Japanese delegation floored by Chattanooga manufacturer

Praters takes athletic floor business around the world

photo Contractors from six Japanese flooring companies traveled to Chattanooga to learn how to apply graphics on gym floors at Prater's Flooring Inc. Four of the contractors work on a graphic in the warehouse at Prater's Flooring, Inc. in Chattanooga.

From a nondescript warehouse and factory in Chattanooga, John Prater has laid the foundation for what is taking center court on the world stage.

Over the past two decades, Prater's Flooring has emerged as the leading producer of graphic and painted designs for athletic floors at some of the top basketball and other sporting venues in the world.

Prater just returned from the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup championship in Spain where his company installed the tournament's basketball court floors. Earlier this week, he hosted a delegation in Chattanooga from representatives of eight top Japanese flooring and distribution companies.

"Basketball court graphics have become more and more crazy," Prater said. "Internationally, there is a movement to copy America and do things that are cool and will set facilities apart. (The Japanese delegation) came looking at us to learn about how to be the leaders in their sports facilities."

Prater's Flooring began in 1991 after Prater returned to his hometown of Chattanooga from Dallas and began making floors for Hamilton County schools and other school and commercial buildings. Prater began to combine computerized graphic displays with his athletic floors in the 1990s to become the country's biggest producer of specialized floor designs for such major events as the NCAA Final Four tournament.

The company installs both temporary decals that are coated with gym floor finish to ensure safe athletic play and painted stencils that permanently display logos on gym floors.

Piece by piece, Prater's staff of 50 employees fit together maple panels or synthetic floor tiles to create surfaces for homes, businesses and, most visibly, top basketball courts around the country.

The athletic business is only a portion of Prater's Flooring business, but it has gained the most global attention. As the artwork and displays on basketball courts have become more elaborate and complicated, Prater's business has grown.

"Everything is about branding today and our floors help create that brand," Prater said.

Prater's employees installs floors around the Southeast United States. But the company's graphics and floor designs also are sold and shipped to other distributors and installers elsewhere in the country, and increasingly around the world.

"Our decals perform like your gym floor because they are coated like your gym floor," said Debbie Prater, John's wife and an associate in the business.

Prater said company revenues should approach $10 million this year.

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.

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