Mills, Inc. (CMI).
Company: Colonial Mills Inc.
Owner: Donald M. Scarlata
Location: 560 Mineral Spring Ave.
Year founded: 1977
Type of business: Manufacturer of textured and braided rugs
Number of employees: 100
Annual revenues: $7.5 million
When Donald Scarlata, owner of Colonial Mills Inc. decided he wanted to be his own boss, he did what any good potential business owner would do – he shopped around for the right opportunity.
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And when he and his former partner came upon the Colonial Braiding Company, a small woven rug manufacturer – they decided to buy it.
“I bought it because it was for sale,” Scarlata said. “I knew nothing about manufacturing or rugs. I was an accountant by trade.”
But what Scarlata lacked in knowledge he found in tradition, as he soon learned his company was manufacturing what many historians consider the oldest American product.
“This is a truly American concept,” Scarlata said. “It started with the Pilgrims. They would tear old clothing and braid it to cover the floor of their huts. It wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that the product became machine made.”
According to Scarlata, the name of the company itself even reflects the product’s history.
“Colonial,” he said, “obviously refers to the time period that these rugs originated,”
Having a product so rich in history and tradition may be important, Scarlata said, but it’s also the company’s biggest challenge.
“Most people think of the braided rug as a simple oval pattern that they can get in different colors,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be that way. Our biggest challenge is that people have this mindset and can’t think of it in any other terms.”
To help their customers broaden their understanding of his industry, Scarlata has made a few changes at the company, beginning with its name.
“Today, we are referring to the company as CMI,” he said. “Colonial is still in there but it’s hidden. We recently updated our name and logo because we think it fits more with our image. “
In addition, he has begun to think outside of the traditional oval shape. In fact, the man who knew nothing about braided rugs before he bought the company in 1977, is now its chief designer and his newest rug collections include different shapes, sizes and colors. They also come from various fabrics, wool, cotton, synthetic and assorted blends.
“In today’s market you have to think color and design,” he said. “I don’t think of us as part of the rug business, I think of us as a home-furnishings business. If these carpets don’t have color and fashion they won’t sell.”
The changes he’s made both old and new, have resulted in huge growth for the company and the attraction of brand-name clients such as Ethan Allen, Laura Ashley, and JC Penny.
“This company started with only five employees, and only 5,000 square feet,” Scarlata said. “Today we have 75,000 square feet, employ 100 people, and control approximately 30 percent of the nation-wide marketplace.”
And while he is unsure when his company has done the most growing, Scarlata said in the last year it added more than $1 million in new business.
“The percentage of growth was high in the beginning, but the dollar growth is higher now.”
What has helped the company’s growth Scarlata said, is the consumer’s increased interest in hardwood floors.
“As the increase in hardware wood floors has grown, so too has the area rug business,” he said. “I think people like this idea because it’s easier to change an area rug than traditional wall to wall carpeting.”
According to Scarlata, the company’s rugs are made using three basic types of braids: the flat braid, created using the original technique of intertwining three ropes to form of single braid; a cable braid, in which strains of yarn are interwoven to form a hollow rope which is stuffed with bulk filler and stitched to the desired shape; and the corded braid, which is created by stitching rather than intertwining, single ropes of fabric into the desired shape.
Ironically, selecting a braid is only a small part of creating a rug. Colors, shape, design, fabrics or yarn, size and a finishing edge are all involved in making just one rug.
“We have looked at braided construction not as a style,” Scarlata said. “We look at from the point of view of what can we create. We aren’t a mass producer; we make a unique type of thing, and do a lot of custom work.”
And while advances in technology may have resulted in drastic changes in other industries, Scarlata said much of his factory has stayed the same, with large metal spools winding thread to the right consistency. Once wound, the thread is brought to another station, which spans almost the length of the factory, that mechanically braids the strands. Finally, the braids are placed on air tables, which make it easier for the company’s sewers to create the oval or square shapes.
“Today’s braiding equipment resembles what we had thirty years ago,” Scarlata said. “Because we are a niche we haven’t had a lot changes in technology.”
As for continuing what could be considered one of America’s oldest traditions, Scarlata said he is willing to do it, as long as he can add his own personal style.
“Our rugs may be braided in construction, but our designs are a continual process,” he said.
