About Us
Southern Flooring is a company with a strong heritage and commitment to quality and innovation in the sports flooring industry.
As a family owned and operated company, we understand that our name is on the line every time we take on a new project. We take pride in providing our customers the best products and service out there. In our 50 years in business, Southern Flooring has installed millions of square feet of sports flooring, and has earned a reputation as one of the largest, most recognizable sports flooring companies in the country.
It all began when our founder, Jim Counihan, left his family’s farm in County Kerry, Ireland, to search for work in London, England. After spending nearly a year digging natural gas lines in London and another year working on the railroad, Jim was hired by a flooring company called Granwood, and would be promoted to crew leader in only nine months. Two years later, new opportunities lead him to Toronto, Canada. Roughly a year and a half later, he’d saved enough money to sail back to London to marry his bride, Pam, and together they returned to Toronto.
Eventually Jim traveled to the United States on a work visa to train workers in New Orleans on hardwood flooring installation. In 1965, Jim came to Greenville, South Carolina, to invest in a new American Granwood franchise. He was a foreman for Granwood until 1972, and he left owning approximately twenty five percent of the franchise. That same year, he founded Southern Flooring, Inc.
Jim put his experience and knowledge to work in creating twelve patented sports flooring systems. (Patent numbers: 7,096,631, 6,164,031, 6,158,185, 6,115,981, 6,055,785, 5,906,082, 5,647,183, 5,497,590, 5,369,927, 5,016,413, 4,599,842, 4,170,842.) Several of these patents are licensed to some of the largest sports flooring mills in the world. Prominent universities and professional sports teams all over the globe play on Jim’s designs. In 2008, Jim was inducted into the Maple Floor Manufacturers Association Hall of Fame for his innovation and outstanding work in the field of hardwood sports flooring.
After nearly 50 years of hard work and perseverance in the flooring industry, Jim retired in 2006. James, Jim’s only son, has now taken on the role of President and Helen, Jim’s daughter, is Vice President. Together they continue the family tradition and have two additional family members now helping in the day-to-day operations. With a new generation of leadership, the Southern Flooring tradition of excellence and innovation continues.
Flooring Services Provided Throughout the South East and Following Areas
South Carolina | North Carolina | Georgia | Virginia | Tennessee | Kentucky
Client Testimonials
“I wanted to offer our appreciation for your services as the wood floor subcontractor on the arena floor project in William & Mary Hall. the Connor RezillChannel floor has exceeded our expectations. . . . We realize we had a tight construction window last summer, but both Southern Flooring and Recreation Plus delivered a first-rate project on schedule. It is hard to believe that you were able to convert the arena floor in just over two months. . . . This past academic year has been a busy one in William & Mary Hall, and a lot of credit goes to the new floor. . . . Thank you again for installing a first class floor that the College of William and Mary can be proud of.”
-Robert L. Dunn, Associate Athletic Director The College of William & Mary
“Mr. Counihan and his staff recently completed the installation and painting of our Connor Rezill Channel flooring system that we chose for our new 60,000 square foot Kennth D. Miller Center earlier this month. Though the floor has only been down a short time, we have been very pleased with the comments and responses from our donors; student-athletes; and coaches.
The artwork we chose and the design at centercourt presented many challenges, but with the help of Mr. Counihan and his staff, the finished product looks great. I have been very pleased with the availability and service provided by Mr. Counihan and the folks at Southern Flooring and would highly recommend you give them strong consideration.”
-Davis Whitfield, Assistant Athletic Director / Operations Wake Forest Department of Athletics
“This is an open letter of recommendation for Southern Flooring, Inc for three outstanding
flooring installations they completed for us recently. They installed three separate dance
studio sprung floors. This included a wood sprung basket weave floor with a vinyl
performance surface as added safety for our dancers. The flooring, installation, and
craftsmanship were outstanding. The entire staff from the installers to the president
were extremely professional, accommodating, and all three projects were completed
within the agreed timeframe. Therefore, I highly recommend Southern Flooring, Inc
based on their performance, professionalism and high quality standards.”
-Betsy J Beam, SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities
“I have worked with Southern Flooring several times over the last 15 years. I have found Southern
Flooring to be a true expert in all dealings with wood gym floors. When you hire a contractor to install
a wood gym floor it is very important to hire someone that has the experience and attention to detail
that is going to result in an excellent project. The end product that Southern Flooring produces is
always the highest quality. I would recommend Southern Flooring to an Owner or General Contractor
for their gym flooring projects.”
–Hootie Solsesbee, Harper General Contractors
