The ascent of Frank Peters to president of Mohawk Flooring earlier this month completes an interesting trinity: leadership changes at each of the major carpet mills this decade. Randy Merritt and Vance Bell took over from Bob Shaw and Julian Saul in the fall of 2006 as president and CEO, respectively, and Ralph Boe is currently the elder statesman having assumed control of Beaulieu in 2001.

While Peters, Merritt and Bell had risen through the ranks at their respective companies, Boe came to Beaulieu with presidential experience. What he has done in seven years is nothing short of remarkable. He found a company in dire straits after the LDBrinkman purchase. As well, a series of acquisitions in the 1990s created significant redundancies.

Boe arrived amidst whispers that the ship was sinking. But taking a page from Mark Twain, rumors of Beaulieu’s demise were greatly exaggerated. He 86’d Brinkman and cut the number of SKUs virtually in half. Within a year Beaulieu was profitable and had been every year through 2006. Now that’s the definition of a turnaround.

These days, Beaulieu continues to hold its own despite less-than-favorable conditions. While carpet was estimated to have lost 10% to 13% in the first quarter, Boe noted that Beaulieu “did slightly better than that.” That means the company is taking some share. One thing it is doing is changing the mix of business in response to escalating nylon prices. For example, the company is expanding its polyester position given that fiber’s current value proposition.

As for Merritt, one thing Shaw is doing under his stewardship is maintaining a strong presence at the consumer level, whether it be through advertising or sponsorships. He realizes that as a company Shaw must do what it can to build its brand and drive traffic into retail showrooms. As an example, Shaw is a lead sponsor in the 2008 HGTV Green Home Giveaway.

Peters assumes his position with a strong background in manufacturing and product development. His initial goal will be to find ways to leverage all flooring segments. He believes his competitive advantage is Mohawk’s strength in all categories. “We can bring it all to the customer,” he noted.

Long term, Peters will seek to continue Mohawk’s heritage of investing in innovation and a well-recognized brand. At the same time, he plans to focus on customer integration, a.k.a. providing better value and services to the customer— Mohawk University as one example.

At the end of the day, Shaw, Mohawk and Beaulieu reached new heights under the auspices of Bob Shaw, Monte Thornton and Carl Bouckaert. Merritt, Peters and Boe are well-equiped to take their respective companies to the next level.