Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute with The Northwest Georgia Regional Commission Image: Kathy Lohr/NPRImage: Shaw IndustriesImage:

Overview ◎ About Northwest Georgia ◎ KTS: What Is “Floor Covering”? ◎ History of the Floor Covering Industry in Dalton ◎ Innovation and the Future of Floor Covering Image: FloorTek

◎ 863,217 pop. (15 counties) ◎ 9.5% Latino (Whitfield County 32% Latino) ◎ 75% high school graduation rate ◎ 1,107 manufacturing firms, 60k manufacturing workers (25% of regional employment) Northwest Georgia: Fast Facts Dalton, GA (industry locus)

◎ 32,801 employees (2012) ◎ 47% of the U.S. exports of carpets and other textile floor coverings originate in Georgia ◎ 80% of US carpet and rug market ◎ Multiple large and medium-sized players 13.6% of total employment in Northwest Georgia (2012) Floorcovering Industry Profile

◎ The NWGA region has an established advantage in floor covering ◎ Right ingredients for growth in manufacturing and the industry ◎ Stagnant clusters can be accelerated ◎ Best practices RESULTS! ◎ Collaboration between university/technical colleges and industry ◎ Industry-specific degree programs ◎ Co-location of equipment/R&D/entrepreneurs/growing companies ◎ State support Advanced Manufacturing Strategy (Sept.2013 – Sept. 2014)Key Findings for Implementation (September 2014 – Present) IMCP Phase 1 Highlights

KTS: What is Floor Covering?

YearEvent 1791 First woven carpet mill in Philadelphia Early 1900s Dalton’s Catherine Evans Whitener developed tufting for bedspreads Early 1930s Cottage industries around Dalton for hand tufting for bedspreads Late 1930s First mechanized tufting machine (chenille) % bedspreads machine tufted 1940s-1970 Bedspread alley from Dalton to Cartersville 1950s Use of man-made fibers Shift to carpets J&T Industries founded (a merger of UGA-GT graduates) 1963 Over $1 billion of carpet and rug products sold. Mohawk Carpet Mills moves to Georgia (acquired Aladdin, others) Shaw acquired Philadelphia Carpet Company, Star Finishing (sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 2001) 1970s Plain tufted carpet shifted to sculpted carpet 1978 Beaulieu founded (Belgium acquisition of bankrupt Barwick Carpets) Source: Carpet and Rug Institute, selected company websites History of the Floor Covering Cluster

Origins in Manual Tufting… History of the Floor Covering Cluster Photo Courtesy of the New Georgia Encyclopedia

History of the Floor Covering Cluster Mechanized Tufting Process of Yesterday… Photos Courtesy of the New Georgia Encyclopedia and Shaw Industries

History of the Floor Covering Cluster Modern Textile Manufacturing Photo Courtesy of NPR

History of the Floor Covering Cluster Modern Textile Manufacturing

History of the Floor Covering Cluster Industry Diversification… Modular Carpet TileLuxury Vinyl TileLaminateCeramic

“When you are being asked to make the business case for sustainability - perhaps ask them to make the business case for being un-sustainable.” - Ray Anderson, Founder and Chairman Interface Flooring Innovation in the Industry

Floor Covering Cluster SWOT ◎ Strengths o Rapid response to new markets, products, and economic trends o Adequate access to capital, low debt, local contraction ◎ Weaknesses o Skilled labor shortage o Lack of research institution connection o Some lack of state recognition/support (an “it will always be there” mentality) ◎ Opportunities o Creation of an innovation-driven regional culture (i.e., startups, entrepreneurs) o Up-training/re-training of ready workforce that “knows” the industry ◎ Threats o Competitiveness more than sharing among the major players; increased global competition o Consolidation rather than entrepreneurship o Lack of STEM education and recognition of manufacturing as a viable career choice

Ideas for the Future Enhance the customer experience (merge product and IT, sensors, apps, online design/creativity) New materials, new designs Sustainability (process, startups) S-FLOR (IMCP) S-FLOR (IMCP)

IMCP Partners – Research + Education Partners

Northwest Georgia Workforce Investment Board IMCP Partners – Public Sector Partners

IMCP Partners – Industry Partners (Manufacturers + Suppliers)

IMCP Partners – Industry Associations + Other Partners

Thank You!