Mohawk expands plant, adds 245 jobs in Dickson
Mohawk Industries plans to expand its Dickson, Tenn., operations and create 245 new jobs, the Calhoun, Ga.-based carpet maker announced Wednesday.
Mohawk will add a second plant near its recently built Dickson tile factory and is scheduled to begin operations in late 2018. The plant will be operated by Mohawk’s Dal-Tile division, the largest manufacturer of ceramic tile in North America that sells under brands such as Daltile, Marazzi, American Olean, Ragno and Mohawk Ceramic Tile.
“The positive experiences we had previously in selecting the location, working with state and local officials, and then executing on our plan to create the Dickson tile manufacturing plant – as well as expanding our team with tremendously talented people from Dickson and the surrounding area – made us ultimately realize that we didn’t need to look very far to find the ideal location for this second plant,” said John Turner Jr., president of Dal-Tile.
Construction on the new facility will start this summer.
Fidget spinners can be hazards for children
The wildly popular fidget spinners that seem to be in the hands of half the children in the U.S. are also potentially dangerous, a consumer watchdog group warned Wednesday.
The small plastic and metal spinners, already banned in many schools because they distract students, can fall apart, and the small pieces can create a choking hazard, Boston-based World Against Toys Causing Harm said in its summer safety report, released on the first day of summer.
Children in Texas and Oregon have been taken to hospitals recently after choking on fidget spinner pieces, W.A.T.C.H. said. One required surgery. German customs officials last week destroyed 39 tons of the hand-held whirling gizmos over safety concerns.
“Do not be lulled into a false sense of security that a toy is safe simply because it is popular,” organization President Joan Siff said.
Home sales increase but inventory down
Americans shopping for a house are facing an intensifying set of pressures: Fewer and fewer homes are being listed for sale, while prices are climbing at a pace that most incomes can’t possibly match.
The May sales report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors shows sales edged up 1.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.62 million, a decent gain amid a relatively stable job market with a robust 4.3 percent unemployment rate.
But sales listings have plummeted 8.4 percent over the past 12 months to 1.96 million. On an annual basis, the number of homes for sale has declined for the past 24 months. Homes are staying on the market for a median of just 27 days, the briefest period since the Realtors began tracking the measure in 2011.
In Chattanooga, the number of homes for sale has plunged by 24.7 percent in the past year to 2,960, according to the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors. Home sales last month in Chattanooga were down 2.8 percent to 1,281, but the median price of homes sold in May was up 6.6 percent to $177,000.