Monticello Carpet Mills returns. Yanoor Corp. chairman and CEO Saeid Korhani, who purchased Burlington Industries carpet and rug plants in Monticello, Ark., has restarted Monticello Carpet Mills. Heading the operation are: Mike DeGrace (formerly of Beaulieu), vp sales; John McLeod (formerly with Mohawk Home), vp sales for the Burlington Rugs Division of Yanoor Corp.; Vernon Gordon, vp manufacturing; and Lawrence Cole (formerly with Queen and Beaulieu), Yanoor vp operations.

Baker Bros. celebrates grand opening. Baker Bros., an eight-location Arizona retailer of area rugs and flooring, invited consumers on Oct. 10 to preview the Martha Stewart Signature line from Shaw and hear Stephen Earle, editorial director/home for Martha Stewart Living Magazine, discuss the line at Baker’s new flagship location at 4545 E. Broadway in Phoenix. The store was impressive, complete with designer galleries filled with carpet products made of synthetics and wools, a wide assortment of area rugs, ceramic tile, laminate, and vinyl floor products.

More soy, please. Pacifcrest Mills’ new BioBak system, a collection of backings, uses Dow Chemical’s BioBalance polymers with soybean-based polyol. The result is a commercial carpet backing produced by Universal Textile Technologies with an environmental vision. Currently, Pacifcrest offers three performance backing solutions with the BioBak sytem: E-LOK BioBak Premiere MB (a 20-lb. density attached-cushion product with a moisture barrier); E-LOK BioBak 18 (an 18-lb. attached-cushion backing); and E-LOK BioBak Laminate (a laminate backing). All can be used on the company’s loop, cut and loop, graphics, and cut-pile commercial broadloom styles.

Kentucky Wood/Washington State Floor Covering Association celebrate. Louisville-based Kentucky Wood Floors and the Washington State Floor Covering Association have just celebrated their 25th year in the floor covering industry. Since 1978, Kentucky Wood has provided all the hardwood floors for the White House, beginning with the East Room and, subsequently, nine additional rooms.

A rather sizeable crowd attended the Washington State Floor Covering Association’s 25th Anniversary Celebration Dinner at Maplewood Greens in Renton on Sept. 10 to reminisce about old times and celebrate the accomplishments of the association.

New Flexco brand identity. “Flooring to the power of X” is the new brand identity of Flexco. The manufacturer of rubber, vinyl and ESD-control commercial flooring will incorporate the new tagline into all of its new marketing pieces to present a onsistent and unified message to the marketplace.

Bond’s Milnes retires. Richard Milnes, president of Bond Products (carpet installation accessory manufacturer), has retired after 42 years in the industry. He will continue as a member of the Bond board of directors and as a Wayne Industries vp. Son Brian Milnes takes over the Bond operation. Also, 42-year industry veteran Dave Schaible will be leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.