The Mohawk Group is partnering with The National Trust for Historic Preservation, America’s leading nonprofit dedicated to saving the nation’s diverse historic places. Jim McCallum, president of The Mohawk Group and its six brands explained that the licensing agreement has yielded The Mohawk Heritage Initiative, a program in which the brands will offer reproduction or custom-designed carpeting developed for historic commercial properties such as theaters, hotels, state and federal buildings, university buildings, and museums registered with the National Trust. Installation of this carpeting will generate revenue for the organization.
“This is an ‘historically compatible’ relationship,” said McCallum. “Our initial goal in working with the organization is to identify projects of historic significance where our products would be the appropriate floor covering solution for any restoration or preservation activity.”
“Even before this formalized association, The Mohawk Group has been an ardent supporter of the National Trust and its missions,” said Miriam Lenett, the National Trust’s director of business development. “They have been the preferred floor covering for scores of significant landmarks, including the restoration of the Boston Opera House and the Palace Theater in Louisville, KY, to name a few. In several instances, its design team has painstakingly and remarkably recreated patterns of the past.”
Michelle Alfandari, president of MODA International Marketing, the agency responsible for the partnership, noted that the license with The Mohawk Group is the first that stretches the brand to the B-to-B marketplace.
“We always felt that the National Trust would add value to commercial business,” she said, “and were so pleased that The Mohawk Group identified the National Trust as further distinguishing its designs to generate greater business opportunities.”
Named by McCallum to head the Mohawk Heritage Initiative is Mark Thomann. As director of historic preservation for The Mohawk Group, he will liaise with the National Trust as well as with architectural teams and other specifiers who are working on preservation projects. Thomann, who joined The Mohawk Group three years ago, also will continue in his capacity as performance systems manager and is based in Kennesaw, GA
