Unilin Looking To Increase North Carolina Operatio

High Point, NC, Jan. 9--A company's desire to dominate the U.S. market could be good news locally, according to the High Point Enterprise, NC. Tim Tipton, director of marketing for Quick Step Inc., said Tuesday that parent company Unilin intends to consolidate its domestic laminate flooring manufacturing process in the Carolinas over the next five years. To do so, the Belgium-based manufacturer wants to acquire 40 to 75 acres for expansion, and has been shopping among county governments in both states for an incentive package that will make it worthwhile. Tipton said so far, Guilford County is "looking pretty favorable. "You just never know when these things come down to the 11th hour how they'll turn out," Tipton said. At stake is an initial investment of $80 million and creation of more than 300 jobs. "That would be up-front costs. We'll spend well over that in the next five years," Tipton said. Unilin already has proved its willingness to invest. The company acquired the Columbia Flooring laminate plant in Thomasville nearly two years ago for an undisclosed sum. At the time, the plant was operating one shift, with about 40 administrative and manufacturing employees. Since then, Tipton said the facility runs three shifts with more than 100 people on the payroll. He said no decision has been made yet as to how the company's growth plans will affect operations at the Thomasville plant. In late October, Unilin purchased the Homanit MDF plant in Mt. Gilead, again for an undisclosed price. At the time the deal was inked, officials said the Mt. Gilead plant was generating about $75 million in annual business with 240 employees. Unilin Flooring is a 50-year-old company that is privately held by five families. "We've already made a sizable investment in the region, so we're looking for proximity," Tipton said. The company's spend-and-grow mindset in the face of a jittery world economy over the last few years is a testament to the strong housing market and historically low interest rates. "With interest rates so low, people have been refinancing and a lot of the money is being put back into remodeling," Tipton said. "I wouldn't say we're recession-proof, but when the market went down and interest rates went down, we only benefited from that." Also driving the company's business philosophy is a desire to have its manufacturing facilities near a strong customer base even if other manufacturers believe overseas production is the most lucrative option. "We wouldn't be investing in the U.S. if we didn't think it was profitable. The parent company sells to 80 different countries," Tipton said. "The only way to dominate our category in the U.S. is to produce in U.S." Rather than the big-box home improvement stores such as Lowe's and Home Depot, Tipton said the company's biggest market segment is made up of about 10,000 specialty "mom and pop" retailers. "Since we control the entire production process from resources to the end product we can make it affordable for them," he said. "The big guys have the (public) perception that they're the lowest cost in town, but with a better quality product, that's not the case." Moreover, Tipton said the target market also serves as the best way to promote the company-owned brand name a fairly new concept for Unilin. Up until about two years ago, the company was a manufacturer for other brands.