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| 1842 |
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James Lees of Yorkshire, England brought more than a vision
when he left his home for America in 1842. He was the son of an English textile family - Grandson of the man who had been
credited with the first carding machine. Having worked in textiles since the age of 10, he had 29 years of textile experience
when he arrived in America at age 39.
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| 1845 |
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Promptly, he set about becoming a citizen of the United States
and building the business of his life. Just three years after his arrival, he and Joseph Schifield formed a wool-yarn manufacturing
partnership - Schifield and Lees - and established themselves a few miles north of Philadelphia. The first plant was a small building
on Mill Creek and the equipment consisted of one mule spinning frame, three condenser cards and twelve "hands".
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| 1856 |
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Ten years later, another step was taken - the Daniel
Nippes Mill on the same stream was added. In 1859, James Lees became the sole owner of the expanding business under the
name James Lees and Company.
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| 1864 |
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As time pushed on, his two sons - Joseph and John - joined
James Lees in the business, and in 1864, the name "James Lees and Sons" took its place in the directory of manufacturers.
Obstacles were many. Fire swept the Mill Creek Plant to the ground. James Lees and Sons located a new plant at Bridgeport, PA
along the Schuyhill River at Swedes' Ford, where Washington crossed the Schuyhill on his way to nearby Valley Forge.
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| 1869 |
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The business grew quickly. The number 2 Mill was built
in 1869.... the number 3 Mill in 1874. Then came the 4th, 5th, 6th, and in 1907 the 7th mill. After the death of
James Lees in 1897, his two sons inherited their father's industry and vision, as well as the mills, and spinning
and weaving and growing went on......
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| 1916 |
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By 1916, the worsted plant was producing knitting
yarn and the famous Minerva Knitting Yarns began their climb to national importance. When Minerva - Lees introduced
ball yarn to the women of the USA, this pioneer packaging step gave knitters greater convenience and fluffier, less
tensely wound yarn. In later years, Columbia hand knitting yarns came into the Lees family.
Men were trained on looms setup in the old Post Office while the plant was under construction. It was a time when the Ford
V8 was the car of the future, and it was the Great Depression. Imagine - at a time when most industries sat with head in
hand - Lees decided to build.
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| 1941 |
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The Axminster Plant of 115,000 square feet, completed in
1941, called for another major training program - for Axminster weaving was altogether different from Wilton and Velvet weaving.
And so, from a handful of pioneer learners, the Glasgow payroll spread to 1,340 local people.
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| 1942 |
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Then came the war, and the Blueridge workers and management
turned from weaving carpets - to the weaving of cotton duck from the Armed Forces. These men and women made a proud record.
And note this - no Blueridge engineer, production man, weaver, or loom fixer had a day's experience in weaving duck! Yet the
looms were converted, the knowledge was acquired - women workers took the place of the 400 men who went to war. Seven days a
week - 24 hours a day - Lees looms sang the frenzied symphony of vital war work. The coveted Army and Navy "E" Award was
won... 4 stars were added. They diligently worked to transform the plant from a successful carpet mill into an exceedingly
efficient organization producing great quantities of cotton duck in an almost unbelievable short span of time.
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| 1947 |
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Construction was resumed after the war and in 1947,
a fully equipped spinning mill was added at Glasgow. Subsequent additions followed and today, Glasgow is a fully integrated
plant for filament yarn manufacturing, dyeing, tufting and finishing of carpets.
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| 1964 |
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The modular carpet system debuts for the first time in the industry, under the name Nylotile, a predecessor of Lees Modular.
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| 1967 |
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In 1960 - James Lees and Sons became part of Burlington Industries.
In 1967 - the name of the company became Lees Carpets.
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| 1971 |
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When you choose carpet incorporating the Unibond thermoplastic
backing system, you choose proven performance . Introduced in 1971 as the first high performance backing system, today Unibond
continues to set the standard for strength, durability, longevity, and sustainability.
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| 1977 |
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Lees offers 5-year non-prorated performance warranty on Unibond backed carpets.
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| 1982 |
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Lees offers 10-year non-prorated performance warranty on
Unibond backed carpets.
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| 1984 |
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Lees surpassed 100 million square yards installed of Unibond backed carpets.
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| 1987 |
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Lees offers Lifetime non-prorated performance warranty on Unibond backed carpets.
The first in the industry!
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| 1991 |
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The Duracolor technology was introduced and patented in 1991
to solve the single largest commercial carpet complaint - Staining. Duracolor offers permanent protection against staining and
color fade.
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| 1993 |
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Lees surpassed 200 million square yards installed of Unibond backed carpets.
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| 1995 |
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Lees receives
approval from Carpet & Rug Institute for Green Label on all products.
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| 1999 |
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Lees wins
several awards including: Best of NeoCon ADS Gold Broadloom, Celtic Collection
Gold in Modular, Espana Collection Silver in Broadloom, ADEX 1999 - Platinum
Award Bruncrana.
DUPONT® ANTRON® PRODUCT INNOVATION AND DESIGN AWARDS
Custom Carpet (ModaVation), for Zelo, Minneapolis
Grand Prize and Hospitality
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| 2000 |
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Lees surpassed 300 million square yards installed of Unibond backed carpets.
Lees wins several awards including:
ADEX 2000 Gold Award with Espana Collection by Clodagh.
BEST OF SHOW, NEOCON 2000 - Design Journal, Espana Collection.
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| 2001 |
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Unibond backing
system receives Business for the Bay Honorable Mention - Large Business
Pollution Prevention Award. Lees wins Best of Show NeoCon with Metafloor,
ADEX 2001 Award with Metafloor, Best of Show NeoCon 2001 ADEX with Neofloor.
DUPONT ANTRON® PRODUCT INNOVATION AND DESIGN AWARDS
Healthcare Category Winner, Hospitality Merit Winner - Large Office Merit Winner,
Retail Merit Winner. GOOD DESIGN AWARD - Chicago Athenaeum - MetaFloor and Art
for the 5th Wall. BUILDINGS INNOVATIONS - NeoFloor.
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| 2002 |
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Unibond RE. SCS Certified to contain at least 20% post-consumer recycled content by total product weight.
Lees wins Best of Neocon Gold Broadloom with Metafloor II.
DUPONT ANTRON® PRODUCT INNOVATION AND DESIGN AWARDS
Broadloom-Gold Award for Product
Modular- Gold Award for Product
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| 2003 |
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Lees Carpets become a division of Mohawk Industries. DUPONT ANTRON® PRODUCT INNOVATION AND DESIGN AWARDS Gold Award (Product Innovation) - Modular
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| 2004 |
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100% of Unibond and Unibond RE carpets are SCS certified to be Environmentally Preferable Products.
DUPONT ANTRON® PRODUCT INNOVATION AND DESIGN AWARDS Gold Award (Product Innovation) - Modular, Merit Winner - Healthcare, Merit Winner - Retail, Merit Winner - Sustainable Flooring Performance. DESIGN JOURNAL ADEX Platinum Award - Visio. BUILDINGS MAGAZINE CITATION OF EXCELLENCE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS - PermaLink
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