Unilin’s Phase One Nearly Complete

Thomasville, NC, June 28--Unilin Flooring said late Monday it has nearly completed the first phase of construction of its 1.1 million-square-foot manufacturing facility, according to the Triad Business Journal. Production will begin from the 600,000-square-foot first phase in July. The first section includes the press building, the cutting and milling building, the impregnation building and the packaging and distribution center. Construction is scheduled to be completed on the 14-dock distribution center in August, at which time the distribution center, along with the press and the offices, will also be ready for use. Unilin said it will create at least 330 new jobs by 2008, and has already hired more than 75 workers since its announcement last spring that it would build the new facility. Yesterday the the Wall Street Journal reported that that several private equity firms are lining up to bid for Belgian flooring company Unilin Holding NV. It was reported that bids due July 1. In March, Unilin said it had hired Goldman Sachs to advise it on possibilities for the business, including the possible entry of new equity investors. The WSJ said that at least four equity firms were interested in Unilin: Allianz Capital Partners, BC Partners, Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. It also said Mohawk Industries was also among the prospective bidders. Unilin has production facilities, in Belgium, France, the Netherlands in addition to the Thomasville facility.