By Louis Iannaco
Clarksville, Tenn.—Florim USA recently held a two-day event to unveil its newly renovated tile manufacturing facility to its customers. Nearly 200 distributor representatives traveled from throughout the nation to attend the plant tour and gala celebration. The facility’s capacity is now more than 100 million square feet.

Located in Clarksville, Tenn., Florim USA is a subsidiary of The Florim Group of Italy and employs 403 people. This U.S. outpost of the world-renowned Florim Group has been a focus of corporate investment since it was formed in 2000. Previous plant upgrades include the building of a raw materials facility, the addition of expansive warehouse space and racking systems and the conversion of equipment to produce 100% porcelain in 1.2 million square feet of space. The Group’s brands include Esquire, American Florim, Rex, Cerim and Floor Gres.

The latest renovations to the plant, as featured on the special tour for distributors, involved the rebuilding of “Plant #1” in the compound. Plant #1 features all new, state-of-the art presses, glaze lines, a kiln and a fully automated transference, boxing and palletizing system. In Florim USA’s Plant #2, nine highly automated lines still continue to produce the majority of the company’s overall capacity.

According to Florim USA president & CEO Mike Rohnert, the next generation of technology in Plant #1 is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of work and planning, and positions Florim USA strongly for future growth/expansion.

“Our rebirth began in earnest about two-and-a-half years ago,” Rohnert said. “We were able to invest in new equipment and make a commitment to the marketplace. What we’ve done is take Plant #1 down to the concrete, and installed the latest tile-manufacturing equipment in the industry. This rivals anything that you will find in Italy, and the world.”

The new equipment has three times the output of Plant #2. While in Plant #2 the presses create product at the rate of two 18-in., or four 12-in. tiles per stroke, Plant #1’s presses produce twelve 12-in. or four 18-in. tiles at once. The new presses are also capable of producing up to 24-in. tiles—important as the marketplace’s preference for large tile formats grows. The plant also has recently switched to the production of 100% porcelain tiles.

Additionally, the facility’s increased automation has actually led to the creation of new jobs. “While we are becoming more automated, our growth in production capacity means we are actually adding staff,” he said.

In the midst of equipment upgrades, Florim USA has invested in advanced quality control measures, augmented warehousing capabilities and new facilities and systems for sample fulfillment. The facility now consists of approximately 400,000 square feet of warehousing space. Three digital photographs are also taken inside each loaded truck before leaving to ensure accurate shipments.

“We were very pleased with the outcome of this event,” said Rohnert of the company’s grand re-opening of its facilities. “Everything from the entertainment to the dinners were great. The culmination of the whole event was just especially gratifying. We received some great compliments on both the facility and the company from many our guests. Everyone feels very good about the direction we are going in.”

Distribution Network

Regarding the company’s distribution, Rohnert noted, “we have substancial representation across the country for both of our distributor brands, and certainly we are looking for additional areas in which to expand like any company does. So, we’ve got a good jump on distribution, and we have representation primarily across the country, but it is ever expanding.”

And while the company is not involved with any buying group as of yet, it is something Rohnert sees for the mill down the line. “We’ve had people talk to us about that. Although at this point we haven’t chosen to pursue that path, certainly that is under consideration as we go forward.”

With all that Florim USA has done to its facility thus far, Rohnert sees even more on the horizon. “I would certainly want to be in a position to go into phase two of an expansion within a couple of years,” he concluded.

For more on Florim USA and its products, call 931/645-5100.