With an eye on merging their respective sales, customer service and logistics operations in the Midwest, Tarkett and Kraus Carpet Mills have begun a joint venture. The new carpet and fiber manufacturing company, Kraus, will be headquartered in Chicago and will serve customers in the U.S. Midwest market.

“We are confident that this new association with Kraus Carpet Mills will build an efficient distribution platform to cover these key markets,” said Guillaume Laverdure, North American president for Tarkett residential.

The new venture will integrate McKee Floor Covering, a Tarkett subsidiary and distributor of wholesale flooring products based in Minneapolis, with Kraus Royal Scot’s infrastructure in Chicago for Midwest sales and service.

“Kraus has distributed Tarkett product lines in the U.S. Northeast and Southeast for years,” commented Kraus’s CEO, Gary Witt. “But this Midwest partnership goes beyond the traditional manufacturer-distributor business model.”