It would be my guess that you could count the number women chief executive officers in the floor covering industry on two or three hands. It would also be my guess that if asked to count the number women who founded a company, say 45 years ago, and remain the CEO of that company today, you would not even need all the fingers on a single hand. Well there is such a woman in this industry that launched a company, Nance Carpet & Rug in the heart of the good-ole boy hot bed of North Georgia in 1972 and remains the CEO of that company, now Nance Industries, until this day. Her name is Carol Nance, a born entrepreneur who launched a company in the middle of the carpet industry’s salad days, turning landfill scraps into a profitable business that now boasts four manufacturing/warehouse facilities in Calhoun, Ga., with no end in sight.
With the company’s list of customers reading like a who’s who of U.S. retailers, the Nance organization still has its feet firmly planted in the carpet and rug sector but has made significant inroads in the hard surface arena as well. We had an opportunity to talk with Nance, recently capturing a video interview of the conversation, which you can watch on floortrendmag.com. First, click on multimedia, then on videos. The following are excerpts from that interview.