Limited damage from heavy weather

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 5/12/2003 12:00:00 AM

SCOTTSBORO, AL —

The severe weather that blew through the Midwest and South last week affected some home textiles producers.

Maples Rugs suffered some losses at its headquarters and production facilities here from the effects of the recent tornadoes and storms that swept early last week through the South, Arnie Stevens, vp, told HTT.

"We got hit [by the fringe of the storms]," Stevens said. "We had some rain, winds and flood damage. But no one was hurt."

Along with a brief power outage, Maples lost some limited inventory due to water damage as three to five inches rain flooded the main sections of the company's two production facilities here.

"We don't keep a huge inventory, but the small amount we do have has some water damage," he said. "We still have not evaluated exactly how much. It's still too early to know how bad the damage is."

Wade Maples, president, said the damage "is nothing significant that will affect our operations or programs for our customers."

Mohawk Home, based in Sugar Valley, GA, also lost power as part of the effects of the storm.

"But it was no big deal — we had our back-ups running and we never lost our phones or terminals," Bill Kilbride, president, Mohawk Home, said. "It was out only for about 30 minutes. It gave us time to sit and have a quiet lunch."

Kim Barta, brand manager for Dalton, GA-based Shaw Rugs, said that 15 percent to 20 percent of its work force was unable to get to work last Wednesday, due to school closings and road conditions.

"We don't expect any problems. We can catch up with overtime and Saturday work," she said.