From top to bottom: Zanzibar collection, Durkan Hospitality; Sensory collection, Karastan Contract; Infatuation collection, Durkan Commercial; Encycle PVC-free modular-tile-backing system.

Carpet brands introduce new textures, colors, patterns, and a sustainable backing system
A parent company of six brands, The Mohawk Group includes Lees Carpets, Durkan Commercial, Durkan Hospitality, Mohawk Commercial, Karastan Contract, and Bigelow Commercial. Each brand introduced new broadloom and/or carpet-tile products at this year’s NeoCon trade show in Chicago. While there were too many introductions to feature them all, we present a few of the highlights.

Months of research on the sense of touch and how it communicates inspired architect/designer Shashi Caan to create the Sensory collection, one of three new introductions from Karastan Contract. Spun from high-quality yarns, Sensory plays with various textures and constructions and maintains heavy face weights for greater depth and improved performance characteristics. With Sensory, Karastan blended wool and synthetic fiber for the first time, which helped to enhance the appearance of the collection and bring down the price point.

For Durkan Commercial’s Infatuation collection (one of three new lines), the carpet’s bold patterns and deep colors, rather than texture, are the main focus. Designed for corporate, retail, and large public-space applications, Infatuation broadloom features three patterns in a palette of 15 colors.

Durkan Hospitality’s newest print collection, Zanzibar, is intended to capture the spirit and artistry of the Far East. Ideal for a variety of hospitality interiors, from traditional settings to transitional contemporary layouts, the collection includes 20 styles: three rug elements, one 6' round medallion, nine broadloom patterns of varying scale, six design borders, and one corridor runner.

The Mohawk Group claims that Encycle, its patent-pending, PVC-free modular-carpet-backing system, is the only carpet tile designed with three thermoplastic layers and zero water-based components, enabling complete recyclability back into itself without separation. The new backing also incorporates 35 percent preconsumer recycled content by total product weight and utilizes 28 percent less virgin raw materials. Encycle is not Mohawk’s only sustainable venture—several Mohawk Group products are CRI Green Label Plus–certified. The Mohawk Group, Kennesaw, Ga. www.mohawkgroup.com

[Reader Service: September 2007 #210]

Well-dressed floors
Shaw’s redesigned Dressed to Kill collection includes 12 tile options and four broadloom patterns and features both Eco Solution Q fiber and EcoWorx tile backing. Both fiber and backing are fully recyclable in a closed-loop, cradle-to-cradle process. Tiles designated as “Vivid” feature bright colors with contrasting accent stripes and are intended for workplace settings; tiles with “Lux” designation are for professional service applications and feature a more monochromatic palette (left). Shaw Contract Group, Dalton, Ga. www.shawcontractgroup.com

[Reader Service: September 2007 #211]