Mohawk Move to North Carolina Nears Completion

Furniture World Magazine

The RPM Wood Finishes Group, one of the industry's leading innovators in wood coatings, has announced that the relocation of Mohawk Finishing Products Inc. operations to North Carolina should be completed during October, 2000. All aspects of the Mohawk operations, including R&D, customer service, and sales/marketing will be based out of the new RPM Wood Finishes Group headquarters, located in at 22 Center St. SW, Hickory, North Carolina. The new phone number will be 828-441-2247. Manufacturing will be located 10 miles away in Hudson, North Carolina. First acquired by RPM in 1972, the Mohawk move is the most recent step in the consolidation of several brands that have become part of the fast-growing Wood Finishes Group (formed in 1998). Operations for The Flecto Company, makers of wood stains, finishes and floor refinishing products for consumers, transferred to North Carolina in June, 2000. (RPM's Wood Finishes Group is comprised of a total of eight national and international brands.) "Mohawk has made some significant upgrades this year for our customers, such as the launch of our e-commerce site. Similarly, this move reflects some real benefits for our customers, not just an administrative change on our end," said Rich Loomis, president of RPM Wood Finishes Group. "The purpose of the RPM Wood Finishes Group is to pool knowledge from the best in the business. This move facilitates Mohawk's access to resources, talent and strategic intelligence that will fuel our product development, service enhancements and growth." R&D APPOINTMENTS: Concurrently, the RPM Wood Finishes Group also announced the appointment of three key personnel to lead Mohawk's manufacturing and research and development operations at the company's new location: Andy Naya, Philip Pritchard and Gerald Cole will serve, respectively, as Mohawk's senior chemist, touch-up color match coordinator and technical support representative. As Mohawk's senior chemist, Andy Naya will lead all research and development, product formulation and quality control operations. One of Naya's foremost responsibilities will be to oversee the integration of the Mohawk product line into the new manufacturing system in Hudson. Naya has more than 15 years experience in the wood coatings industry and is highly proficient with spectrophotometer software, MSDS systems and formulation software. Prior to being named senior chemist, Naya distinguished himself as a bench chemist for the RPM Wood Finishes Group. Before joining RPM, Naya served as technical director for the Plextone Coatings operation at Seagrave Coatings and as bench chemist for the Randolph Company. As touch-up color match coordinator for the Mohawk brand, Philip Pritchard is responsible for all custom matching in the Mohawk product line and will supervise all staff working on the Mohawk color match program. Pritchard also will lead the development of new colors and tints for Mohawk. Before joining Mohawk, Pritchard ran his own screen printing business for approximately 10 years. As technical support representative for the Mohawk and Star brands, Gerald Cole will handle all technical calls from customers, distributors and sales representatives. He is also charged with creating and maintaining product data sheets for the two product lines. For the past eight years, Cole has worked in Chemical Coatings Inc.'s (CCI) color match laboratory. Before joining CCI, Cole was employed as a color corrector at R.R. Donnelley & Sons. "The leadership of Andy Naya, Philip Pritchard and Gerald Cole will assure a smooth transition for the Mohawk product line to Hudson and ensure customers continue to receive the highest quality of formulas and products," said Ronnie Holman, vice president of research and development. The RPM Wood Finishes Group is one of the industry's leading innovators in professional finishing products. The RPM Wood Finishes Group comprises six professional lines, Mohawk, Guardian, Behlen, Star, CCI, and Westfield Coatings, as well as the consumer brands Flecto and Watco. Through these brands, the Wood Finishes Group offers the most comprehensive line of wood products available today for everyone from the independent refinisher to the largest manufacturers of furniture, floors and cabinets. Products including wood finishing, augmentation, touch-up/repair and care items. The RPM Wood Finishes Group is headquartered in Hudson, NC.