Johnson City, Tenn.—New Stream Capital, a Connecticut-based private equity firm, has purchased the assets of Tarkett’s wood flooring operations for an undisclosed sum, according to an article appearing in the Johnson City Press by business editor Jeff Keeling.

The story said New Steam is making the purchase with hopes of restoring the hardwood flooring operation to the competitiveness and strong reputation it enjoyed for most of the 20th century as Harris Flooring. The purchase includes Tarkett’s two plants here, and an Indiana facility.

“We’re huge believers in the fact this can be a stand-alone, domestic manufacturing company,” said New Stream’s Matt Galvez, who will take over as CEO. “We’re buying these plants, we’re going to run them, and we’re going to rebuild the brand.”

The paper noted the 320 local employees all received offer sheets on Nov. 19 to return to work for a company that will go by the name ArborCraft and also will rely heavily on the Harris Flooring reputation that still exists among wholesale distributors nationwide.

Galvez and Scott Fullerton, who will be ArborCraft’s COO, see great potential to gain market share in the pre-finished wood flooring business. Tarkett Wood is already a top-10 player in the category with an estimated market share of 5.5% and annual sales of more than $125 million.

The New Stream investors have found plenty to give them optimism during their due diligence period, he noted. They take over an operation with a very strong balance sheet and what Galvez called a strong corps of skilled and semi-skilled workers. “We’ve spent a lot of time here the last three months and believe the people are very good, and if they’re allowed to run their business I think they’ll do real well at it.”

He said a key goal is to re-establish market share and good relationships with a network of distributors. “We’re hoping to re-establish the Harris Wood brand in the wholesale distribution channel. We want to gain a lot of market share in this channel. We have strong share today in what we call the do-it-yourself channel, the Home Depot channel.”

The company’s strong employee base, the fact that the Harris name still resonates with people who know wholesale flooring around the country, and the strong balance sheet ArborCraft is starting with have given both Galvez and Fullerton optimism even in the midst of a difficult housing market.

“Among the employees here there’s a lot of skill we could never get just showing up, and given what we’re going to face in the market, that’s pretty important,” Galvez said.

“This is a great time to build market share,” he added. “The idea is, take that strong balance sheet, build a strong business, get your market share back, and when the market comes back we will be a major part of that happening.”

Galvez described the Harris Wood brand to the likes of Pan Am. “It’s a very real brand, and we’re excited to bring it back to life. There’s virtually nobody who’s experienced out there in the wood flooring market that doesn’t know our brand and the whole history of this company.”