Yarn Starts Spinning at New South Carolina Plant

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Mohawk Industries Incorporated (NYSE:MHK)(Calhoun, Georgia) has opened a new $70 million yarn spinning plant in Bennettsville, South Carolina. The new plant is located on property adjacent to Mohawk’s Oak River plant, which has been operating since 1957.

The new plant was designed and engineered by SCH Engineering (Chattanooga, Tennessee) and constructed by MB Kahn Construction Company of Columbia, South Carolina. Construction began in the summer of 2005 and the plant is currently beginning production. The 558,690 square foot plant will compliment the Oak River plant’s production of over 50 million pounds of synthetic continuous filament raw material.

Marlboro Electric Cooperative added a new substation with assistance from Sumter Utilities to serve Mohawk’s new facility. It is designed to handle not only the anticipated power needs of the new facility, but also any future expansions. The substation includes one 25-MVA (million volt amps) and two 30 MVA, base-rating power transformers. There are 33 pad-mount transformers where co-op power enters the new facility. The transformers are rated at either 2500 or 3750 kv (kilovolts). To deliver the power the cooperative used the largest power cable on the co-op's system, the 795 Drake ACS-R (aluminum core, steel-reinforced) cable. The lines are about 1.1" in diameter, compared to a more typical distribution line, called 477 ACS-R, which is about .88" in diameter. The Mohawk plant is now the second largest load on the Marlboro Electric Cooperative’s electric distribution system. The co-op also serves the Weyerhaeuser plant outside Bennettsville, which is the largest on the co-op's system.

The plant will add 300 jobs to Mohawk’s existing employee count of approximately 600 people in the area. Mohawk also operates a carpet plant in Calhoun, South Carolina employing roughly 475 people.

Mohawk Carpet Mills began in 1878 when four brothers brought 14 second hand looms from England to Amsterdam, New York creating the Shuttleworth Brothers Company. By 1908, the fledging firm introduced a new carpet, Karnak, which was an instant success. Swamped with orders, the company's weavers worked four to five years without changing either the color or the pattern on their looms. In 1920, the company merged with the nearby firm of McCleary, Wallin and Crouse to form Mohawk Carpet Mills, Inc. The new name was derived from the Mohawk River Valley in upstate New York where the city of Amsterdam is located. The 1950s were a period of tremendous growth for Mohawk. The company moved south, constructing manufacturing facilities in Mississippi and South Carolina. Through product innovations, market expansions, mergers and acquisitions the company has expanded its offerings from carpets and rugs to include floor covering and textiles for every room in the home and for every commercial application. Hardwood flooring, laminate flooring, ceramic tile flooring, stone and marble flooring and vinyl sheet flooring. The company also offers woven bedspreads, tapestries, pillows, throws and window blinds. Mohawk is the country's leading recycler of plastic soda bottles, which become polyester carpeting.

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