It’s a sunny Friday afternoon in September, and T.M. Nuckols and his wife Kimberly are walking their beautiful property in Acworth, Georgia, which includes a barn with two horses, two dogs and a barn cat. The bucolic scene is a moment of respite from the challenges Nuckols, who is vice president of The Dixie Group, and his team at the office have successfully navigated over the past year.
“The year started well, all the way through about mid-May,” Nuckols said. “I would say business conditions were pretty strong and then it really started softened and it softened through May, June, July, and August came back a little bit.”
Nuckols and his team navigated a number of challenges this year. First, raw material prices increased dramatically for the company as its primary rolled material supplier, Invista, exited the business. It left the company needing to replace supply as quickly as possible, which delayed product introductions planned for the first half of the year. Lowe’s acquisition of the Stainmaster brand and Invista’s price increases cut Dixie’s business in the home center channel. In addition, unprecedented increases in freight rates impacted the company’s imported hard surface products.