CALHOUN, GA - Flooring giant Mohawk Industries, Inc. (NYSE: MHK) said today it would purchase chip board and melamine panel manufacturer Spano Invest NV, based in Belgium, for $168 million in cash.

Spano's 2012 revenues were €180 million ($231 million). Mohawk said the buy would close the second half of the years, and it expects an earnings gain in 2013 from the acquisition.

Spano-produced chip board and melamine board are used to produce furniture and building products mostly for the Belgian market. Spano introduced the first continuous press operations for chipboard manufacture in 1977, significantly increasing its capacity.

In addition to panel production, Spano operates facilities in Belgium and has an electricity plant joint venture that converts waste wood into green energy.

Mohawk, which also produced carpeting and tile, just last week closed on the acquisition of plywood manufacturer Sweden's Pergo, including its Garner, NC-based U.S. business, from Germany's Pfleiderer for $150 million in cash.  Mohawk acquired another Belgian panel producer -  Unilin - in 2005.

Mohawk CEO Jeffrey Lorberbaum, said the combination of Unilin and Spano will create significant synergies

"Spano expands not only our customer base with a focus on different channels of distribution, but also our knowledge and technical expertise, which we can leverage," Lorberbaum said.