DALTON, GA - Flooring producer Shaw Industries, a Berkshire Hathaway unit that makes carpets, laminate and hardwood flooring, will close a Dalton, GA carpeting plant, laying off 270. 

The Georgia Dept. of Labor also lists a Chatsworth, GA yarn plant closure for Shaw affecting 302 employees in March 2011. The Chattanooga Times Free Press which reported the Dalton closure also says Shaw Industries layed off employees at its hardwood flooring plant in Ringgold, GA. In 2009, the Ringgold plant was given tax incentives as Shaw consolidated wood flooring manufacturing there from its Algoma WA laminate plant.

Shaw Industries Group became a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. in 2001. Shaw says it is the world's largest carpet manufacturer, and a leading floorcovering provider with more than $4 billion in annual sales and  25,000 employees worldwide.

Shaw wood products are offered under its Home Foundations line sold through home builders, and in its Envirocore and premium Hardwood Core flooring.

Shaw markets its sustainability initiatives, which include flooring recycling, under the Shaw Green Edge brand. Wood waste created in its flooring manufacturing process is used to create the EnviroCore section of its engineered hardwood products. EnviroCore has distinct advantages over plywood core alternatives, says Shaw, such as better structural integrity, impact resistance and moisture tolerance.