Upstate flooring company growing nationally

By Mike Switzer

Published May 22, 2026 at 6:30 AM EDT

CASE Floors

Ed Flanery, founder of CASE Floors in Lyman,SC

As you may have heard from our recent interview with economist Bruce Yandle, a lot of people decided to start their own business during the pandemic. Our next guest is one example. He started a nationwide flooring supply company in the Upstate that has since grown to over 60 distributor locations and nearly $30 million in annual revenue. Mike Switzer interviews Ed Flanery, founder of CASE Floors in Lyman,SC.

CASE Floors

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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