Rhinoceros To Give Mohawk Carpet Unusual Test

Birmingham, AL, Aug. 12, 2009--Mohawk Industries has teamed with The Birmingham Zoo to put its SmartStrand carpet to the test.

On Aug. 14, Mohawk will install SmartStrand triexta carpet in the indoor enclosure of The Birmingham Zoo's only Eastern Black Rhinoceros, leaving it there for two weeks.

Once the carpet has been installed, Ricko the Rhino will live as usual in his enclosure, eating, sleeping, rolling his 50-pound ball around and doing things that just come naturally to a 2,800-pound rhinoceros

Four day- and night-vision webcams will be strategically placed throughout the enclosure to capture his life on the carpet. The public is invited to check in on Ricko throughout the SmartStrand Challenge via smartstrandchallenge.com.

To go along with the new carpet, Mohawk brought in Chip Wade, designer, expert craftsman and carpenter and cast member of Home & Garden Television's "Curb Appeal" and "Designed to Sell." As the Mohawk SmartStrand celebrity spokesman, Wade has designed and renovated both Ricko's public viewing area and his indoor enclosure with designs that were inspired by Ricko himself.