Carpet

The carpet industry in the United States began in 1791 when William Sprague started the first woven carpet mill in Philadelphia. Others opened during the early 1800s in New England. Included in that area was Beattie Manufacturing Company in Little Falls, New Jersey, a company that operated until 1979.

In 1950, only ten percent of all carpet and rug products were tufted, and ninety percent were woven. However, about 1950, it was as if someone had opened a magic trunk. Out of that trunk came man-made fibers, new spinning techniques, new dye equipment, printing processes, tufting equipment, and backing for different end uses. Today, tufted products are more than 90 percent of the total, followed by less than 2 percent that are woven, and 6.7 percent for all other methods, such as knitted, braided, hooked, or needlepunched. By 1951, the tufting industry was a $133 million per year business made up primarily of bedspreads, carpet, and rugs, with carpet accounting for $19 million.

The industry broke the billion dollar mark in 1963. Through the years, the Dalton, Georgia area has been the center of the tufted carpet industry, and today, the area produces more than 70 percent of the total output of the world-wide industry of over $9 billion. Dalton, Georgia is known as the "Carpet Capital of the World."

For a complete history on the carpet industry in America visit the excellent web site provided by the Carpet and Rug Institute. This site also provides information on carpet and rug selection, indoor air quality, care and cleaning, and all you ever wanted to know about carpet.

Click on the links below for carpet currently offered by The Carpet Shop. We are proud to be the exclusive Karastan carpet and rug dealer, as well as Stainmaster Flooring Center for the Augusta, Aiken and Evans areas.