Blueridge Commercial Carpet, based in Ellijay, Ga., has closed its doors after more than 40 years in the industry. According to a former employee, "Blueridge closed down on the last day of October [2011]. It just closed abruptly."

The employee noted that PNC Bank, based out of Pittsburgh, made the decision to shut down Blueridge. "They are now disposing of assets. I have been gone from the company for two months, and was furloughed a month before that."

A spokeswoman for PNC Bank declined to comment on the situation or whether Blueridge was even a client, citing issues of confidentiality. The flooring manufacturer's website, www.blueridgecarpet.com, was no longer available at press time, and calls to its former 800 number resulted in a standard customer service recording, but none of the menu options were functional.

Jamie Gilmore, president of Pavilion Floors in Woburn, Mass., and a former Blueridge customer, called the situation "a shame."

"It's unfortunate. They were a quality, consistent mill, with a reliable line that everybody was familiar with. They created a great workhorse product, and generated up to half a million dollars of business a year for my company. Their carpets are a standard for certain large installations in Boston."

"We will miss them," he added. "They were always good to us, and the rep up here was very skilled. It's just too bad."

Before the website was shut down, the company's "about us" page read, in part, "The individuals who built Blueridge had two things in mind: quality and service. Blueridge has established a legacy of over-engineering its carpet to outperform customer expectations. We simply can't afford not to make it right the first time." -Michael Chmielecki