New Braided Rug Manufacturer Formed in Rhode Island

Tag : Polypropylene Rug
  International Textile Manufacturing has beenformed here as a braided rug and home textiles resource. Principalsin the new company are former executives of Homemaker and RhodyRugs.
"The company was formed to fill the void in braided rug resourcesafter Homemaker ceased operations," according to Ed Pires,executive vice president of sales and product development.
Officers of the new company include: Ron Agrella- president Joshua Miller- chief financial officer Ed Pires- executive vice president of sales and product development Nicole Ryan- director of operations Tom Carlos- production and distribution manager
Ron Agrella is also owner of Rhody Rug, a domestic manufacturer ofbraided rugs. Josh Miller is a former owner of Rhody and currentowner of Textile Specialties, a yarn sales company.
Nicole Ryan, Tom Carlos and Ed Pires are former Homemakerexecutives.
International Textile Manufacturing has established a manufacturing facility and distribution center in Cumberland, RI.In addition, ITM has entered into a partnership with an Indianmanufacturer. ITM was completely responsible for the design of theIndian facility, the purchase and installation of the machinery,the training of the employees and the implementation of productionand QC procedures at the plant in India. "The result is a state ofthe art facility, with the most advanced braiding and sewingmachinery available today. The facility also includes asophisticated dye house which processes all of our natural fiberyarns," said Pires.
ITM utilizes the Indian facility to produce both synthetic fiber rugsand the growing natural fiber category, Pires said. "Between thetwo facilites, we can literally make anything that is currentlyavailable in the market, all at the highest quality level and atvery competitive pricing," he said..

" ITM can manufacture and distribute product in a variety of ways.We have the ability to do direct imports to the retailer fromIndia, as well as taking the product in to our U.S. distributioncenter for shipments to retailers. We can also drop ship directlyto the consumer, which works well for catalog and onlineretailers," he explained.

Current ITM lines made in India include polypropylene,polypropylene chenille, cotton, cotton chenille, wool, jute andbamboo.
" In the US, where we also have state of the art manufacturing, weproduce rugs made from fibers that are not readily available inIndia, such as space dyed nylon. "

ITM is now working with Kea Capel to design four new lines for introduction in the Fall,according to Pires. The lines include a wool tape braid, woolrectangles , an indoor/outdoor braid line and a woven fabric spacedyed braid.
"All of these new products will be ready for the Fall Home Textilesmarket in New York," said Pires. During the home textiles market,Sept. 15 to 19. ITM will be showing at a suite in the Carlton Hotel, near the 295 5th Ave. Textile Building.
" We are considering permanent space in both New York and Las Vegasin the future as our growth continues. Thus far , our products havebeen well received and we currently have placement at a number ofretailers and catalogs, including JC Penney and Seventh Avenue,among others.

ITM is also targeting major mass market retailers such as TJ Maxx,specialty catalogs such as LL Bean and Internet retailers such asRugs USA and Rugs Direct.
I TM pricing is oriented to the value and mid-price tiers. Openingprice point on polypropylene, jute and cotton braids are in the $79to $99 range for 5x8.
W ools and cotton chenille braids with retails in the $149 to $199range. The recyclable polyester rugs will be in the $199 range.Higher end rugs, such as woven cotton fabric braids, will retail in the $249 to $299 range.