A year or so ago, leaders in the flooring industry were predicting a pending decline in carpet manufacturing. Hard surface flooring and products like carpet tile were positioned as threats to the traditional carpet market, but the numbers don’t support those predictions.
An industry market research report, published this year, revealed that the carpet industry has experienced a .5% growth over the past 5 years. On top of that, Shaw Industries Group, Inc., the U.S. market leader, just announced last week that they will invest $250 million in their Andalusia, AL manufacturing facility. That’s great news for those still worried that carpet’s extinction is imminent. Shaw would say, not quite.
In a recent press release, David Morgan, executive vice president of operations for Shaw Industries said, “At Shaw, our vision is to create a better future for our associates, our customers, our company, and our communities. We can only achieve that vision through continued investment in our people, our products, our facilities, and our operations. We continually bring customers the forward-thinking products and services they expect from Shaw.”
At AEI, we love to read that because that’s what we strive to do, too. We continue to advance our technology which means our partners can improve their operations. This emphasis on continuous improvement is why our Tuftight LX remains the worldwide industry leader in tight-end detection.
In fact, later this winter we will unveil our newest product set: next-generation tight and broken-end detection built on our 60+ years of experience in the global textile industry. We look forward to sharing more in the coming months.
In the meantime, you can contact an AEI representative no matter where in the world you are.