In 2015 International flooring specialist Gerflor announced their acquisition of Connor Sport Court International in a move that subsequently expanded the company’s global market reach and sports product range portfolio.
Founded in 1872, Connor Sports is the leader in hardwood sports flooring and in 1974 Sport Court was formed, providing the market with the original modular sport surface used for outdoor athletics. With 250 employees Connor Sports Flooring® and Sport Court® are registered trademarks of Connor and have two manufacturing sites in the USA. The company has sales in more than seventy-five countries and installations on all seven continents.
With a large global reach and presence, it’s no wonder that Connor Sports products feature heavily in the Olympic story.
The 2016 Rio Olympic Committee sought to buy eight courts for basketball and wheel chair basketball arenas. They would specify a total of 75,000m2 of flooring that would need to undergo the rigours of top-flight performance. The criteria stipulated that it had to be an FIBA level 1 floor, be removable for re-use after the games, and provide outstanding on-site support. They selected Connor Sports QuickLock floors. Roberto Siviero General Manager, Sport Competition said at the time, “We used Connor Sports courts for Basketball/Wheelchair Basketball at the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games for competition, warm-up and practice venues. We received very positive feed-back from the players, coaches and officials on the court’s look, feel and play characteristics”. He went on to add, “The Connor team were great to work with, the communications were always timely and our messages responded to right away. The personnel sent down to support the event were technically knowledgeable, professional and friendly.” He concluded by saying, The Connor basketball courts will remain in Brazil as a legacy of hosting the Olympics”.
Bertrand Chaumet, Managing Director, Gerflor UK commented, “Being involved with the Summer Olympic Games in Rio last year was again a testament to the quality of our overall sports flooring offer and the on-going development we do as company to produce the very best products we can”.
Connor Sport Court International is the US market leader in sports surfacing and has built systems for many elite associations including the NBA, NCAA, FIBA, USTA, FIVB, US Youth Futsal, and USA Volleyball. The group specialises in wood, synthetic, rubber and modular sports surfaces and has the appropriate solution for every type of athletic, park, school, arena or multi-use facility. The company is the only sports surfacing firm in North America whose manufacturing facilities are independently audited and verified as “zero waste” and fully ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified. They are also the only sports flooring company in the US to have Environmental Product Declarations on all their products. Their athletic surfacing experts have developed more DIN certified systems than any other sports surfacing manufacturer, delivering a complete line-up of products which are perfect for gymnasiums and athletic facilities of all types in the education, leisure, fitness sectors, as well as Military facilities and Sporting Arenas and Dance floor studios.
The UK will be introducing four systems from the Connor Sports family providing a host of high quality sports flooring solutions for a myriad of markets. Available now are the following: NeoShok, Rezill Sleeper and Alliance, with stock levels held in France. The fourth available product is the QuickLock portable system, also held in France, it is ideal for temporary use in a multitude of sporting events. All the above systems can be finished in 3 different grades of 57mm x 20mm North American Hard Maple strip.
Peter Daly, Sales Manager Western Europe & Key Accounts, Gerflor, commented, “In truth, grades of wood have a zero effect on performance. The grades are determined by strict grading outlines as set out by an independent association of maple manufacturers called the MFMA (Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association). The “first grade” is closer to the bark of the tree; then multipurpose grade (“third grade”) is closer to the core. All the technical properties of the wood strip are identical irrespective of which part of the tree the wood is cut. The closer to the core the darker the wood and the greater the shade variation. The closer to the bark the whiter the wood and the lesser the shade variation”.
Peter Daly went on to further comment, “All our products are made of North American maple, the same tree that’s used for maple syrup and is harvested above the 35th parallel in North America where they have long, cold winters (with slow growth rates/cycles). This wood is the hardest, most durable of all species except for exotic wood species such as mahogany”. He went to add, “It is not to be confused with European sycamore maple or beech, both of which are much softer species”.
The huge bonus is that all Connor Sports products are sealed and varnished on site which produces a host of advantages in evenness and longevity. It’s a sports flooring solution that’s built to last half a century or more…even through the long cold winters!
Installations in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom include: KUBS Basketball Club, Dublin-800m2, Third Space, Canary Wharf-1000m2, Prince William of Gloucester Barracks-2000m2.
They all look fantastic and are performing brilliantly!