When Foam Products’ underlayment facility in Erwin, Tenn., was ravaged by severe flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in 2024, the prognosis for a recovery of the business was bleak. Assistance from local and federal agencies was practically non-existent, and like many adjacent businesses located along the same industrial corridor, there was virtually nothing that could be salvaged from the destruction.
But as luck would have it, the company had purchased new equipment for the Calhoun facility prior to the hurricane which ultimately contributed to alleviating the burden of all of the business that it would need to shift from Erwin to Calhoun to continue servicing its customers. On top of that, the company had just completed an investment of $15 million in a completely different facility—this one across the state line in Trion, Ga.—around the same time that the Erwin plant was flooded out. Fast forward to today, the new plant is fully operational. “The facility in Trion is completely unique to everything else that we do in the company,” said Perry Muse, general manager and vice president of manufacturing.
Despite zero support from insurance following the total loss of the Erwin plant, Foam Products not only successfully launched the brand-new, $15 million IXPE production facility in Trion, but it officially became a 24-hour operation. “We initially made this massive investment to replace the need to import IXPE padding by making it right here in the middle of ‘Flooring USA,’” said Erik Arnold, president of Foam Products. “We’ve turned a near-catastrophic loss into a high-momentum turnaround. Although we are still bleeding from these events, the light is getting much brighter for the future of our business.”
While the accomplishment represents a huge win for Foam Products in particular and domestic manufacturing in general, it’s also a testament to the partners and vendors who stood by the company. “A big part of the reason we’re still here has to do with our vendors being very patient and understanding with us,” Arnold stated. “The disaster also tested the resolve of our employees.”
To say that Foam Products defied all the odds that were stacked against it would be an understatement. It was actually a series of events that compounded the impact of the devastating damage caused by the floods. As Muse recalled: “Prior to the hurricane hitting, our second-largest customer filed for bankruptcy. And then when the hurricane hit, it knocked out our No. 1 customer. We had some very specialized equipment in Erwin that you can’t just go out and buy. It’s all special made equipment for a product that we sell globally.”
In the meantime, Foam Products was counting on the receipt of funding from grants, but the approval process was taking much longer than expected. So, in the immediate aftermath, the company had to make some drastic decisions. “The first step was to ramp up production in our Calhoun facility, and we were able to do that so we could continue servicing customers,” Muse explained. “But we had to lay off a lot of people. We thought we were doing cost-cutting measures all along, but we had to do a new level of cost-cutting. At the same time, we began talking to all of our vendors, asking them for extended terms. We even had some competitors in the industry who became partners and stepped up and helped us with some special purchases of raw materials.”
That constant, open communication played a critical role in what was an extremely challenging transition period. “That’s been the key to us surviving—just being as transparent as we can,” Arnold stated. “Thank goodness we’ve been in business for nearly 50 years because we’ve developed a reputation for paying our bills. So just talking to everybody, sharing our story, telling them exactly what we’ve been through made all the difference.”
Turning the corner
As Foam Products worked to regain its footing, it began picking up new business from the state-of-the-art Trion facility. As demand increased it had a direct impact on production—and the bottom line. “Things just started hitting at the right time,” Muse said. “When the tariffs hit, all of a sudden people were calling us saying, ‘Hey, we need this material that you’re making.’ And because we bailed them out and bridged a gap for them, we created instant loyalty from a supplier-vendor standpoint—and that is still carrying through today. Now, rather than one facility paying for three, we now had one facility paying for two and one starting to pay for itself.”
All this has created an opportunity to restaff its operation after months of cost-cutting measures. Foam Products had to lay off 28 people after the hurricane hit. Now, according to Muse, the company not only expects it will replenish those jobs lost, but ultimately exceed that number. The challenge, though, is finding skilled manufacturing workers willing to come to rural North Georgia to work. But as Arnold noted, “It’s a good problem to have.”
Bottom line: Foam Products wants the industry to know it’s on the comeback trail, rebuilding its operations, investing in the business and developing innovative new products—some of which attendees at the upcoming Surfaces show will see firsthand.
“We want to communicate to the industry that with Foam Products they have a dependable supply chain,” Arnold stated. “We offer a product that’s traditionally imported but is now domestically made, cost-effective and doesn’t involve the drama of shipping or tariffs or Panama Canal droughts. In short, we feel blessed to have survived 2025 challenges and cannot wait to see what 2026 and beyond brings.”
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