History of Carpet - History of the Tufted Carpet
Industry in Dalton, Georgia
The Carpet and Rug Institute
P.O. Box 2048
Dalton, GA 30722
The Tufted Carpet Industry in
Dalton
Through the late 1800s,
Dalton, Georgia, struggled with cotton mills and steel
manufacturing works to forge a small town in the north Georgia hills.
Northwest Georgia, with its hard-packed clay, poor farmland, and
rolling hills was among the last areas of Georgia settled. Rich in a
heritage of Cherokee Indians and Civil War battles, that northern
corner of the state was rugged and spawned people who were independent
and self-sufficient. Those were the people who brought forth and
nurtured the tufted textile industry. The industry's infancy was in
Dalton; it has gone through intense growth in Dalton; and it has now
matured in and around Dalton. The carpet industry's impact is great on
this region, this state, and the nation; and the story of its growth
is unique.
The Beginnings
The industry began in a simple way, around the turn of the century.
A young, Dalton woman, Catherine Evans Whitener, recreated a bedspread
in a hand-crafted pattern she had seen, for a wedding gift. Copying a
quilt pattern, she sewed thick cotton yarns with a running stitch into
unbleached muslin, clipped the ends of the yarn so they would fluff
out, and finally, washed the spread in hot water to hold the yarns in
by shrinking the fabric. Interest grew in young Catherine's
bedspreads, and in 1900, she made the first sale of a spread for
$2.50. Demand became so great for the spreads that by the 1930s, local
women, who were real entrepreneurs, had "haulers," who would take the
stamped sheeting and yarns to front porch workers. Often, entire
families worked to hand tuft the spreads for 10 to 25 cents per
spread. The local term for the sewing process was "turfin" for the
nearly 10,000 area cottage tufters -- men, women, and children.
Bedspread income was instrumental in helping many area families
survive the depression.
As an example of the spirit of these early entrepreneurial women,
Mrs. J. T. Bates stated that she simply "shipped 15 spreads to John
Wannamaker's department store in New York. On a piece of plain tablet
paper I made out a bill for $98.15 and put it in with the spreads.
Although there had been no previous contact whatsoever with the store,
Wannamakers sent us a check for $98.15." Chenille bedspreads became
amazingly popular all over the country and provided a new name for
Dalton: The Bedspread Capital of the World.
Mechanization -- the 1930s
Buyer competition, which tended to lower the prices, the change in
the minimum wage laws, and development of machine-produced spreads
soon made the hand-crafted spreads too expensive. Gradually the
industry began to pull the workers from surrounding hillsides and
small towns into mills in town, beginning the rapid growth of the
tufting industry in Dalton.
In the 1930s, as a result of the demand for more bedspreads, the
first mechanized tufting machine, attributed to Glen Looper Foundry of
Dalton, was developed. Looper modified the single needle commercial
Singer so that it would tuft the thick yarn into unbleached muslin
without tearing the fabric and an attached knife would cut the loop.
Machines quickly developed into four, then eight, twenty-four, and
more needles to make the parallel rows of tufting known as "chenille."
By 1941, all but about one percent of tufted bedspreads were machine
made. Mats and rugs were created with the same process, using cotton
yarns and fabric. Volume increased rapidly after World War II, because
people were hungry for color and beauty. To show the extent of growth,
30,000 bales of cotton were consumed in 1946 by the industry. By 1950,
approximately 500,000 bales were used, and the industry was the third
largest consumer of cotton grown in Georgia in 1952.
Sales were created by correspondence or by taking spreads to
department stores, but by far the most famous and enjoyable way to buy
a spread was on "Bedspread Alley," U. S. Highway 41 between Dalton and
Cartersville. This stretch of the major north-south highway got its
nickname because of the bedspreads the tufters hung on clotheslines to
dry in the breeze and sun.
The salesmen and tourists enjoyed seeing the colorful, gaudy
spreads and enjoyed the novelty of buying them "off the line." The
most popular pattern to the travelers, outselling all others 12 to 1
was the Peacock -- feathered birds facing each other and spreading
tails over the breadth of the spread. This "Bedspread Alley"
phenomenon lasted into the '70s, and even now a few spreads can be
seen on lines just south of Dalton.
As the number of tufted products produced annually went into the
millions, the job of supplying the industry became equally important.
Yarn, sheeting, duck mills, and agents were established in the area,
with their entire output going to the industry; and larger mills
elsewhere vied for the growing business. Machine shops were
established to manufacture the thousands of single and multi-needle
machines needed, as well as to design improvements aimed at making
even more beautiful and better spreads, bathroom sets, robes, beach
wear, and rugs. Dye plants for yarn were built. Laundries were erected
for finishing the spreads. Printing shops were established to supply
the millions of tags and labels needed. Box factories turned out
cartons for shipping. Moving these spreads to market was big volume
for rail and motor freight lines.
Machinery was continually widened, creating larger mats and rugs,
and, later, broadloom carpet. Developments of new fibers at the same
time machinery was changing accelerated the growth of broadloom
carpet.
Synthetic Fibers are Introduced
Until about 1954, cotton was virtually the only fiber used in
tufted products. Wool and manmade fibers -- polyester, nylon, rayon,
and acrylics -- were gradually introduced by textile men in Dalton.
Nylon was first introduced in 1947 and grew steadily to dominate the
market. Polyester was first used in 1965 and was followed soon by
polypropylene (olefin). Most manufacturers will agree that the single
most important development in the industry was the introduction of
bulk continuous filament nylon yarns. These yarns provided a luxurious
quality, durable carpet, similar to wool, that was more economical to
produce. Therefore, a durable, luxury product was offered to the
consumer for less money.
In 1950, only ten percent of all carpet and rug products were
tufted, and ninety percent were woven. However, about 1950, it was as
if someone had opened a magic trunk. Out of that trunk came man-made
fibers, new spinning techniques, new dye equipment, printing
processes, tufting equipment, and backing for different end uses.
Today, tufted products are ninety-three percent of the total, followed
by two percent that are woven, and five percent of all other methods,
such as knitted, braided, hooked, or needlepunched. By 1951, the
tufting industry was a $133 million per year business made up
primarily of bedspreads, carpet, and rugs, with carpet accounting for
$19 million. The industry broke the billion dollar mark in 1963.
Through the years, the Dalton area has continued to be the center of
the tufted carpet industry, and today, the area produces more than 70
percent of the total output of the world-wide industry of over $9
billion. Dalton is now known as the "Carpet Capital of the World."
The history of the carpet industry in the United States began in
1791 when William Sprague started the first woven carpet mill in
Philadelphia. Others opened during the early 1800s in New England.
Included in that area was Beattie Manufacturing Company in Little
Falls, New Jersey, a company that operated until 1979.
The following companies provided major contributions to the current
U.S. carpet industry and now have all relocated to the center of the
industry in Georgia.
In 1825, Erastus Bigelow formed the first carpet mill in America,
giving birth to the woven carpet and rug business in the United
States. In 1839, he permanently reshaped the industry with the
invention of the power loom for weaving carpets. Bigelow's loom, which
doubled carpet production the first year after its creation and
tripled it by 1850, is now part of the Smithsonian Institution's
collections. He continued to devote his life to innovation -- 35
separate patents were issued to him between 1839 and 1876. Bigelow
introduced the first broadloom carpet in 1877.
The power loom with Jacquard mechanism was developed in 1849, and
Brussels carpet was first manufactured by the Clinton Company of
Massachusetts. The Brussels loom was slightly modified, making
possible the manufacture of Wilton carpet. Later, the Hartford Carpet
Company joined with Clinton Company to become Bigelow Carpet Company.
In 1878, four Shuttleworth brothers brought 14 looms from England
and established their manufacturing plant in Amsterdam, New York. In
1905, the company introduced a new carpet, Karnak Wilton. Its instant
success was phenomenal. Flooded with orders, a new building had to be
constructed to exclusively handle Karnak production. Weavers worked
four and five years without changing either the color or pattern on
their looms.
Alexander Smith started his carpet manufacturing plant in 1845 in
West Farms, New York. An American, Halcyon Skinner, had perfected the
power loom for making Royal Axminster in 1876. He and Alexander Smith
combined, forming a very successful carpet company. Alexander Smith
was elected to Congress in 1878, but died on the evening of election
day. Sixteen hundred people were employed at his factory at the time
of his death. Alexander Smith & Sons continued. During World War I,
the carpet looms were converted to make tent duck and navy blankets.
In 1929 Alexander Smith & Sons was the largest manufacturer of carpets
and rugs in the world.
Simulating the "Oriental" Rug
Industrialist/retailer Marshall Field had a traditional Axminster
weaving loom modified to create what no one else had ever created -- a
machine-made rug woven through the back, just like a handmade
Oriental, featuring intricate designs and virtually unlimited color
variety. Karastan rug mills was established in 1926, and introduced
the first Karastan rugs to the public in 1928.
Alexander Smith, Bigelow, and Karastan are companies continuing
today as divisions of Mohawk Industries, headquartered in Georgia.
There are many manufacturers today producing both simulations of
antique designs and updated "oriental" type rugs by both the weaving
and tufting processes.
Of all flooring, carpet is 72% of the market. Residential market -
61.3% Contract or commercial market - 38.7%
Total industry shipments (1994) totaled 1.639 billion square yards
(up 10.6% from '94) or $9.895 billion at mill level (up 6.6% from
'94), estimated at $15 billion retail. (In 1950 industry shipments
were 97 million square yards.)
In the past 44 years, the price of carpet has increased by only
79.5%; new car prices are up 262.9%, and all commodities combined have
increased in price by 341%.
Today, there are approximately 216 corporations and 255
manufacturing plants located in 23 states.
It is estimated that 25 companies in the industry produce 89% of
the nation's carpet and rugs.
Tufted carpet's share of the market was 91.4% on square yard basis,
and 92.9% based on dollars.
Today there are 3.1 billion pounds of face fiber consumed each
year. The largest manufacturer alone uses over two million pounds of
fiber a day!
Broadloom carpet (carpet and rugs over 6' by 9' in size) accounts
for 82.5% of the square yards shipped. Of the total broadloom
shipments, 81.7% are tufted.
Market Share of Fibers
Nylon 64%
Olefin 28%
Polyester 7%
Wool 1%
Exports were $713 million. The top five markets for the US exports
were: Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Hong Kong.
Imports are $748 million, a decrease of 5.4% from 1992. The top
five suppliers to the U.S. were: India, Mainland China, Canada,
Belgium, and Pakistan.
The five largest manufacturers are Shaw Industries, Mohawk
Industries, Beaulieu of America, Interface Flooring Systems, and Queen
Carpet Corporation.
-- A roll of carpet 12 feet wide and 142,000 miles long
enough to reach around the earth at the equator six times
enough to cover 1/3 of Rhode Island
enough to cover the floors in all buildings in New York City,
including Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Bronx, and Manhattan.
Carpet production is over 1.1 billion square yards or over 70 % of
the U.S. total, with shipments totaling more than 6.5 billion dollars.
There are 177 carpet manufacturing plants, with 55,000 employees,
about 78% of the U.S. carpet manufacturing employment. Property,
plants, and equipment assets total $1.9 billion, with a payroll of
$890 million. Another 28,000+ persons are employed by industries, such
as yarn mills, finishers, backing manufacturers, machinery suppliers,
maintenance services, and sample companies, that directly support the
carpet industry.
The manufacturer with the largest number of employees is a carpet
manufacturer.
The six largest carpet companies and 18 of the largest 35 carpet
companies are headquartered in Georgia.
Seventy-five to eighty percent of the yarn used by the carpet
industry is produced and processed in Georgia.
In Dalton, Whitfield County, approximately 54% of over 50,000
strong labor force is engaged in carpet manufacturing, and seventy-two
interstate trucking companies are utilized to transport carpet and raw
materials, in addition to fleets owned by many carpet companies.
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This information provided by The Carpet and Rug
Institute.
