By Drew Hash, President and CEO of Southwind Flooring
1. How has the state of the economy impacted the Made in the USA trend?
With all the news about tariffs, it’s no wonder “Made in the U.S.A.” has taken on a renewed significance. Our dealers are no different than anyone else. They want reliability, faster lead times, and reduced transportation costs. At Southwind, we work very hard to supply their needs, regardless.
2. How are you expanding your Made in the USA capabilities to meet this demand?
At Southwind this year, we launched new carpet and rigid core collections that are made domestically. The rigid core collections, Inspiration and Sweet Home, are made with our new Intellicore, sourced and manufactured here.
3. How realistic is it to meet all the demand with US-made products? How quickly can you ramp up to increase production to meet demand?
In carpet, no problem. For example, most of our carpet is domestically made. As for hard surface, not so much. Demand in luxury vinyl, for instance, is still outpacing the industry’s domestic capacity. For now, in hard surface, it’s not realistic for the industry to meet all the demand with U.S.-made products.
4. How important is the Made in the USA trend to local economies and how can you tell this story?
There are differences of opinion on this. In some cases, you simply can’t source everything cheaper or better domestically. What’s most important to local economies is a robust flooring industry that supports local businesses because retailers stock what their customers want.
5. How are you maintaining stability when the economy continues to fluctuate?
At Southwind, we keep a close eye on supply chain and product offerings. We’re closely monitoring market indicators and adjusting production and inventory accordingly. We are not tied to any single country or vendor. We diversify to remain flexible. That way our dealers can depend on us to meet their customers’ demands for products.