Cleaning Up With RFID
InterfaceFlor is embedding RFID tags in its carpet tiles to make them easy and cost-efficient to maintain—and to corner the commercial flooring market.
By Jennifer Zaino
2008 RFID Journal Award Winner: Most Innovative Use of RFID
June 1, 2008—In the $14 billion carpet and rug industry, carpet tiles are the star of the show. For the past three years, carpet tiles have been growing faster than any other type of flooring. Last year, InterfaceFlor, the world's leading manufacturer of carpet tiles, said its fourth quarter was the best in the company's history, and president and CEO Dan Hendrix credits the demand for modular carpet, both domestically and internationally, for helping to drive an 18.2 percent increase—to $1.1 billion in sales—in annual growth
To help keep its edge, LaGrange, Ga.-based InterfaceFlor developed IntelligentFlor, an RFID system designed to bring efficiencies and cost savings to commercial carpet maintenance. Carpet cleaning, it turns out, is a huge issue—for the customer and for InterfaceFlor, says Chung Hsien Zah, director of Interface's analytical labs. Sometimes customers return carpet tiles, complaining about defects in the material. When Interface analyzes the carpet tiles, it often finds that poor maintenance, which results in soil buildup from foot traffic, is the reason they've lost luster and color.
2008 RFID Journal Award Winner: Most Innovative Use of RFID
June 1, 2008—In the $14 billion carpet and rug industry, carpet tiles are the star of the show. For the past three years, carpet tiles have been growing faster than any other type of flooring. Last year, InterfaceFlor, the world's leading manufacturer of carpet tiles, said its fourth quarter was the best in the company's history, and president and CEO Dan Hendrix credits the demand for modular carpet, both domestically and internationally, for helping to drive an 18.2 percent increase—to $1.1 billion in sales—in annual growth
To help keep its edge, LaGrange, Ga.-based InterfaceFlor developed IntelligentFlor, an RFID system designed to bring efficiencies and cost savings to commercial carpet maintenance. Carpet cleaning, it turns out, is a huge issue—for the customer and for InterfaceFlor, says Chung Hsien Zah, director of Interface's analytical labs. Sometimes customers return carpet tiles, complaining about defects in the material. When Interface analyzes the carpet tiles, it often finds that poor maintenance, which results in soil buildup from foot traffic, is the reason they've lost luster and color.
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