Corporate Profile

Potomac Floor Covering, Inc., an independent flooring solution provider based in Dulles, Va., is interested in more than simply providing floor products to clients. Potomac proudly employs the best project support staff in the industry, and is locally owned and operated by owners Jim Creamer and Gerry Swift - who personally manage the business on a daily basis.

Creamer founded the company with partner Bart Harris in 1986. Both had worked in the floor covering industry previously, and they realized that they wanted to move in a different direction than their employer at the time. "It was our goal to build a few long-term relationships-that it wasn't the number of customers that we had, or the sales volume we did that was important. We wanted to do our job in such a way that we would have customers for life. And that has really stayed with us through all these years," Creamer says.

A true asset to Potomac has been its continued relationship with its employees. Many of the company's installation crews and administrative staff have been with Potomac for years, and the retention of employees has allowed the company to further develop its relationships with clients. Our team has become very familiar with our clients, and it makes the work process go much smoother, because they already know a lot about each other. The technical expertise of employees helps set the company apart from competitors; virtually everyone at Potomac, from installers to executives, participates in ongoing training.

"Things are always changing in our business. The technologies of carpet manufacturing have dramatically increased. In the past decade alone, the types of backings used for carpet have increased from two or three to a dozen and carpet designs also have become increasingly complex. "With the complexity of the patterning of carpet today, it's much more difficult to properly pattern match. So we need top-notch, well-trained installers as well as project managers. We work hard to stay ahead of the curve," Swift says.

Creamer believes that Potomac's attention to detail and technical expertise continues to set the company apart from its competitors and has led to its enormous growth since it's founding. Today, the company supplies, installs and maintains commercial carpet, resilient products and commercial hardwood products in healthcare facilities, educational buildings and office buildings throughout the Washington Metropolitan area. Major clients include Chevy Chase Bank and Children's National Medical Center, as well as a number of major general contractors such as Dietze Construction and Rand Construction.

The company occupies a 24,000-square-foot facility with a showroom, office space and warehouse because the company had outgrown its old building.

The company is planning continued growth in the years ahead and is exploring expanding in other directions. "We're always looking for opportunities to provide more services to our customers," Creamer says.

Creamer is particularly proud of the company's growth, and the quality of the services that it provides. "When we started this business, our vision was quite limited. To see what we've grown into-the caliber of what we have here and the quality of work that we do encourages me to think of the possibilities for the future," he says.

We are committed to maintaining valuable long-term relationships with our customers and suppliers with a unified goal of exceeding our customers' expectations every day with service and selection. Potomac guarantees that any project - large or small - will receive equal attention from our company.