Mohawk Turns Old Building into LEED Gold Certified Flooring Center

Calhoun, GA, November 12, 2015—Mohawk Industries cut a celebratory ribbon at its newly renovated Mohawk Flooring Center in Calhoun, Georgia on November 12 to mark the building’s designation as LEED Gold certified.

Michel Vermette, president of Mohawk Commercial, and Rochelle Routman, VP of sustainability, devised a plan to seek LEED certification on the facility when it was first announced that the company planned to move more than 300 employees from six or seven offices to one location in the interest of collaboration.

This 175,000-square-foot facility, which was first built as a spinning mill in 1983, produced over 500 million pounds of yarn before it closed when the carpet industry moved away from spun yarn toward bulk continuous filament. The old spinning equipment, which was still sitting dormant in the old mill, was recycled as part of the sustainability effort. Old brick, wood and pipes from the original building became decorative touches integral to the building’s new industrial chic design.

High efficiency plumbing fixtures and LED lighting along with 16 new skylights brought a 30% reduction in both water and energy consumption. The heating and air conditioning system is highly efficient, and an extensive recycling program has been implemented.

Routman is now working on an even more ambitious Mohawk construction project in Dalton, Georgia at the old World Carpet facility, where she is aiming for certification as part of the Living Building Challenge by the International Living Future Institute.