LATEST MACON COUNTY BUSINESS NEWS

Monthly EDC Meeting

Monthly meetings of the Macon County Economic Development Commission are held the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the Groves Building on the Macon Campus of Southwestern Community College.

Sold! Shaw purchases Zickgraf
By Michael Lewis / The Franklin Press

A local flooring corporation has changed hands.

Shaw Industries Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, announced on Wednesday the acquisition of Zickgraf Hardwood Flooring Company, LLC in Franklin. Berkshire Hathaway is an investment firm whose largest shareholder is investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett.

The company is the world’s largest carpet manufacturer and a leading floor covering provider with more than $5 billion in annual sales and approximately 31,000 associates. Headquartered in Dalton, Ga., the company manufactures and distributes carpeting, rugs, hardwood, laminate and ceramic tile for residential and commercial applications worldwide.

Shaw representative Scott Sandlin said the company does not disclose financial details of their acquisitions.

“We have closed on the acquisition and we are very proud to have the Zickgraf team on board at Shaw,” he said.

Sandlin said the sale further positions Shaw as an industry leader in the hard surface category.

“Zickgraf has excellent capabilities in solid wood manufacturing and allows Shaw to continue rounding out our product portfolio in the hardwood category,” said Vance D. Bell, chief executive officer of Shaw Industries Group, Inc. “With our innovative Epic product line, the multidimensional capability of Anderson and now solid wood manufacturing, Shaw has one of the most comprehensive product offerings in the wood industry. We look forward to further growth in this category.”

Drew Hash, president of Zickgraf said, “The combined strengths of Zickgraf and Shaw Industries will allow Zickgraf to continue exceeding the expectations of our valued customers for many years to come. Zickgraf looks forward to expansion and growth within the Shaw Industries family. The communities of Franklin and Bryson City will have the benefits of a financially strong company and a corporate leader in the industry.”

Sandlin said Shaw plans on utilizing Zickgraf’s current product mix and putting it into more channels and adding new products very quickly.

“We are very focused on style and design leadership in the wood segment and resulting products will demonstrate this,” he said.

While the area has seen a slow down in building in the last six months, Sandlin said the circumstances of the Zickgraf acquisition are a good business fit.

On Thursday morning, F. P. Bodenheimer, Jr., chairman and CEO of Zickgraf reiterated that there would be no management shakeup other than the fact that he and his son would no longer be with the company.

“We didn’t sell it to make money,” he said of the Zickgraf sale. “We sold it because my family and I had taken it as far as we could.”

Bodenheimer said in its infancy the company was just a minuscule flooring mill only selling locally and to a few states. “Local people made the company what it is today,” said Bodenheimer. “With the people right here we stepped into the global market.”

Zickgraf expanded its market into Europe, selling to countries like Germany and Switzerland.

Bodenheimer said he and his family have plans to take Nantahala Lumber and Franklin Machine further.

“There’s so many things we intend to do there,” he said, adding that many of his family members reside here in Franklin and have a real investment in the community.

Working currently with about 250 employees and a $10 million annual payroll for both the Franklin and Bryson City operation, Bodenheimer said he is confident Shaw will bring employment levels back up to around 500 people and aggressively increase production.

Over the past decade manufacturing operations at Zickgraf have expanded and the grounds have grown to 50 plus acres to support the increase of hardwood flooring production.

Zickgraf is the largest employer in the Franklin, community with an average of 250 employees ranging from production workers to specialized quality control officers.

Town of Franklin Revisits Flood Insurance Program
By Melanie Lebert / The Franklin Press

The Town of Franklin Board of Aldermen heard a presentation about the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) after approving the 2008-09 budget at Monday night's meeting.

There are several objectives to participating in the program, including reducing future flood damage through community flood ordinances and providing protection for property owners against potential losses through insurance requiring a premium, according to GIS analyst Angela Moore. The program also creates accurate flood maps.

Franklin is currently not participating in the NFIP. This means that insurance through the program is not available to any property owner within the town and that property owners can build without extra restrictions in the floodplain.

The town has the option to continue to not participate in the program. They could also adopt a flood ordinance at or beyond the minimum levels required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in order to participate in the NFIP.

If the town were to approve the program, national flood insurance would be available for purchase. Community participation in the program also requires significant restrictions and building standards in special flood hazard zones.

Franklin's floodplains were mapped in August of 1976. In response to land owners requests at that time the town opted not to participate in the program. The lack of restrictive ordinances for floodplain development led to the NFIP sanctioning the Town of Franklin.

The NC Flood Mapping Program issued new maps that will become effective sometime in 2009. Nonparticipation in the NFIP would mean that no flood ordinance or additional restrictions are needed and structures in the special flood hazard areas could be rebuilt, repaired or improved as they currently are. It would also mean buildings in the newly mapped floodplains may have federally-backed mortgages called in if flood insurance is not obtained.

Communities that do not participate are still eligible for disaster assistance not related to repair or reconstruction of buildings in the special flood hazard area. Private flood insurance may be available for some properties.

Changes in the 100-year floodplain include removing some properties and adding others.

For more information about the NFIP contact Angela Moore with the Town of Franklin at 524-2516. Copies of the maps are available at town hall and if people have specific questions about whether or not their property lies within the floodplain or special flood hazard areas they can contact Moore.

Planners Discuss Rules For Shopping Center Parking
In Highlands
By Geoff Slade / The Highlander

At its meeting on Monday evening, the Planning Board voted to ease parking requirements at town shopping centers. Planning and Development Director Joe Cooley proposed an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance modifying the parking requirements for shopping centers.

The changes would give such centers a separate designation in the town’s parking ordinance. They were previously counted the same as stand-alone businesses.

Only two uses would require parking beyond square footage requirements: residential dwellings and outdoor seating for restaurants. The proposal would require two spaces per dwelling unit for any residential use, one space for every three seats used for outdoor restaurant seating and one space per 250 square feet of gross floor space for all other permitted uses within a shopping center.

A “shopping center” is currently defined as “Two or more commercial establishments planned and constructed as a single unit, and sharing common sidewalks, driveway entrances, or parking areas.”

The proposed amendment would keep virtually the same definition, changing only the first word to “four.”

The ordinance currently divides uses and required parking into residential, public and semi-public, business and wholesale, manufacturing and industrial uses, regardless of whether or not they are stand alone buildings.

Wholesale changes to parking ordinances should wait on the parking study.
The board unanimously approved the proposal, sending the draft to the Town Board meeting on Wednesday night.

Board member Thomas Craig questioned whether the shopping center rules would remain after the completion of a parking study, which is planned for the coming year. Cooley said that if the proposed changes do pass, shopping centers that receive permits to change will keep their parking ratios even if changes are recommended by the parking study.