MOHAWK GREENWORKS AT WORK: CERAMIC TILE

MAKES MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL STRIDES

Recycling, Reuse, and Reduction Improve Plant Operations and Efficiency

DALTON (October 3, 2007)—The beauty of Mohawk Ceramic Tile merely starts at the surface.  Look inside, and you see a remarkable environmental story. 

Mohawk, with its Dal-Tile division, is the largest manufacturer of tile in the nation.  Mohawk also leads the tile business in environmental efforts, and has dramatically reduced its environmental impact while boosting the efficiency with which tile is produced and raw materials are used.  

Nearly all (97%) of Mohawk’s ceramic tile SKUs contain some recycled waste byproducts from both internal and external manufacturing processes. Non-recycled tile materials are extracted from abundant and naturally occurring clay, shale, and other rock-like minerals.  Maximum possible reuse of recycled materials keeps the use of virgin raw materials to an absolute minimum. Currently the recycled material makeup is 45-64 % in floor tile,
31-44 % in wall tile, and 7-22 % in mosaics.

Last year alone, over 197 million pounds of waste material from another manufacturing process and more than 55 million pounds of waste fired tile (tile that’s been fired but doesn’t meet rigorous quality standards) were recycled into tile products manufactured at Mohawk plants.

When waste fired tile can’t be utilized in Mohawk processes, it becomes available for beneficial state-approved reuse projects.  Some is even used as replacement raw material in the brick and cement industry. Over 64 million pounds of waste fired tile were diverted from landfills in 2006 for beneficial reuse projects.

Upgrading manufacturing processes has also improved efficiency.  All of Mohawk’s manufacturing plants recover and recycle wastewater to the maximum extent possible.  In fact, four facilities do not discharge even one drop of process wastewater.   Mohawk recovered and reused more than 64 million gallons of process wastewater in 2006 alone. 

Over the last two years, Mohawk also upgraded to newer fuel-efficient equipment, decreased downtime with kiln loading and even turned off burners. Plant lighting was replaced with high performance T8 fluorescent bulbs. New office occupancy sensors can tell if no one is in the room—and turn off the lights.

The result:  Energy savings equalling enough natural gas to fuel more than 6,000 homes for an entire year and enough electricity to service more than 1,700 homes.

Mohawk Ceramic’s environmental initiatives are part of Mohawk Greenworks, an umbrella program that places all green projects under a single platform for management and information.  Mohawk Greenworks is designed to help people understand how much effort goes into being environmentally proactive and how that impacts every level of Mohawk Industries.  Greenworks covers the spectrum of environmental practices—the “5 Rs”—recycle, renew, reuse, recover, and reduce. 

Mohawk has been cited by government agencies as a pioneer for other industries to follow.  Mohawk is the largest recycler in the flooring industry, currently diverting more than three billion pounds of pre- and post-consumer waste from landfills every year.  More than 500 Mohawk products—carpet, carpet tiles, cushion, laminates, and ceramic tile—contain recycled materials.  These materials come from manufacturing processes, discarded tires, roofing materials, old wood furniture, soft drink bottles, and various other sources.

To learn more, visit www.greenworksblog.com.

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Mohawk is a leading supplier of flooring for both residential and commercial applications. Mohawk offers a complete selection of broadloom carpet, ceramic tile, laminate, wood, stone, vinyl, rugs and other home products. These products are marketed under the premier brands in the industry, which include Mohawk, Karastan, Ralph Lauren, Lees, Bigelow, Dal-Tile, American Olean and Quick-Step. Mohawk's unique merchandising and marketing assist our customers in creating the consumers' dream. Mohawk provides a premium level of service with its own trucking fleet and over 250 local distribution locations.