Balta U.S. Inc., a subsidiary of the Belgian Balta Group, a European market leader in the manufacture of textile floor coverings that are distributed to more than 100 countries, is consolidating its distribution centers in Georgia to Shannon, an unincorporated community in Rome and Floyd County. The facility is to serve as the group’s U.S. headquarters.
Al Hodge, president and CEO of the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce, told Global Atlanta that the move of Balta’s distribution centers from Calhoun and Dalton to Shannon had been under review for approximately a year.
He added that convenient access to Highways 141 and 53 as well as Floyd County’s positive record of foreign direct investment, workforce preparation and a unified economic development team along with local incentives had prompted the deal.
Balta’s move to Shannon follows on the heels of Balta Group’s acquisition last month of Bentley Mills Inc., a California manufacturer of carpet tile and broadloom carpets for commercial interiors.
The “Bentley” brand has been selected for several landmark projects such as providing commercial carpet for the past nine presidential inaugurations and the New York Freedom Tower at One World Trade Center in New York.
Mr. Hodge indicated that the chamber would assist the company with a job fair within the next six months as it moves to a facility on a 172 acre tract previously owned by Caterpillar Inc. Balta is to occupy only 45 acres of the entire tract for which it has signed a 12-year lease.
According to a news release from the Greater Rome chamber, the 172-acre site was purchased from Caterpillar by the Hight Property Group comprised of a consortium of Atlanta and Carrollton-based investors who are to attract more tenants to the property.
The Rome News-Tribune quoted Alyssa Douthre, Balta’s controller and vice president for finance, who spoke at a meeting of the Rome-Floyd County Development Authority on Tuesday April 18, that the company would occupy 320,000 square feet with a workforce of 75 by October.
The Balta Group has nine production sites worldwide, six of which are located in Belgium, one in Los Angeles, and two in Usak, Turkey, and has a total of more than 3,300 employees worldwide.
It is reportedly the largest producer of textile floor coverings in Europe. With a consolidated net turnover of $597 million, Balta creates woven area rugs, wall-to-wall contract carpet, commercial carpet tiles and needle felt and technical non-wovens.
To learn more about the prospects for the Hight Property acreage, contact Mr. Hodge at 706-291-7663, ext. 304, or send an email to ahodge@romega.com
