–by Mary Helen Darah
PUBLICATION DATE: Dec 18, 2018

My only experience with epoxy flooring was thanks to my mother-in-law. Her garage was pristine and its floor spotless. Therefore, I had the misconception that epoxy flooring was strictly used in garages owned by perfectionists. Austin Engfer, owner of Precision Epoxy Flooring, recently showed me that there is an incredible variety of uses for his services—even for us less-than-perfect people. Engfer opened the doors of Precision Epoxy five years ago. “I worked for a small company doing garage floors as a summer job out of high school,” he recalled. “I then joined the military and got out of the industry for roughly a year. When I returned from duty, my position in the 180th Air National Guard wasn’t full-time and I needed to find work that I enjoyed.”

The beginning
I have heard of bands starting in garages but never epoxy businesses. Engfer worked out of his dad’s garage for the first two years. “My dad was very supportive of my flooring venture, dealing with epoxy all over his tools, and ‘test’ spots on his concrete floor,” stated Engfer. “From that point forward, I loved it and wanted to continue. In the first month, we completed 20 jobs. I have great employees that I grew up with who have remained friends. They began working with me. I currently have 12 employees and they are so loyal.” 

Building a business
There are numerous uses for epoxy flooring. “Of course, when you hear the word ‘epoxy’ you think garage floors,” stated Engfer. “Garages are our main bread and butter, but we also do porches, patios and basements. Currently, we are tackling the big box store market. We recently completed the #3 Target store nationally in Chicago. We renovated the whole store with polished concrete floors.”

One proud Mom 
“Momager” Cheryl Martin could not be prouder of her son’s achievements. “He built the business based on referrals,” recalls Martin. “Many friends, family and customers referred him to others. They brought them to their businesses and their factories. The industrial side was growing alongside the residential piece. Austin does grocery stores as well. He remodeled Joseph’s Beverage Center. He has also worked on the bathrooms in Maumee Bay State Park as well as Strawberry Acres, and Hot Head Burritos. They also did the first Chipotle in Columbus. Back when he first started, he came to me and his step-dad and asked if he could epoxy over our tile kitchen floor. He told me that if he messed up, he would make it right. He did the job and it was beautiful. He completed the job Tuesday, before his sister’s graduation party that was to be held on Friday. I told him I would never have time to clean the house. I didn’t have to. There was no dust or smell. Epoxy flooring is stain, fire, skid and UV resistant. It is truly maintenance-free. We’re so glad we trusted him.”

All in the family
Precision Epoxy is family owned and operated. “My mom serves as the office manager and my dad comes in on the weekend and handles equipment maintenance,” stated Engfer.
“Precision Epoxy has continued to grow even when Austin was deployed in 2016 to Guam, and in 2018 to Estonia for three months,” stated Martin. “Austin may be hours and 1000 miles away from us, but he was just a phone call away. He has a good group of solid, dependable people that support his military career. When he is deployed, he and his team step up. It is a well-oiled machine.”

The future is solid… surfaced
The Precision Epoxy team hopes to have their own building in the future. They have crews in Georgia, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Michigan. “In the next few years, I would like to expand our growth in the United States, especially with our commercial clients,” stated Engfer. “I am very thankful for all the people who have supported us and how they have been so supportive while I served our country.”