Fifty years ago, there were around 100 carpet manufacturers. Today there are less than 20. Mohawk and Shaw Industries are the two largest United States manufacturers and control about 70% of the North American market. This fact alone should be a good indicator that the quality of a carpet isn’t necessarily impacted by the manufacturer. Over the last five decades, Mohawk and Shaw Industries have either acquired their competitors or run them out of business, leaving them as North American industry leaders.
It is also significant to note that most of the carpets sold in North America are manufactured in the United States, with the exception of a small number of wool carpets. Those that are manufactured in the United States are likely to be from Dalton, Georgia. Due to the fact that the majority of carpets are manufactured in Dalton, it has been nicknamed “the carpet capital of the world.”
With the popularity and innovation of hard-surfaced floors like wood, tile, laminate, and luxury vinyl plank, carpet mills don’t look like they used to. Many carpet manufacturers also produce these other popular flooring options inside their factories.
Making carpet is a three-step process. Step one is tufting, step two is applying the dye, and step three is the finishing process that includes jobs like washing and vacuuming the carpet. Upon learning how carpet is made you might think that buying high-quality carpet would be very expensive. The truth is that modern-day technology makes manufacturing even the highest-end carpet relatively inexpensive.
If you find yourself trying to determine carpet quality, the carpet manufacturer might not be the best indicator. Instead, wholistically compare face wight, carpet density, fiber twist, type of fiber, manufacturer warranty, and carpet style.
