By Kathryn Heaberg
Lees Carpets of Glasgow will receive up to $347,518 from Rockbridge County spread over the next 10 years for general improvements. This is in addition to four grants recently approved by the state.
Lees Carpets is about to begin a nine-month, $26.6 million project that will bring in new machinery and 25 fresh workers. To prepare for the new machinery, 150 of the plant's 1,150 workers will be retrained as well.
David Kleppinger, director of the Rockbridge Partnership, said the county feared Lees Carpets would leave the area when it heard of the company's plans to expand. Lees Carpets is owned by Mohawk Industries, which is based in Calhoun, Ga.
Lees Carpets constitutes 40 percent of the manufacturing industry in Rockbridge County. Its business is vital to the state and county.
“For us it is important because the company has demonstrated a long term commitment to be here,” Kleppinger said. The county wanted to show Lees Carpets its commitment by providing money to help secure its workforce and improve the current facility.
The local funding is contingent on the completion of the plans Lees Carpets has made. The company has goals to reconfigure its workforce as it redefines and expands its product lines.
The workers are a large source of tax revenue for the county. The improvements, including the new machinery, will generate even more tax revenue for the county, according to Kleppinger.
Kleppinger said Mohawk often has trouble securing a long-term workforce. These frequent turnovers hurt both the company’s productivity and its financial success. They have to constantly spend time and money to hire and educate new employees.
The hope is that the money from both Rockbridge County and the state will help stabilize Lees.
A $40,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund and a $100,000 grant from the Virginia Investment Partnership were both announced by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine on Feb. 21. Lees Carpets will also receive funding from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and Virginia Department of Business Assistance, which will be of specific assistance to the training component of the project.
In addition to working out the details for the proposed grant from Rockbridge County, The Rockbridge Partnership worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to find the appropriate state grants.
Lees Carpets has been a vital part of the Rockbridge County economy since it arrived in 1935. Burlington Industries owned it from 1960 until 2003 when Mohawk Industries purchased the company. Mohawk Industries is the largest floor covering manufacturer in the world.
David Speight, a human resources representative at Lees Carpets, said the company employs workers from all over Rockbridge County including Lexington, Buena Vista and Glasgow as well as Botetourt, Amherst and Alleghany counties.
The facility is the largest Carpetsing company under one roof in the United States and is not used for just production. The design, distribution and marketing departments are all housed under that same roof.
Many of the company's employees have been there for decades, and some are even third generation Lees Carpets employees, according to Speight. The mayor of Glasgow was a former employee of Lees Carpets until his retirement.
Speight is aware of the role Lees Carpets plays in the community, and the positive results that come out of the tax revenue it provides. “If we weren’t here with 1,150 workers, Stonewall Jackson wouldn’t have built a new hospital,” Speight said.
Factory expansion creates new jobs in Rockbridge County
Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.
Lead supervisor: Prof. Claudette Artwick
Reporting supervisor: Prof. Doug Cumming
Editing supervisor: Prof. Pamela Luecke
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd