Hannover Fairs USA, the organizer of DOMOTEX USA, announced that Shaw Industries’ resilient manufacturing facility, The Dixie Group headquarters & creative facility, Engineered Floors SAM plant and Beauflor USA sheet vinyl facility will offer special plant tours to registered trade show attendees. The facility tours take place on Wednesday, February 27, one day prior to the start of DOMOTEX USA 2019.
The day-long tour will travel from the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) to the four facilities located in and around Dalton, home to many of the world’s top floor covering manufacturers. Registered trade show attendees can sign up for the plant tour for a minimal fee at https://domotexusa.com/reg/. The tour bus departs GWCC at 7:30 AM and is expected to return no later than 5:30 PM.
“We want to give our attendees every opportunity to make the most of their visit to the area before our inaugural floor covering trade show opens its doors,” said Donna Busse, show director of DOMOTEX USA at Hannover Fairs USA (HFUSA). “We’ve worked closely with all four manufacturers to make sure we give attendees who take advantage of the tour a very special experience and first look at innovations that will be launched the next day at DOMOTEX USA 2019.”
“Space is limited,” added Busse. “Attendees interested in taking the plant tour are encouraged to sign up now.”
The first stop on the tour is the Shaw resilient manufacturing facility in Ringgold, Georgia.
"We're proud to showcase our state-of-the-art resilient flooring manufacturing facility during DOMOTEX USA. It's where our consumer-centric product innovations come to fruition. Our U.S. manufacturing operations provide a number of benefits to our customers, including fostering greater opportunities for innovation in design and performance and quicker ship times," notes Carrie Edwards Isaac, vice president of marketing for Shaw's residential division, which includes Shaw Floors in addition to Anderson Tuftex and COREtec, which are both showcasing products at DOMOTEX USA.
Shaw has invested more than $1.5 billion in its existing and new U.S. facilities -- including Plant RP, the company’s LVT manufacturing plant located in Ringgold, Ga -- over the past five years to deliver upon its commitment to provide industry-leading products to its customers. Tour attendees will experience the ongoing innovation, quality and service of this facility. Shaw began manufacturing LVT in this state-of-the-art plant in 2016, and WPC and rigid core products in 2017. That marked the first investment and manufacturing of WPC and rigid core products in the U.S. and bolstered Shaw’s leadership position in this fast-growing segment of the flooring market.
The second stop on the tour is The Dixie Group’s headquarters & residential business creative facility. Attendees will enjoy a tour of the creative facility followed by lunch in the corporate headquarters. As part of Dixie Group’s tour, attendees will preview displays and working designs for its residential carpet lines, including Dixie Home, Fabrica and Masland. The company’s designers will share their thought process behind these product designs and patterns as well as discuss the creativity of tufting. Many of the company’s 2019 carpet introductions across all three lines will be on display.
“Overall, The Dixie Group has continued to invest in product innovation,” said Dan Phelan, vice president of marketing for the residential division of The Dixie Group. “We look forward to sharing our three unique brands and the differentiated products planned for launch in 2019 during the tour and with all DOMOTEX USA 2019 trade show attendees. Our customers like us because we bring them unique products that are very competitive in the marketplace.”
Historically, The Dixie Group produces 10-15 products per brand, per year. “We plan to unveil the same number of innovative products across all three lines in 2019,” added Phelan.
The group will then tour Engineered Floors manufacturing process. Tour attendees will witness the manufacturing process from start to finish at the more than two million square foot SAM plant. Beginning in extrusion and following the process through twisting, heat set, tufting, coating, and distribution, giving tour attendees comprehensive insight into how Engineered Floors makes its proprietary PureColor solution-dyed carpet.
“Our goal for the Engineered Floors SAM plant tour is to show dealers exactly how our PureColor fiber is made,” said Emily Scott, marketing communications manager at Engineered Floors. “It’s one thing to see the product when it is finished on a showroom floor, but it’s entirely different when you see the process from start to finish. We have found that once customers take the SAM plant tour, they gain a better understanding, as well as appreciation, for PureColor’s features and benefits.”
Engineered Floors believes that observing the process first hand is so critical the company created a 360-degree tour video, which can be found on the Engineered Floors’ YouTube channel for dealers that cannot make it to Dalton to take the tour.
The final stop is the Beauflor USA’s sheet vinyl manufacturing facility in White, Georgia. Tour attendees will preview the company’s vinyl flooring manufacturing facility where they will see the creation of Beauflor’s crafted sheet vinyl from beginning to end. The company will preview how sheet vinyl is formed on a glass fiber interlayer and may preview the manufacturing process for Beauflor’s proprietary textile backing, Blacktex.
“We will show plant tour attendees what a state-of-the-art cushion vinyl floor manufacturing system looks like and how the product has evolved into what it is today,” said Michael Finelli, director of product management and marketing at Beauflor USA. “We are excited to draw attendees to see our new plant built in 2016. The proximity of DOMOTEX USA is a perfect excuse for current and new customers and dealers located east of the Mississippi to visit Beauflor,” added Finelli.
For additional information about the plant tour, contact Ashley Olian, audience development manager at Hannover Fairs USA at +1 (773) 796-4250 x225 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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