Card-Monroe Creates Innovation in Carpet Machine Industry

Just down I-75 from Chattanooga, Dalton may be known as the carpet capital of the world. But it was a big idea by the founders of Card-Monroe Corp. in Chattanooga that helped start it all. Before 1950, 90 percent of American carpet was on a loom, Zach Monroe says. After 1950, 90 percent of carpet is tufted on a tufting machine. They are the ones that developed a tufting machine right here in Chattanooga.And now, decades later, a new idea is changing the carpet world we all walk on every day. Our owners have been in tufting for many years and for them to be able to see this, they say it's a dream come true, says technical specialist Wilton Hall.C.M.C.'s new color point machine is the reason they are one of the nominees for the Chattanooga Area Chambers Spirit of Innovation award. It produces an 8-color, intricate pattern on customizable carpet. That was revolutionary in this industry and really the most revolutionary thing that's happened in this industry in the past 30 years, Monroe says.Every machine Card-Monroe designs is different, but they all start with these metal castings that are cut, painted and then outfitted with a pattern head, sewing mechanism and computers. About 50 thousand parts go into each machine that helps C.M.C.'s customers create carpet in high-definition in any design you can come up with. On the day we visited, it was our Newschannel 9 logo that came out of their sample machine. We've had customers get in the floor and just oooh and ahhh over that, Hall explains. They cannot believe a tufting machine can do this.You may not have heard of Card-Monroe Corp. or know who we are, but you touch something we've made or had an impact on every day, says Monroe.For more on Card-Monroe, click here to visit their website.