Daniel Guzman, a tufting fixer, keeps an eye on new carpet and looks for any imperfections in the weave. Workers at the Dixie Group carpet plant in Eton, Ga., produced, inspected and shipped carpet.
Donna Shook replaces used spools of thread on Friday in the creeling area of the Dixie Group plant in Eton, Georgia. Workers at the Dixie Group carpet plant in Eton, Georgia, produced, inspected and shipped carpet on Friday. The plant has been surviving in the harsh economic times and Dixie CEO Dan Frierson believes the facility has a bright future ahead.
Dan Frierson, head of Dixie Group
Jeff LorberbaumThe carpet industry’s ups and downs continued as floor covering earnings reports showed mixed results Thursday. The steep declines of the early recession haven’t reappeared, but neither has a solid recovery.
Chattanooga-based Dixie Group, which released its earnings Thursday morning, showed a jump in growth, while Calhoun, Ga.-based Mohawk Industries beat revenue expectations but let earnings slide from 2010.
Commercial sales to businesses such as hotels, hospitals and restaurants are leading the recovery, while residential sales continue to disappoint, said Dan Frierson, chairman and CEO of Dixie.
“If I had to anticipate where the in industry is, I’d say commercial is improving compared to a year ago, and residential is still challenged,” Frierson said.
The housing market’s stillborn recovery has opened up new lines of business, however, as sellers seeking to offload large numbers foreclosed houses have used carpet as a way to spruce up a property, industry officials said.