Periodical

July 23/30, 2012
23
Mohawk releases third sustainability report
[Calhoun, Ga.] Mohawk Industries, Inc.,
based here, has released its third annual
sustainability report this year. While adhering
to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
standard, in place since their first report, the
company entrusted FIRA, an independent
firm headquartered in The Netherlands, as
the report assurance provider.
“We are dedicated to integrity and open
communication with all of our stakeholders,
which is why we have always used an
independent auditor to verify the accuracy of
information before we release the report,” said
Jenny Cross, director of global sustainability at
Mohawk. “Using GRI standards to report the
progress we’ve made in our sustainable practices
ensures that our organization is measuring
and documenting its practices in a manner
consistent with global best practices.”
Mohawk stressed the importance of
understanding that sustainability is more
than just environmental initiatives — people,
the planet and profit are the pillars. “If we
don’t keep our people healthy and smart, our
business will not be sustainable,” said Cross.
During 2011, for example, Mohawk
expanded Healthy Mohawk, one of its most
successful wellness programs to date. (The
basis of the program was to combine telephonic
specialty nurse management and
on-site Healthy Life Centers [HLC] to the
most densely populated employment centers.)
Two new HLCs have been set up in the
Dallas area for Dal-Tile employees.
From 2010 to 2011, Mohawk saw a 7 percent
increase in preventative care, a 9 percent
decrease in radiology and scans, and a 50 percent
decrease in diabetes-related hospital stays.
In four Georgia HLC locations, exercise and
nutrition classes are now offered.
New initiatives to sustain the planet
include adding an on-site fueling station for
its vehicles reducing the amount of miles its
trucks must drive to and from an off-site location
by 39,000 miles a year. “Typically at our
distribution station we would go fill up, but
your vehicle can only be so heavy. We would
have to go back again and put the rest of the
product on. No w, we can do it on-site and
take the mileage out,” said Cross.
Mohawk is continuously working towards
their goal of becoming 25 percent more water
and energy efficient by 2020. It has changed
its dying process for carpet, and now uses the
continuous dye method which uses less water.
Though the company experienced a 4.8 percent
increase in water usage in from 2010-2011 due
to the state of the market and their product mix
changing slightly, “[Mohawk] expects the spike
to work its way out in the coming years,” predicted
Cross. “We appear to be on track to meet
our goals.” Over the last six years, Mohawk has
reduced water usage by 1.13 billion gallons.
— Taryn Baum
FloorForce partners with Fabulous Floors
[Boca Raton, Fla.] FloorForce has
announced a marketing partnership with
Fabulous Floors Magazine. Fabulous Floors,
the first consumer magazine devoted solely to
flooring styles, will provide a widget for Floor-
Force retailers to put on their websites, which
opens a digital version of Fabulous Floors
Magazine, exclusive to FloorForce customers.
The digital magazine will provide consumers
with ideas and inspiration on flooring products
while ensuring that manufacturers have a direct
line to consumers. For retailers, the added sticky
content provides not only added value for their
customers but ensures that they remain on their
site longer — encouraging them to purchase
products or visit the store.
“The Fabulous Floors widget is just another
great example of the value that FloorForce
brings to the flooring retailer, the manufacturer
and to the consumer,” said John Weller,
marketing director for FloorForce. “We have
also launched a bi-monthly newsletter for our
retailers called CloudBurst, and a blog site
named Floorboard that is plum full of content
that our retailers can use to populate content
onto their own social media networks. Both
of these were developed to further our one
and only goal of helping the flooring retailer
accelerate sales through technology.”
Added Fabulous Floors publisher Margo
Locust, “Floor Force websites currently reach
more than 36,000 consumers searching for
flooring per week and this number is growing
all the time — having this exposure for our
informative content is wonderful.” FCW
Trade associations partner with UPenn
[Philadelphia] Commencing in January
2013, the University of Pennsylvania will
begin a partnership program with the Association
of Rug Care Specialists (ARCS), National
Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), North
American Association of Floor Covering
Distributors (NAFCD) and the World Floor
Covering Association (WFCA) to provide
participants with an opportunity to study the
essentials of business management and to
develop new skills and strategies needed to
grow their businesses.
“The partnership is an incredible opportunity
for trade association members to develop
their management skills and learn strategies for
growing their business at one of the country’s
most respected academic institutions,” said Jim
Walters, immediate past chairman of WFCA.
“We have been interested in small businesses
for a while — we have the Pennsylvania
Small Business Development Center
housed on our campus and we got them
involved in the idea of creating a program to
support trade association members in growing
their businesses,” said Rita McGlone,
executive director of training and consulting
services at the University. “The common
theme throughout the program will be to utilize
each other by working as peers in small
groups towards a particular goal.”
The program will run anywhere from 9-12
weeks, a length that will be determined once
the curriculum has been finalized. It will
combine traditional face-to-face classes with
online courses to minimize time spent away
from businesses.
While not a credit-granting program,
partakers will obtain a certificate from the
University upon completion. “They will
be able to receive actual skills to take back
to their businesses and implement them
in real time to be able to see the return of
their dollars quickly,” said Ken Adams,
president and CEO of ABC Oriental Rug
and Carpet Cleaning and a member of the
ARCS board of directors.
The University is looking for 25 to 40
participants, qualified by being a member
of at least one of the associations and by
being either a business owner or in a position
of management in the industry. “Our
members were surveyed to see who would
be interested, and we provided those
results to UPenn. After speaking with the
other associations, it was decided that there
was enough interest to move forward,” said
Anita Howard, senior director of communications
and events, NWFA.
“Most of the businesses in our industry
are run by generations of families, and now
we have a younger core of people coming
in. The economy and business environment
has totally changed — we knew a course that
taught management skills wo uld be something
that would be great for us,” said Adams.
The partnership will maximize the
resources available at the University,
including the Center for Organizational
Dynamics, Department of Economics, and
the Wharton Small Business Development
Center. Potential courses include Marketing
for Success, Financial Management,
Family Business Planning and Succession
Issues, and Negotiating Skills. FCW
Shaw’s Epic
Continued from page 3
Shaw’s Kathy Young, director of marketing,
said the company is thrilled that De
Giulio chose Epic for this year’s kitchen.
“It’s always a pleasure to work with the
kitchen designer to choose a Shaw floor that
brings his or her dream kitchen to life, and
Epic has provided such a strong foundation
for this year’s stunning Kitchen of the Year,”
said Young. “Top kitchen designer Mick
De Giulio has merged the beauty and hand
detailing of our Epic hardwood with such a
fun and dynamic chevron design to create a
truly fashion-forward style statement in this
fabulous kitchen. The result is a truly inspiring
project for home enthusiasts.”
Shaw is employing a number of marketing
initiatives in order to tout its featured
Epic hardwood flooring on the consumer
level. Through social media outlets such as
Facebook, Pinterest and its ShawFloors.com
website, the company is showcasing photos,
insightful descriptions and special insider previews
of the kitchen.
According to Christina Honkonen, marketing,
communications specialist at Shaw,
“This creative content empowers Shaw consumers
with rich interior design and flooring
inspiration. With new style ideas around
every corner, from the chevron design created
with our Epic hardwood in the butler’s
pantry to creative tabletop displays that
provided finishing touches.”
Shaw also created a marketing kiosk with
two tailored promotionals that encouraged
visitors to ask the company specific questions
relating to flooring installation, design ideas
and flooring maintenance. Each Kitchen of the
Year visitor could register to win a $1,000 floor
giveaway, and a 10-percent off discount was
made available to everyone.
“Our outreach this year was designed to
spark real and insightful dialog with our customers
that will ultimately lead to a visit with
their nearest Shaw retailer,” added Honkonen.
Other featured brands in the kitchen
included KraftMaid cabinetry, Whirlpool
appliances and Kohler faucets.
— Mallory Cruise