Shaw Industries, a top carpet manufacturer and floorcovering provider, announced it has significantly increased its investment in Watershed Geosynthetics LLC (WatershedGeo).
 
According to Shaw, this increased equity stake ensures WatershedGeo is well capitalized to address the sizeable environmental and civil markets served by its current product portfolio and other innovations currently being developed. The additional investment will be used to build a highly talented sales and marketing team capable of driving growth, while increasing its commitment of being a leading technical industry resource and innovator of environmental and civil solutions.
 
In addition, Shaw says it brings tremendous resources to WatershedGeo through its extensive research and development experience and enhanced innovative manufacturing capabilities.
 
“WatershedGeo has demonstrated the ability to widen the moat with its innovative patented array of products servicing the environmental and civil engineering sectors of the market. This increased investment illustrates our commitment to driving the growth of this business and expanding Shaw’s reach to those sectors,” states Vance Bell, chairman and CEO of Shaw Industries.
 
Shaw originally took an equity stake in WatershedGeo in October 2011, when WatershedGeo’s stable of products included only ClosureTurf, its landfill final closure capping solution.
 
A significant part of WatershedGeo’s success is attributed to alliances with top-tier manufacturers such as Shaw Industries with its expertise in woven, nonwoven and tufted textiles, and Agru America, a worldwide leading manufacturer of geomembranes.
 
Over the last four years, WatershedGeo has expanded its product line with multiple U.S. and international patents and patent-pending products for soil erosion, water conservation, earth wall stabilization, including two recent patent issuances for HydroTurf Earth Revetment Systems and Landfill Gas Collection and Relief Valves.
 
“Shaw’s commitment to our business has been invaluable to us throughout our four-year relationship, and this investment serves to both validate their faith in our business and provide us the resources we need to add the necessary capital to directly drive sales growth and continued innovation of industry-changing solutions,” says Mike Ayers, president and CEO of WatershedGeo.