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February 12, 2012

Carpet trade show postponed

Dalton Daily Citizen

The FloorTek Expo is taking an extra year off.

FloorTek, originally planned for September in Dalton, has been postponed until 2013, according to Wanda Ellis, director of the American Floorcovering Alliance, which organizes the trade show. It was last held in 2009.

Ellis said organizers “hope to use the additional time to build brand awareness and excitement for the expo.” The trade show exclusively features floorcovering companies at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center.

“Beyond manufacturers showcasing new products, FloorTek Expo will focus on new technologies utilized in the designing and production of products,” Ellis said. “Recycling and sustainability are crucial aspects of these new technologies, which are sure to generate the interest of those involved in the flooring industry.

Organizers say FloorTek is the only international floorcovering manufacturing trade show dedicated to production and technology featuring the latest equipment, machinery and materials. It is also the only floorcovering trade show held in Dalton, “The Carpet Capital of the World.” Although FloorTek is not as large as the Surfaces trade show in Las Vegas or Domotex in Hanover, Germany, FloorTek provides attendees and exhibitors a more captive audience, Ellis said.

The trade show usually lasts three days and draws about 2,000 attendees.

However, the number of exhibitors has steadily declined due to the slowdown in the national economy as well as struggles in the floorcovering industry.

At the 2007 FloorTek, more than 100 companies attended. In 2009, that number was down to about 70.

At the most recent show, many of those businesses were based in the South, with several from Whitfield County and nearby North Carolina. There was an international contingent at the show as well with companies from Austria, Belgium, Germany, India and Switzerland in attendance.

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