DALLAS—They say everything is bigger in Texas and Mohawk Industries’ latest SmartStrand Zoo Challenge proves the point. Last summer, more than 1,000 square feet of the innovative fiber was installed in the enclosure of a 2,800 pound Black Rhino at the Birmingham, Ala., zoo for two weeks to test its performance. The event was such a success, Mohawk decided to up the stakes this year. So it turned to the Dallas Zoo for help, by installing carpet under the world’s largest land mammal—the African Elephant. But here’s the kicker: Six elephants, not one, will be turned loose on the carpet for two weeks.
David Duncan, the mill’s vice president of marketing, said combined the half dozen pachyderms weigh 45,000 pounds, or more than 22 tons of “brutal force testing the resiliency of the carpet.”
After the two weeks, the carpet will be removed and cleaned. By “showcasing its supreme resiliency,” Duncan explained, “consumers will be confident in putting SmartStrand in their own wildlife situations at home.”
In addition to the elephant test, Mohawk is introducing a “Human Habitat” where zoo guests can visit four household situations, each incorporating Mohawk products—carpet, laminate, ceramic and the new strand woven bamboo—allowing visitors to see firsthand how the flooring is tough enough to stand up to their daily needs.
Special Zoo Challenge T-shirts will be sold, benefitting the Dallas Zoo’s “Zoo2Wild” conservation fund, and other supporting field conservation partnership programs.
Mohawk is providing comprehensive point-of-purchase kits and other materials to help retailers tap into the promotion.
Watch the animals in action at smartstrandchallenge.com.
(Editor’s note: Like last year, we will be following the challenge from beginning to end in FCNews, on fcnews.net and on our social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Flickr for complete coverage.)