Mattex — a Saudi Arabia-owned, Dubai-based producer of carpet backings, artificial grass backings, and woven and nonwoven geotextiles — will invest $60 million to establish a U.S. headquarters and manufacturing operation in Eton, Ga., and create 200 jobs.
The company will build a 275,000- to 375,000-square-foot extrusion manufacturing plant that will produce primary and secondary polyolefin-based carpet backings. Equipment to be installed will include tape extrusion, beaming and weaving equipment. Mattex plans to begin construction on the facility this summer and commence operations in 2014.
Founded in 1995, Mattex operates four state-of-the-art production facilities in Saudi Arabia and Dubai as well as warehouse/distribution offices in Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, China and the United States. The company opened its U.S. distribution center, Mattex USA, in Calhoun, Ga., in 2007; and decided to establish a U.S. headquarters and manufacturing plant to be closer to the North American market.
"This plant is a first step," said Barclay Payne, general manager, Mattex USA. "We can truly say Mattex Group is coming to America! This milestone would never have happened without the support of our North American customer base. We are truly thankful for their support."
"Our mission to be the 'preferred global partner of choice' led us to build a state-of-the-art carpet-backing facility in North Georgia as the next logical step for better servicing our current customer base," said Luc Blommaert, CEO, Mattex Group. "The period we've been operating out of our existing distribution center can be referred to as our engagement period. Now it's time to get married, so we are building a plant. This is the Group's fifth expansion. The choice of North Georgia was easy: The available business assets spoke for themselves, and after careful consideration we decided to build and grow in and with Murray County."
