Brand new complex

Press, 14 September 1988, Page 30

Brand new complex

A completely new image and location for one of Christchurch’s long established firms will be unveiled today. Reese Flooring, Ltd, will officially open its new offices and showroom complex at 136 Moorhouse Avenue.

Formerly the flooring division of Reese Bros., Ltd, Reese Flooring has narrowed its traditional fields of commercial and retail flooring to concentrate solely on the commercial sector. “It is not only the flooring aspects such as carpets and vinyls that we will specialise in, but the ancillary pieces such as wall hangings, soft furnishings and colour co-ordi-nation,” said the managing director of Reese Flooring, Mr Steve Wilson. Reese Flooring is the biggest commercial flooring outlet in the South Island and the second biggest in New Zealand. “Over the next few years we aim to be the biggest. At this stage we have already completed work in the North Island but do not have a permanent presence in that area. “Therefore, our expansionist ideas include setting up operations in both Wellington and Auckland,” he said. The carpet industry has changed markedly during the 50 years that the company has been involved in the field. Although Reese Bros did have some involvement with the carpet in-

dustry in the 1930 s it really was not until the 1950 s that the division came into its own. After the Second World War Reese Bros put a man on the road to market the rubber flooring it was importing into this country. Its first major commercial contract was in the early 1950 s when it undertook the flooring at Lincoln College’s Hudson Hall. From that beginning contracts such as the Christchurch Town Hall, Library and Canterbury

Centre followed. It is now on to second generation contracts having originally done the B.N.Z. and A.M.P. buildings when they were built then returning many years later to carry out the refurbishing. Major contracts at present include the Park Royal where it is installing over 13,000 sq m of carpet, (the average house needs 100 sq m), and the new hospital block where it is supplying the carpets and wall coverings.