Mannington Mill to add 200 jobs at Calhoun, Georgia, facility
Flooring manufacturer Mannington Mills has purchased 78 acres in Gordon County to expand its Calhoun, Georgia, operations, adding 200 jobs over the next three years.
Mannington said Thursday it will invest $42 million to add more facilities near its 800,000-squarefoot Mannington Commercial facility in Calhoun, which already employs more than 700 workers in production and warehouse jobs for the hardwood flooring manufacturer.
“Mannington continues to experience strong growth of its business interests in Georgia, and acquisition of this site will help us accommodate and capitalize on that growth,” Mannington President and CEO Russell Grizzle said in a statement. “This purchase is another installment in Mannington’s ongoing long-term growth investment plan for Calhoun.”
Mannington said it plans to hire workers to fill jobs at the new Calhoun site in production, management, engineering and marketing, as well as supervisory and administrative positions. The new site is located less than one mile from a current Mannington plant, warehouse and office in Calhoun.
Mannington Mills is the second hardwood flooring company in the past month to announce plans to locate a new hardwood flooring production plant in Calhoun.
Last month, a Chinese hardwood flooring manufacturer, Complete Flooring Supply Corp. (CFS) announced plans to open its first American production facility in Calhoun and hire 100 workers. CFS, which also operates a distribution facility north of Atlanta, will spend $30 million to acquire and renovate the 98,000-square-foot Tayse Rug mill on Marine Drive in Calhoun to start production by the end of the year on some of the laminate, cork, solid wood, engineered and hand-scraped flooring products it now imports from its factory in Shanghai, China.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal called the expansions in Calhoun “a testament to Georgia’s business-friendly environment that encourages growth by companies already located here.”
Northwest Georgia bills itself as America’s “carpet capital” and increasingly the region is also growing its presence in hardwood flooring production.
Gordon County’s 4.1 percent jobless rate in June was slightly below the statewide rate of 4.2 percent and down from 5.1 percent a year ago, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. The new mill expansions are likely to cut the unemployment rate in Gordon County still lower over the next year.
“This community was involved in the beginning of the modern flooring industry in the United States,” said Kathy Johnson, president and CEO of the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce. “Mannington has been a major partner in the growth and innovation of that industry, but more importantly, they have been a partner with our community.”
Mannington Mills is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of residential and commercial flooring with operations in Madison, Covington and Calhoun, Georgia; Epes, Alabama; High Point, North Carolina; Eustis, Florida, and San Jose, California, as well as the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe.
With headquarters in Salem, New Jersey, Mannington Mills was founded by John Boston Campbell and his sons Neil and Kenneth in 1915.
In 2008, Mannington acquired Burke Industries, which produces rubber flooring tiles, wall base, treads, and accessories. In 2012, Mannington acquired United Kingdom-based Amtico International.
The privately held company makes residential and commercial sheet vinyl, luxury vinyl, laminate and hardwood, as well as commercial carpet and rubber.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.