In 1976, Jim Kastran was working full time in sales, but had aspirations to own his own business. Soon those dreams would become a reality. Jim and his wife Nora were visiting family in Dalton, GA when they saw someone throwing a lot of carpet samples in a dumpster. Jim and Nora pulled them out, brought them home, and found the samples to be active styles that they could sell. The couple talked to relatives in the carpet business who helped set them up with carpet samples with a carpet vendor. Thus the business, Kastrans Karpets was born in February of 1976. The Kastran family home supported the business. Housing samples upon samples until the family no longer had room for even furniture. In the summer of 1982, the first location was opened at 1500 W 4th Street. Nora ran the store while Jim continued to work. He’d work sales during the day, and go out and measure for installations at night.

In 1982, Jim Jr.’s wife, Kelly, started working for Kastran Karpets. The business continued to grow, and in 1984 the Kastrans hired Scott Frederici. Scott helped maintain the business as it grew and is still with the company today. Jim resigned from his day job in 1986 and joined Nora at the carpet store full time. At the same time, Jim Jr joined the company. The business continued to grow and in 2002, Kastran Karpets expanded and built the 1650 w 4th street location.

With the addition of the warehouse, the business began to stock carpet, allowing them to get new carpet to their customers quicker than many competitors. This, along with savvy business strategies, gave Kastran Karpets a leg up on the competition. Jim puts it best saying, “What most people don’t realize is that we are very competitive on price with the big box stores. Many customers have the illusion of lower price with the box stores because they are bigger. That couldn’t be further from the truth in our business.”
In February of 2002, the business moved to it’s current location at 1650 W 4th St. This move allowed the business to triple in size and bring on additional vendors to expand from solely carpet, to hardwood, tile, laminates, and engineered hardwoods. With the recession in 2008, many in the flooring industry were hit hard, causing many national flooring companies to close locations in town. The relationships built from over 35 years of local business kept Kastran Karpets afloat.
In 2010, Jim stepped out of the day to day operations, passing management and responsibility to the second generation, Jim Jr. and Kelli. With this change, the business evolved into the digital world with a fresh website, Facebook page, and more! With all this technological growth, customer service has remained the number one focus of the company.
The future of Kastran Karpets is bright. As other companies in the industry change, Kastran Karpets continues to grow. The online presence is constantly evolving, and the showroom is constantly changing. New vendors and better quality selections are continuously being added. Future generations are connecting with the business alongside Kelli’s sons Tyler & Brody, working in the summer when they are home from college.

You can find Kastran Karpets, Inc. at:
1650 W 4th St
Mansfield, OH 44906
419-529-3161