Posted August 25, 2014

 

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Van De Wiele, a manufacturer of carpet and velvet weaving machines, announced a $5 million investment in a facility here that will create around 35 jobs.

 

The facility will provide service and support for the company’s U.S. operations.

 

“Chattanooga is an ideal location to support the carpet industry,” said Bob Harding, president of Van de Wiele. “Proximity to Atlanta, with air links to the rest of the USA as well as Central America, will better position us to support knitting, weaving and tufting across an entire market.”

 

According to the company, the plant will include a state-of-the-art sampling and development center for tufting. Van de Wiele recently acquired tufting machine manufacturer Cobble.

 

“Chattanooga is the birthplace of tufting with a long tradition in the flooring industry,” said Charles Beauduin, CEO of Belgium-based parent company NV Michel Van de Wiele. “We see many Chattanooga businesses leading in their respective fields, and that bodes well for the future of the area. Our investment in this new facility is a clear indication of our intent to build on Cobble’s long tradition in tufting, as well as continuing to develop our support for the U.S. textile industry as a whole.”

 

The company plans to move its entire U.S. operations to the Chattanooga area, following the completion of the new facility, it said. The facility is scheduled to be complete by the end of the year. 

 

The Van de Wiele Group of Companies, which has about a dozen production units worldwide, is one of the world’s leading suppliers to the textile industry. In addition to its activities in the textile industry Van De Wiele is also involved in bulk handling, micro-electronics, and drives which it supplies to other industries.