in doing things right and providing superior quality service,” he says. “There’s a lot more to the flooring business than many people realize. Maybe anybody can measure a room, but not everybody is able to anticipate obstacles and understand technical issues like when you might need to build up a sub floor. That’s why we employ our own in-house installers. It’s important that we can compete with anybody on price, but it’s more important that our customers are satisfied throughout the sales and installation process. When you buy from us, we’re with you every step of the way until the job is finished. The key to our success over the years is the way we take care of our customers.”

Core Values
The MDG experience begins in the showroom, Scott says.

“We ask a lot of questions so we can give customers the best recommendations that make sense for them,” he explains. “And every decision we make as a company has to pass the test of our core values. If the answer is no, we don’t make that choice. That’s why I have our Values Statement and Core Values posted right next to my desk.”

According to MDG’s Values Statement:

“MDG Flooring America provides superior quality home improvement products and services to our valued customers. We are leaders in the flooring industry. We build strong positive relationships with our customers to support their needs. We desire to grow and improve each day. We have a strong, knowledgeable team that treats others the way we want to be treated and are active in supporting the communities in which we operate.”

MDG’s Core Values are:

• Family – We care for our team members and treat them like family.
• Legacy – We give back and make a difference in the communities in which we operate. We continue to build upon our strong quality, brand and reputation.
• Operational excellence – We make daily continuous improvements, hold each other accountable and are results-oriented.
• Open communication – We communicate openly and actively listen to one another.
• Resourceful – We provide proactive solutions to problems and empower our team to make decisions.
• Integrity – We are honest and trustworthy people.
• Next-level service – We provide excellent customer service to our customers and team and lead by example in all we do.
• Growth – We have a positive mindset, work hard and are focused on growth.

That, Scott says, pretty much spells it out.

Invest in Your Home
Even through a pandemic and the economic downturn, MDG continues to grow, Scott reveals.

“With $5 gasoline and a vulnerable stock market, people are most comfortable investing in their homes,” he says. “When you put new floors in, you’re going to improve your home’s value. The kitchen, the master bath and the other bathrooms are what sell the house, so if you update the kitchen floors and counters, and update your baths, it will give the whole house a fresh new look—and you’re going to get a significant boost in the price when you sell it.”

With the addition of a Kiba Studios, the MDG showroom now offers a one-stop shop for everything needed to upgrade kitchens and bathrooms, with everything from quality cabinets and countertops to plumbing accessories and organizing systems, emphasizes Scott, who is now also the Kiba sales manager.

The showroom-within-a-showroom offers popular brands like:

• Kemper
• Fieldstone
• Europa
• James Martin
• Wolf
• Cambria
• Hanstone
• Moen

Scott promises that the friendly, expert customer service MDG has provided to its customers extends into Kiba Studios.

Kiba Studios, Steve says, is a perfect partner for MDG. Both are affiliated with Flooring America, the national buying cooperative that allows independent businesses to offer prices and benefits that compete with the corporate big box retailers—but with higher quality product lines and the helpful and knowledgeable customer service shoppers may find lacking at the big boxes.

“Flooring America also offers exclusive flooring lines and colors that aren’t available to other retailers,” Scott adds.

A Variety of Options
While versatile and gorgeous LVT continues to gain in popularity, carpeting and hardwood flooring remain popular, Scott says.

“Carpet is still strong,” he says. “People like it in bedrooms because it’s soft, warm and comfy. The popularity of hardwood flooring has been on the rise because people still appreciate its natural beauty—and the price margin between LVT and hardwood has been shrinking, so for not a lot more money, you can now have a real wood floor.”

But for high-traffic areas in homes with kids and pets, LVT is an ideal choice for any room.

“Luxury vinyl is scratch resistant and moisture resistant,” Scott says. “You don’t have to worry about a spill on it and getting it wiped up right away. There is a tremendous variety of styles, colors and patterns, so people are using it in family rooms and formal living rooms.”

The good news for pet lovers who want the soft feel of carpeting is that MDG offers pet- and environmentally friendly stain protection, Scott says.

MDG Flooring America is located at 3812 Pearl Road, Suite C, in Medina. You can find more information by visiting MDGFlooringAmerica.com, or checking out the latest news on Facebook @MDGFlooringAmerica. You can call the store at 330-725-5252.