By Ken Ryan
For two decades, Raymond Pitts toiled 12 hours a day, mostly on his hands and knees, cutting carpet and tile by hand, working around the occasional mill shortages that would inevitably make his job more difficult. Pitts, a warehouse manager at Midwest Rug and Linoleum in Springfield, Mo., said he has the wear and tear on his knees to prove it. “It was tough work,” the 37-year flooring veteran recalled, “and I was a lot younger back then.”

Today, Pitts relies on automation, a carpet-cutting machine that allows one person to inspect, re-roll, measure, cut and wrap the carpet. “I wish I had it when I got started in the business,” he said.

Automation has expedited many functions in the flooring business, and the process of cutting carpet is no exception. Carpet cutting machines supplied by the two major vendors, Accu-Cut and E-Z Cut, have taken much of the labor out of cutting carpet and tile. It is no wonder that an estimated 10,000 dealers, many of them small shops, use carpet cutting machines in their operation. The benefits are reduced labor costs, reduced claims, elimination of over cutting and time and labor savings.

The initial investment can be steep: A new machine costs about $15,000; leasing is an option for many (Accu-Cut is offering a lease deal for dealers to pay $99 a month for the first 18 months).

Retailers who take a long view of their business invariably say the investment definitely pays for itself.

Today, Midwest Rug and Linoleum has 17 installation crews of carpet and vinyl floor layers going out on jobs, Pitts said, compared with a handful of crews in the pre-carpet cutting days.

Pitts at first worried what would happen to his operation if a machine broke down. But that has not been an issue. “If the manufacturer isn’t open, there’s a 24/7 call center. You can call the guy on his cell phone and he’s there to troubleshoot,” Pitts said. “He’ll talk you through it. If you need parts, they will get them to you.” He said the machines are so simple to use that the truck delivery driver showed him how to run it.

One dealer from Southwest Carpets in Austin, Tex., said his machine has held up for years without any problems. “These things are handy,” he said. “If you take care of it, it will last.”

Fahrad Reshedi, owner and president of Sully Interiors in Sterling, Va., began using cutting machines six years ago. Prior to that, his company cut carpet by hand in the back parking lot of the store or in the driveway of a customer’s home—often at their own peril. One time Reshedi said he stepped in tar and then walked on the customer’s white carpet. Another time the homeowner accidentally drove over the carpet that was being cut in the driveway, leaving tire marks on the product.

He doesn’t have that problem anymore. “We no longer waste time, and the beauty of it is you are not at the mercy of the weather either,” he said. “You send out clean-cut carpets to the client’s house.”

If there are defects, dealers can catch it ahead of time. “Aside from the time you save, the service you offer the client is most beneficial; this is much better, more professional and far more cost effective,” he said.

By managing to control the situation dealers can prevent problems from occurring. “In the past we’d be at the mercy of the roll that came in; now everything is controlled,” Reshedi said. “After all, the homeowner wants no headaches.”

Software enhances machines

Since 2003 Accu-Cut has offered a software program that lets dealers track inventory as material enters and leaves their warehouse; the software automatically transfers data generated from the cutting machine to the inventory module of their flooring software. The Accu-Cut Inventory Control Software Link is compatible with Roll Master, RFMS and CRW Flooring software.

Terry Wheat, president of RFMS, said the link between RFMS and Accu-Cut “removes one of the last gaps in the order procurement, fulfillment, staging and installation process.”

Even with integrated software controlling the amount of product ordered and verifying its receipt, there was still the possibility of the warehouse technician transposing the amount to cut when he received the picking ticket, according to Wheat.

“If 42 feet instead of 24 feet leaves the warehouse (or vice versa) the dealer has a problem,” he said. “This enhancement eliminates that challenge. Controlling inventory shrinkage and maximizing installation efficiency are the net result.”

For more information on carpet cutting machines, visit accu-cut.com or ezcut.com.