LaGrange, Ga. -- Interface broke ground on the first phase of its Kyle 2 plant expansion on December 5, 2017. Over the next three years, Interface will invest $40 million in its Troup County operations, which is estimated to provide Interface with an annualized cost savings of $30 million through higher efficiencies and material utilization, according to a statement.

The expansion is broken into two phases. Phase one, slated for completion in third quarter of 2018, will add 45,000 sq. ft. of production space and create an enlarged tufting room with up to 14 tufters. Phase two is slated for a 2019 completion and will transition a 30,000-sq.-ft. warehouse operation to a new purpose-built 100,000-sq.-ft. facility.

Additionally, the investment will provide Interface the opportunity to implement its first Factory as a Forest design, which will emulate how an ecosystem conserves and utilizes water, stores and uses carbon and energy, and reuses food. To emulate this natural system, Interface will include the following sustainable elements in the design of Kyle 2: rainwater collection for use in operations, solar panels on the roof to generate enough electricity to cover most of the facility’s air conditioning and lighting, features that will send water back into the atmosphere and native and drought-resistant landscaping.

The Kyle 2 tufting facility, named after Joseph H. Kyle – one of the company’s original officers – was built in 1988 and currently employees 60 people working three shifts. The company has already made operational improvements in the facility over the last 12 months, including installation of 7 dual-fixed creels to replace a portable creel system.

With the dual fixed creel system, vendor yarn is loaded directly to the creels, eliminating the need to wind the yarn. The innovative transfer design of these dual fixed creels reduces changeover time by 50% and allows for more efficient long-run production of carpet with the same specifications.

For more information, visit www.interface.com.