By Louis Iannaco
SALEM, N.J.—Open house events are usually designed for getting to know someone or some thing, whether it’s a house for sale or welcoming new people to the neighborhood. That feeling of community and camaraderie was most definitely evident during the recent Mannington Commercial Open House, which took place at the mill’s headquarters here.

With more than 60 architects/designers in attendance, Mannington’s commercial division strutted its stuff during a day filled with educational forums and both mill and environmental tours.

Highlights included “The Forest for the Tress,” a discussion which put environmental product specification in the context of the functional aspects of design, presented by Antron fiber consultant, Kim Fuhrmann, and “Where Colors Collide,” a color forecast presentation focusing on hues from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle, given by Marianne Cone, Mannington’s director of marketing.

With all this on the docket, as well as an end-of-day barbeque at the nearby home of Mannington chairman and event keynote speaker, Keith Campbell, all who attended came away with something.

“I thought it was great!” said Alyssa Piccoli, an interior designer in the facilities design department of the New York County District Attorney’s office. “We had time to sit, talk, eat, and we were able to choose our activities. And the location was beautiful. My favorite part was the environmental tour. The land around Mannington Mills is beautiful and I’m glad we got to see it.

“Regarding the environmental tour,” she continued, “it was nice to get outside and get a little insight as to how Mannington feels about the environment. I also loved the dinner at Keith Campbell’s house. What’s cooler than the owner of the company opening up his home and backyard to his customers? I just don’t think you get that with every company.”

Said Karen Halo, owner of Absolute Green, a green products/services company, “The event was informative and the staff was approachable and attentive. Any question I had was answered and the collateral I requested was supplied to me. The face-to-face meeting and welcoming remarks from Keith Campbell were candid and warm. This fourth generation, family-run business made us feel like we were part of the family, not just a number in a crowd. Everyone I met connected to the company gave me a card and said I could contact them directly. I just might do that.”

She continued, “The tour of the property showed Mannington’s involvement in environmental stewardship. It is planting meadows where it was once mowed. There are solar panels on five of its roofs, eliminating 217 metric tons of carbon per year. A colony of Purple Martins are not only welcome, they are housed, charted, tracked and bred with love and care. Beehives were initiated by an employee and are now supported by management. Maybe a new carpet color could be a ‘Taste of Honey?’

The mill tour also proved to be quite informative as the designers got to see carpet backing being produced. “It’s amazing how man and machine can join together to turn a bag of pellets into something else,” said Halo. “I was most excited about the PVT tiles. They are durable and look like VCT but are made from 25% post consumer waste of recycled sheet-rock and old, shredded VCT tiles.

“I’m always looking for new solutions for recycling and new products,” she concluded, “and this incorporates both! I’ll definitely recommend this to my corporate/commercial clients. Mannington has rolled out a number of sustainable, well thought out products this year…kudos!”

For more on Mannington Commercial, call 856.935.3000 or go to mannington.com.