By Matthew Spieler
DARIEN, CONN.—Last year, Starnet changed its slogan to Worldwide Commercial Flooring Partnership as the buying group began fielding inquiries from contractors and suppliers beyond North America. The change is now appropriate for the organization as it welcomed London-based Tyndale Flooring Group as its 168th member.

With five locations across the U.K. and Germany, the 40-year-old Tyndale is “a thriving international company,” noted Jeanne Matson, Starnet’s president and CEO. The full-service flooring contractor has built its reputation on delivering skilled and reliable installation and maintenance of broadloom, carpet tiles, linoleum, vinyl, laminate, wood, ceramic and much more.

She added there are many reasons why Tyndale was selected as the group’s first international member, including “the quality of the company, its financial strength, and the way the business is run is very much in line with that of our North American members.”

For its part, Tyndale’s Terry Britnell said being accepted into Starnet “defines our reputation as a quality commercial flooring contractor and established business operation.” Tyndale immediately benefits from joining Starnet as it already does business with some of the co-op’s largest vendors, including Altro, Armstrong, Atlas, Mannington, Milliken, Mohawk/Lees and Tarkett.

In addition to those vendors, Britnell expects Tyndale to make contact with other manufacturers with whom it can provide an entry into Europe.

Matson said while Starnet’s current International Membership Agreement does not include relationships with preferred vendors, “it is our intent to develop those relationships with the appropriate suppliers with and for all our international members.”

Because going international is a new venture for the buying group, she explained that in the short term Starnet will share the marketing tools and programs developed for its North American members with its international members when it makes sense to do so. “Starnet will need to better understand the needs of each international member over the long term to decide which tools and programs can be adopted and where we need to create unique benefits.”

Britnell noted, “Beyond signifying an important achievement in the life of our company, membership affords us a wealth of industry information, resources for green business practices, exclusive product offerings, installation innovations and the opportunity to benefit from the experience of a peer group of successful entrepreneurs.”

On the flip side, Matson pointed out, “networking, support, vitality and integrity—our membership enjoys power in our numbers. Our 167 North American members now have an outstanding Starnet member with branch locations in the U.K. and Germany, just as Tyndale now has more than 250 Starnet branch locations to work with throughout North America.”

For more information on Starnet, call 800.787.6381.