Aquafil Finishes Solar Panels

Following its building at 101 Friction Drive, Aquafil USA has completed the installation of one of Georgia’s largest solar photovoltaic systems.

“Investing in solar technology is not only in line with our corporate promise of sustainable practices, but it also makes economic sense by lowering our energy costs,” General Manager Franco Rossi said in a press release.

Dedicated to sustainability, it says, Aquafil, the leading global manufacturer of Nylon 6, has developed a system to produce the fiber from 100-percent recycled materials. The company says its new technology will prevent landfill waste from the 4 million tons of products made from Nylon 6 each year, conserve natural resources, such as oil, and reduce emissions.

At its Cartersville headquarters, Aquafil went green with the largest system of its kind in Georgia to convert sunlight to electricity. Solar panels are expected to reduce the facility's carbon footprint and save water.

One of Bartow County's 10 largest manufacturing employers in 2011, recently leased a 224,700-square-foot building in Cartersville once used to make automotive brake components, according to a real estate release on CityBizList Atlanta. The carpet fibers and manufacturing plastics supplier will use the building to make and distribute yarns and plastics.

Aquafil employs about 166 workers in Cartersville in its distribution and sales centers, national headquarters and manufacturing operations. The company is No. 7 among the county's biggest manufacturers in terms of employment, following the likes of Shaw Industries, Toyo Tires and .

The North American operations and sales arm of Italy's Aquafil S.p.A., a European market leader in carpet fibers, Aquafil USA was established in 1999, marking the second stage of the brand's internationalization. It is headquartered in Cartersville and produces nylon yarns for carpet manufacturing and plastic compounds for a variety of specialty applications.

One of 33 international business facilities in Bartow—which together employ a total of about 2,400 people with 23 manufacturing plants providing jobs for more than 2,200—Aquafil is one of the 24 located in Cartersville.

It also is one of several businesses to take advantage of the city's aimed at providing companies with incentives to grow in certain industrial areas. Industries locating and hiring two or more full-time employees in what officials have dubbed the Northwest Industrial and the South Industrial zones get a $3,500 state job tax credit for each new position filled.

Tintoria Piana U.S.—which dyes and treats fibers for textiles used in the production of apparel and furniture—and Aquafil USA are the only two Italian companies with operations in Cartersville, but other international businesses here represent European, South American and Asian countries, along with Iceland and Canada.