Calhoun, Ga.—When the state’s leading association of economic development professionals recognized Mohawk Industries’ Summerville, Ga., facility expansion at their annual awards ceremony, it was a big deal. In fact, it was the “Deal of the Year.”
Each year, the Georgia Economic Developers Association (GEDA) honors industry professionals, public policy leaders, volunteers and committees as well as presenting the prestigious economic development “Deal of the Year” awards in four geographic categories.
Mark Dye, Mohawk’s vice president of recycling, accepts GEDA’s “Deal of the Year” award from Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. Mohawk’s partners in the Summerville facility expansion joined Dye and Gov. Deal on stage.
At the 2013 awards ceremony held on Oct. 21 at the Macon Marriott City Center, Mohawk’s Summerville facility expansion was named “Deal of the Year” for communities with a population under 50,000. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal was on hand to present the awards and further encourage economic development projects across the state.
“This award represents the value of our project to multiple constituencies,” said Mark Dye, vice president of recycling at Mohawk. “The Summerville expansion is a win for our company, of course, but it’s also a win for our community thanks to the creation of 500 good new jobs. It’s a win for our customers and consumers because of the exciting new products we’ll be able to create, and it’s a win for the environment because this entire expansion is a continuation of our commitment to sustainable manufacturing.”
While accepting the award on behalf of Mohawk, Dye cited significant contributions to the project by State Senator Jeff Mullis; Chattooga County Sole Commissioner Jason Winters; Chris Cummiskey, Carl Campbell and the team at the Georgia Department of Economic Development; the Chattooga County Development Authority; David Tidmore and the Chattooga County Chamber of Commerce team; Mayor Harry Harvey of Summerville; Summerville City Manager Russell Thompson; and many members of the Mohawk organization. He also praised Governor Deal for making economic expansion and job creation top priorities for Georgia.
“The success of this project reflects the quality of the individuals, teams and organizations involved in bringing it to fruition,” said Dye. “Their contributions have helped to make the Summerville facility expansion worthy of this recognition.”
Keith Barclift, project manager at the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority, nominated the Mohawk project, noting the expansion’s impact on Chattooga County and the surrounding region.
At the company’s Summerville facility, Mohawk recycles billions of reclaimed plastic bottles and containers into polyester fiber used to produce carpet. Through the expansion project, Mohawk will improve the efficiencies of its recycling and manufacturing processes to produce soft polyester fiber with improved durability and greater stain resistance. Mohawk is the carpet industry leader in next generation soft products, and its Soft Appeal polyester collection expands the company’s presence in that high growth category.
“The men and women at our Summerville facility contribute significantly to the company’s success,” said Dye. “We continue to invest in leading edge technologies because of our confidence in the skills and dedication of our people. The manufacturing improvements at Summerville allow Mohawk to create new, innovative products that will provide even more value to our customers, and the sustainable nature of the manufacturing process keeps millions of pounds of plastic out of our nation’s landfills.”