Northwest Georgia on Friday scored a second big expansion in the flooring sector this week as an Oregon company plans to invest more than $35 million in a new manufacturing plant.
Wellmade Flooring will create 240 jobs in the facility in Bartow County, said Gov. Brian Kemp. Wellmade specializes in the design, production, and distribution of hard-surface flooring collections, the governor said.
"Georgia is home to a robust flooring industry and business market thanks to our workforce and infrastructure, and I'm confident this move will benefit Wellmade greatly," he said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Creative Flooring Solutions announced it will build a $70 million manufacturing facility in Calhoun, Georgia, and create 300 jobs. It was the fourth China-based flooring company to unveil plans to open a plant in Northwest Georgia in the past seven months.
Wellmade, headquartered in Portland, serves several Atlanta-based companies including The Home Depot and Floor & Décor, according to the state. With a variety of patented options and solutions, Wellmade provides flooring products for homes, offices, and public spaces.
Richard Quinlan, Wellmade's senior vice president of sales and marketing, said Georgia provides "an excellent pro-business environment" for Wellmade's expansion to the East Coast with the state's deep roots in the flooring industry.
A new 328,000 square-foot facility will be located at Busch Drive in Cartersville. Wellmade will hire for positions at a variety of skill levels, including management and supervision to engineering, machining operation, and production.
Bartow County Sole Commissioner Steve Taylor said that Northwest Georgia "remains one of the strongest regions of the world for the floor-covering industry."
Kemp Harr, publisher of Floor Focus Magazine, said that Northwest Georgia is well located for flooring companies because trucking firms already have scheduled transportation runs linking the region and the U.S.
"It makes sense to start that load here and fill up a truck," Harr said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.