The American Dream is alive and well thanks to a Russian immigrant named Rose Blumkin. In 1937, Blumkin – or Mrs. B as she was known – opened The Nebraska Furniture Mart in the basement of a small store in downtown Omaha, NE. Her low pricing strategy and honest business dealings led to steady growth for decades, eventually becoming a phenomenon that attracted customers from all over the Midwest. In 1980, a new larger store was opened in the western part of the city that has become an anchor for the business.

A renovation project for this 450,000 sq.ft. building, as well as the Mrs. B’s Clearance & Factory Outlet Store, was begun in 1998 and included Tnemec coatings throughout.

The interior overhead deck of the Mega-Mart Electronics building was coated with approximately 900 gallons of a one-coat alkyd finish in deep purple called Series 15 Uni-Bond. The exterior precast and construction masonry unit (CMU) walls received Series 180 Tneme-Crete, a tough acrylic emulsion that can withstand alternating freeze/thaw cycles and protects the substrate from driving rain.

The exterior steel received a high-performance system with excellent corrosion protection and outstanding color and gloss retention. Primed first with Series 90-97 Tneme-Zinc, a zinc-rich polyurethane, an intermediate coat of Series 161 Tneme-Fascure polyamide epoxy was then applied. Because the exterior color scheme incorporated very bright colors, an aliphatic polyurethane called Series 73 Endura-Shield was selected as the topcoat followed by a final coat of Series 76 Endura-Clear. This clear coat is infused with special additives that absorb and dissipate ultra-violet light, helping to negate its damaging effects and greatly prolonging the color and gloss of the underlying pigmented Endura-Shield.

The Mrs. B’s building received similar treatment with over 1,500 gallons of Series 15 applied to the interior ceiling deck and Series 180 for the exterior masonry. The one-million sq. ft. warehouse also recieved Series 10 Green on the interior and over 900 gallons of Series 662 Prime-A-Pell Plus on the exterior masonry.

With the renovations to the buildings completed in 2000, Tnemec coatings will do their part to uphold the company’s well-regarded image.