Adairsville, Ga.—Mohawk Industries has officially entered the floor care business.

A partnership between Mohawk FloorCare Essentials and Global FloorCare Solutions will establish Mohawk Authorized Service Centers across the nation under the Mohawk FloorCare Essentials Professional brand. Officials said the objective is to offer cleaning and maintenance of all flooring surface materials using the strength of the 128-year-old Mohawk brand name and the theme, “Make the room beautiful and keep it that way.”

Brian Warren, president and CEO of Global FloorCare, introduced the new concept. “The Mohawk FloorCare Essentials program benefits the Mohawk retailer, the floor care professional and most importantly, the consumer. Dealers can refer their customers to service companies which act as extensions of their stores. Floor care professionals can tap into the power of the Mohawk brand and millions of homeowners who own Mohawk floors.”

Manny Llerena, vice president of retail marketing for Mohawk, added, “If you’re a flooring store owner, imagine the value of having a professional going into your customer’s home on a regular basis, taking care of her flooring and reinforcing the relationship she has with your store. And imagine if that floor care professional were to report back to you that your customer is considering putting tile in the kitchen. Instead of her going to a competitor’s store you can make contact and make the sale. That’s one thing we’ve been missing in the flooring business, and this network solves that problem.”

He explained the concept is to open national service centers across the country by aligning with leading independent carpet cleaning and floor care professionals who already have successful operations. The program will roll out in the top 50 major metropolitan marketing areas (MMMAs) in the first year.

These professionals will be certified by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) and Mohawk, Llerena noted. “Much like the Mohawk aligned dealer network, the service centers would be a membership-based organization and not a franchise.”

After building the business in the 50 MMMA’s areas, the plan is to expand into smaller markets. The network members will pay membership fees and will use Mohawk-approved equipment and products purchased through open distribution. All products used will have Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Design for Environment certification, and products and equipment will be Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI) Green Label and Seal of Approval rated.

“Flooring is the third largest household purchase,” Llerna said, and “90% of consumers ask for information on floor care to help protect their investment. When the customer buys a new floor it will be five to seven years before she’s ready to buy again. During that period it is critical for the retailer to maintain contact with her. Floor care provides the perfect avenue and helps retailers keep their customers for life.”

Warren has a long history with Mohawk dating back almost 25 years. With Global FloorCare, based in Atlanta, Mohawk executives state he and his wife, Trecia, “have been instrumental in helping develop the FloorCare Essentials cleaning and refinishing systems as well as consumer spot cleaners and floor care support programs.”

For the past year they have been working with some of the top floor care professionals in the country. An advisory board made up of 10 of these market leaders has lent their expertise to strengthen the value of this concept.

Llerena said the reason so much work has been put into developing this program has to do with one simple fact: “We have many dealers who have simply stopped recommending floor care firms because their customers have had bad experiences or they have lost confidence in them.”

The Mohawk FloorCare Essentials program is designed to change that. First, are 10 tenets of the partnership: maintenance, client education, staff education—retail—to qualify the customer, problem solving, referral rewards—10% to the retailer, perks for their client—the customer, perks for the retailer, customer retention—through maintenance programs—satisfaction guarantee and an extension of the retailer’s business.

Second, there are six main reasons behind this program: to promote Mohawk, to maintain floors from the manufacturer’s perspective, to connect sales and service, to drive business to the retailer, to capture 100% of the consumer buying cycle relative to flooring and its care and to promote professionalism.

Howard Partridge, owner of Clean As A Whistle in Sugarland, Tex., is one of the first to join the network. He said his company has concentrated on cultivating relationships with flooring retailers, and the new cleaning network will simplify this process.

He added the Mohawk brand will bring “significant benefits” such as making it easier to build this network with retailers.

All cleaning members’ trucks will be wrapped with “Lifestyle” scenes and the Mohawk FloorCare Essentials advertising and signage.