Mohawk readies major expansion

Mohawk readies major expansion

By Henry Leineweber, Resource Recycling

Flooring, fiber and carpet manufacturer Mohawk Industries has announced a major expansion of its Summerville, Georgia manufacturing plant.

Mohawk says the expansion will include equipment and processing line upgrades for bottle and container recycling. The goal is to improve fiber production by increasing efficiency at the plant. Additionally, the recycling, operations, construction and other elements of the expansion is expected to directly create over 500 new jobs over the next five years, with the Georgia Department of Economic Development providing training for workers hired as part of the expansion.

The news comes on the heels of Mohawk's quarterly financial report, in which the company posted net earnings of $40 million and diluted earnings per share of 58-cents — a 38 percent increase over the same period in 2011. The company attributed this success in part to volume increases, cost reductions and increased international sales. The expansion of the Summerville facility appears to reinforce this strategy.

Mohawk says that the initial phase of the Summerville plant expansion could be online as early as 2013.

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