CHICAGO—Gerflor is the dominant global firm in the floor-covering space, and in a sign of its intention to further expand into the US market, the French firm has established a North American headquarters in suburban Bensenville. The company has for several years occupied about 43,000 square feet at 595 Supreme Dr. in Bensenville Industrial Park, but has decided to lease the class A building's entire 106,000 square feet of office and distribution space.

“They had a small distribution center here, but wanted to do something more significant,” Bruce McConnell, senior vice president for Savills Studley's national industrial group, tells GlobeSt.com. McConnell, Mike Mangan, associate director, and managing director Renae Bradshaw, all Chicago-based, represented Gerflor in the expansion and lease renewal.

“We looked all over the O'Hare market,” McConnell adds, “and even though it's getting tight there were several spaces which would have served their needs.” Eventually, however, it became clear that sticking with Gerflor's present landlord Prologis was the best option.

McConnell says that although he can't speak for Prologis, it's possible the firm, one of the nation's largest owners of industrial property, was thinking about building its relationship with Gerflor, as the Chicago operation is just the start of its plan to dramatically expand US distribution. “They didn't give the space away, but they were very flexible.”

“We are excited to be experiencing such unprecedented market expansion in the US,” says Benjamin Bachman, chief executive officer of Gerflor USA. “By increasing our space in Bensenville, we will be able to reduce production cycle time and provide products more quickly to our customers. This will ultimately allow us to continue the rapid growth plan we have for the US, which is our most promising market.”