Cleveland, Ohio -- Rio Flooring Systems announced the opening of its new research & development center located in Chicago.

“We are excited that with this facility we will be able to increase our ability to service current and future customers, as well as improve our speed to market with new products,” said Byron Smith, president and CEO.

In addition to the new expansion, Rio Flooring Systems welcomes Brian Smith to the Rio team as the technical manager for the new research and development center. With over 25 years of experience, Smith has managed, coordinated, implemented, and operated all aspects of production, research and development, and quality control in chemical engineering and production. Smith’s expertise in the formulation and production of 1K urethanes, 2K urethanes, oil-modified urethanes, chemical resistant epoxy blends, acrylic colorants, epoxy colorants and other coating systems makes him an excellent addition to the Rio Flooring Systems growing team.

“Some companies make this process too difficult," said Byron Smith. "At Rio we plan to make product support and development easy for our customers.”

For more information, visit www.riofloor.com.