Mohawk Industries announced it will consolidate Karastan rug production in northwest Georgia. Rug operations at the company’s Eden, N.C., facility will end in October 2019, and the plant will focus on producing high-end residential, commercial and aviation carpet.
With this transition, Mohawk will improve service to customers and leverage resources from across the company’s flooring business to create products that preserve the Karastan brand’s heritage and complement today’s homes.
“Mohawk is the world’s largest provider of rugs, including the area, accent and bath categories,” said Rocky Casteel, president of Mohawk Home. “Consolidating our rug operations in one region allows us to integrate our product development, marketing and manufacturing talent to deliver collections that excite the consumer with the performance of our proprietary fibers and the beauty of our award-winning designs.”
In 1928, Marshall Field established the Eden facility to manufacture rugs for his chain of department stores. Sales eventually expanded to other retailers as part of the Fieldcrest family of household products. In 1986, Fieldcrest acquired carpet-maker Bigelow-Sanford, and in 1993 sold its rug and carpet business to Mohawk.
In 2015, Mohawk expanded manufacturing at the Eden facility with new investments in commercial and aviation carpet. At that time, Mohawk increased the plant’s workforce and installed state-of-the-art equipment, creating the foundation for a strong commercial flooring facility that can meet growing demand for aviation carpet and add depth to Mohawk’s commercial carpet business.
“Mohawk is the leader in the aviation carpet sector, and our high-end commercial products set the industry standard for style and performance. Through the unique combination of technology and talent at our Eden facility, we are delivering exceptional carpet collections for our aviation business and all commercial channels.”
Karastan remains one of Mohawk’s master brands, with collections in rugs, residential carpet, carpet cushion and commercial carpet. The company is particularly committed to maintaining the iconic status of Karastan rugs while tailoring exciting collections at all price points.
“We celebrate the important legacy created by four generations of Karastan rug artisans at Eden,” said Karen Mendelsohn, Mohawk’s senior vice president of marketing. “We’ll honor those thousands of men and women by maintaining the exemplary standards of design and quality that define the Karastan name. A significant percentage of our beautiful Karastan rugs are already manufactured in northwest Georgia, and this reorganization will energize our entire rug business. We’ll expand our support for the category with the upcoming launch of multiple new platforms designed to help consumers better appreciate the versatility and accessible elegance of our rug collections.”