441
59
75
GEORGIA STATE EDITION
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Athens 441
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20
Madison Augusta
85
20
Griffin 1
129
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75
La Grange
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301
185 19
16
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Swainsboro Oak Park
Columbus
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341 441 16
Lyons Americus
October 1 2014
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341
Cuthbert
75
Albany
84
Douglas Tifton
82
95
82
Blakely
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Vol. XVI • No. 20
Savannah
McRae Cordele
27
27 84
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19 319
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84
Valdosta Thomasville
Waycross Brunswick 82
1 441
Your Georgia Connection: Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479
Crews Demo Historic Mill By Cindy Riley
Crews in north Georgia are deconstructing a century-old, 750,000 sq. ft. (69,677 sq m) textile mill that defined a community for generations. Inside the 34 buildings, specialized teams are harvesting items that include antique pine, aged maple and close to six million handmade bricks. Built in 1907, the Crystal Springs Print Works mill in Chickamauga specialized in the bleaching, dying, printing and finishing of textiles, including linens, clothing, scarfs and Defender M Protective military apparel. President and CEO Steve Tarvin, who began working in the mill in 1970, closed the deteriorating structure in July 2013 and sold the mill and all of its contents. “When you’ve walked through the gate of a plant for 44 years and have literally spent more time with those you work with than your family, an already difficult decision becomes much more difficult,” said Tarvin. “The plant closing literally affected thousands of people. We had put some $20 million annually into the surrounding economy. Tarvin said a slow economy, coupled with the fact the textile industry has all but vanished domestically, played the largest role for closing the plant. “It had become increasingly difficult to collect receivables on a timely basis due to increased regulation on industry, the effect the Affordable Health Care Act would have on the down line of our customer base, the unilateral decisions that were being made by the current administration through the EPA, along with a non-business friendly Senate invoking the ‘Nuclear Option’. We saw no future in a business whose profits had continued to decrease. The rewards no longer outweighed the risks.” In April 2014, a team of architects from Atlanta and Florida purchased the mill for an undisclosed sum. Crews assembled by the recently formed Crystal Springs Recovery Group are currently in the process of reclaiming as much of the mill as possible. The plan is to salvage the maple flooring, heart pine beams and brick from the structures and sell the machinery for scrap. The main buildings feature antique flooring, comprised of more than 200,000 sq. ft. (18,508 sq m) of maple, all hand inlaid and nailed to the subflooring. The walls are 15
CEG CORRESPONDENT
see MILL page 4
Dewey Brooks photo
Tarvin said a slow economy, coupled with the fact the textile industry has all but vanished domestically, played the largest role for closing the plant.
IVC Invests in New $100M Luxury Vinyl Tile, Plank Plant By Cindy Riley CEG CORRESPONDENT
In Dalton, Ga., construction is under way on a $100 million luxury vinyl tile and plank plant. In June, International Vinyl Company (IVC) broke ground on the 300,000 sq. ft. (27,870 sq m) LVT plant, which allows IVC US to keep all its domestic manufacturing activities on the same site. “IVC US Inc. has decided to invest in luxury vinyl tile and plank [LVT], as this is the hottest and fastest growing hard surface product category in flooring worldwide,” said Xavier Steyaert, CoCEO, IVC US. “We are already successfully importing and selling LVT manufactured in our new plant in Belgium. Just like in 2010, when IVC US
invested $75 million in the largest and most state-ofthe-art sheet vinyl plant in Dalton, we will gradually transition from imported product from our Belgium plants to domestically designed and manufactured resilient flooring.” IVC Group was founded in Avelgem, Belgium, in 1997. It lists more than 1,200 employees, and has become one of the largest independent global players in the floor coverings market, with products for both residential and contract use. In 2004, IVC US was incorporated to service the United States and North American markets, and in 2011, IVC opened its first U.S. manufacturing facility and new corporate headquarters in Dalton. Its latest northwest Georgia addition is keeping see IVC page 8
In June, International Vinyl Company (IVC) broke ground on the 300,000 sq. ft. (27,870 sq m) LVT plant, which allows IVC US to keep all its domestic manufacturing activities on the same site.