Volume: 97 |  Issue: 1 |  Download

This article originally appeared in our September 2011 CFR is- sue but we've had an onslaught of work in this area and issues and I wanted to give you an update. Woven Axminster and Wil- ton carpet is the Rolls Royce of the carpet industry. It is the old- est form of machine made broadloom carpet. Products from this process grace the most elegant and luxurious homes and facilities in the world. There are only a handful of woven Axmin- ster and Wilton carpet manufacturers in the world and a smaller number yet who produce significant volume of commercial car- pet. The primary commercial markets for these carpets are hospitality (high end hotels), casinos, high end restaurants and any property that qualifies as the best of the best in its particular category. Almost all woven Axminster and Wilton carpet manu- facturing takes place outside the US with the majority of woven carpet now coming from state of the art mills in China but owned by the same manufacturers who've been in the business for dec- ades. Only a few woven manufacturers exist in the US and they primarily produce corporate type carpet. The highest end woven Axminster or Wilton carpet is most often constructed of an 80/20 blend of wool and nylon (80% wool / 20% nylon) – the nylon is used to bolster the performance of the wool – but it can also be made with 100% nylon – either solution dyed or yarn dyed.