Mannington Mills plans to expand both capacity and capability of two facilities -- located in Epes, Ala., and High Point, N.C. -- that are involved in the manufacture of its hardwood flooring products. The $35 million expansion project will more than double Mannington's current hardwood manufacturing capacity.

Kim Holm, president of Residential Business at Mannington, says that timing for the expansion is optimal. "This project will allow us to keep up with the rapid growth and success we're experiencing with engineered prefinished floors, and be poised to handle the forecasted continued growth of the engineered category," he said.

When complete, the company expects to have the most state-of-the-art, technically advanced hardwood manufacturing and finishing plants in the world. "We will control the quality of our product every step of the way -- from log to box," said Holm.

"Part of the beauty of this expansion is that we've been able to design it so the transition to new equipment will be seamless to the customer," said Doug Brown, Mannington's vice president of Operations for Wood and Laminate. "Throughout the process, there will be no loss of capacity. We'll be fully operational."

The company plans to complete the expansion by the end of 2005.