Mohawk Industries has teamed with The Birmingham Zoo to put its SmartStrand® with DuPont™
Sorona® carpet to
the mightiest of durability and stain resistance tests. On August 14, Mohawk will install SmartStrand triexta
carpet in the
indoor enclosure of The Birmingham Zoo's only Eastern Black Rhinoceros, leaving it there for two weeks.
"Ricko the Rhino" – not your typical 12–year–old! – is a bold opponent for the SmartStrand
Challenge. Once the SmartStrand carpet has been installed, Ricko will live as usual in his enclosure, eating, sleeping, rolling his
50–pound ball around and doing things that just come naturally to a 2,800–pound rhinoceros. All on Mohawk's
SmartStrand carpet!
Four day– and night–vision webcams will be strategically placed throughout the enclosure to capture his life
on the carpet. The public is invited to check in on Ricko throughout the SmartStrand Challenge via its website:
www.smartstrandchallenge.com. Watch Ricko as he romps and tromps around in his enclosure, giving Mohawk's
SmartStrand carpet
a run for its money.
"We feel so confident about the Mohawk SmartStrand carpet with triexta fiber that we wanted the public to be able to check
in on the Challenge anytime, day or night," said David Duncan, Mohawk's Vice President of Marketing. "This will be the
perfect demonstration of its durability...if SmartStrand can stand up to this wildlife, it can certainly stand up to your
wild life."
Visitors to The Birmingham Zoo and the SmartStrand Challenge website will have the opportunity to purchase t–shirts
or plush rhinos created specifically for this event. Profits will be used to support both The Birmingham Zoo and the
International Rhinoceros Foundation (IRF).
SmartStrand triexta carpet made with DuPont Sorona is a sustainable flooring option that is also luxuriously soft.
Bio-PDO®, which is made from corn sugar and is a renewable resource, makes up 37 percent of DuPont Sorona. Additionally,
SmartStrand with DuPont Sorona provides superior stain resistance due to the way it's engineered. Stain protectors are
built–in the carpet fiber and will never wear or wash off. SmartStrand carpet will even resist discoloration from bleach.
To go along with the new SmartStrand carpet wtih triexta, Mohawk brought in Chip Wade, designer, expert craftsman and carpenter and cast member of
Home & Garden Television's (HGTV) TV shows "Curb Appeal" and "Designed to Sell." As the Mohawk SmartStrand celebrity
spokesman, he also wanted to be part of the SmartStrand Challenge. Chip has designed and renovated both Ricko's public viewing area and
his indoor enclosure with designs that were inspired by Ricko himself. Ricko's visitors will enjoy seating while surrounded
by vertical shading in the shape of rhinoceros horns ranging from three to 12 feet tall.
About Mohawk Industries:
Mohawk Industries has been a trusted name in carpet for more than 130 years and is a leading supplier of flooring for
both residential and commercial applications. Mohawk offers a complete selection of broadloom carpet (including SmartStrand carpet with triexta), ceramic tile, laminate,
wood, stone, vinyl, rugs and other home products. These products are marketed under the premier brands in the industry, which
include Mohawk, Karastan, Ralph Lauren, Lees, Bigelow, Columbia, Century, Dal–Tile, American Olean and
Quick–Step. Mohawk's unique merchandising and marketing assist our customers in creating the consumers' dream. Mohawk
provides a premium level of service with its own trucking fleet and more than 250 local distribution locations.
