Established in 1968 in Austin, the North American Mat Co. has moved to various locations under different ownerships, but since 2007 has been a part of the Hollandale community under the ownership of Pauline Ravehorst.

The North American Mat Co. is an international online retail site specializing in the production and local distribution of various types of indoor and outdoor floor mats, including the most popular anti-fatigue and entry mats found in a widespread of locations. The company, run daily by Ravenhorst and Cindy DeVries, is a middleman in the business world.

“We don’t do the mass producing of the mats, mainly the finishing touches,” Ravenhorst said. “We deal with taking the orders and calling the factory, customizing the cut of mats and the logo on them. We are the middleman between the customer and the factory.”

Between answering business calls and answering customer requests, having two people run an international business may seem like an overwhelming task but, “We manage overall, even though it would be nice to have more help sometimes. We’re tough,” Ravenhorst said.

The company’s clients have expanded drastically over the years. From 40 percent of their services going to United States Postal Services, they are now serving local and national grocery stores, restaurants, insurance agencies and city buildings, such as the Albert Lea Public Library, Pizza Ranch, Americana Insurance and Brown Printing. Most floor mats have been custom created and produced by the North American Mat Co.

The majority of their mat styles can be found on the Web site and Ravenhorst said, “If you can’t find what you want on our site, give us a call and we can work to find the mat that is best for you.”

“We sell internationally to Canada and Mexico and wherever else the Internet can reach,” Ravenhorst said. “After owning the company for a few years, I feel like we can now say it is a well settled business.”