In Booth #W1529, Mohawk Industries will feature a number of new products at the NAHB International Builders' Show, with a special emphasis on the carpet and hardwood categories.

Mohawk is the world’s largest flooring company and can be a single-source flooring supplier for builders — providing a spectrum of carpet, hardwood, laminate, ceramic tile, vinyl and area rug options.

In carpet, Mohawk will focus on its SmartStrand fiber made with DuPont Sorona renewably sourced polymer. The fiber is stain-resistant, remarkably resilient and durable and it has a dramatic “green” story to tell. The material is so unique that the Federal Trade Commission gave it its own fiber subclass (triexta), making it the first truly new carpet fiber introduced in the last 50 years.

In SmartStrand made with DuPont Sorona fiber, exclusive to Mohawk, corn sugar replaces a portion of the petroleum used to manufacture Bio-PDO, a key polymer ingredient. As a result, 37% of the fiber content comes from renewable sources rather than oil.

The production of Sorona polymer requires 30% less energy than the production of an equal amount of nylon. In addition, greenhouse gas emissions from the production of Sorona are 63% lower than from nylon manufacturing. This energy reduction results in approximately one gallon of gasoline saved per every seven square yards of carpet. SmartStrand is the only carpet in the industry that meets the NAHB Green Building Standard for renewably sourced products (Section 2.6.1).

Mohawk put SmartStrand carpet to the ultimate stain, soiling and durability test this fall, when it placed the carpet in the enclosures of six African elephants, a black rhino and a herd of camels at the Dallas Zoo.

For two weeks, some of the world’s wildest, messiest animals subjected the carpet to unbelievable abuse — more than 50,000 lbs. of pounding, extreme soiling and staining beyond anything imaginable in a home. At the end of the test, the carpet was professionally cleaned, and looked virtually new — with no stains, fiber crushing or visible wear. For full details, go to www.smartstrandchallenge.com.

In detailed research on carpet fiber and consumer satisfaction just completed by Mohwak, SmartStrand triexta earned the highest scores of any carpet fiber the company had ever tested in overall satisfaction — with virtually no dissatisfaction among consumers.   

New Bamboo Flooring Is Harder Than Oak

Mohawk’s innovations in hardwood also give builders tremendous value to offer their customers. Mohawk’s new ArmorMax hardwood finish with Scotchguard Protector comes with a 50-year warranty.

The ArmorMax finish is exclusive to Mohawk’s family of brands, and is five times more wear-resistant than other extended wear finishes. The addition of Scotchguard Protector also makes the floor easier to clean by preventing dirt from bonding to the surface.  

Mohawk has also given builders new flexibility with bamboo. Because it’s a grass, not a wood, traditional bamboo is relatively soft. Mohawk has addressed this problem with new strand woven bamboo flooring that’s harder than oak and suitable for both residential and commercial applications.

Tests have shown that Mohawk’s strand woven styles are twice as hard as domestic oak. They are manufactured using all parts of the bamboo stalk for optimum green benefits, and they meet European E-1 Standards for low formaldehyde emissions.

Mohawk’s strand woven styles even have surface finishes like hand scraping that are brand new to bamboo.

To see the full range of Mohawk’s single-source flooring supplier capabilities, visit Booth #W1529 at the NAHB International Builders’ Show.

Headquartered in Calhoun, Ga., Mohawk Industries is a member of the National Council of the Housing Industry — The Leading Suppliers of NAHB.

This feature is solely for educational and informational purposes. Nothing on this page should be construed as policy, an endorsement, warranty or guaranty by the National Association of Home Builders of the featured product or the product manufacturer. The National Association of Home Builders expressly disclaims any responsibility for any damages arising from the use, application or reliance on any information contained on this page.