Mohawk Industries closes its Waynesboro carpet backing plant today, leaving an uncertain future for one of the city’s largest manufacturing sites.

The world’s leading flooring producer, Calhoun, Ga.-based Mohawk came to Waynesboro in 2005, occupying the former Wayn-Tex facility that first opened under another name in 1950. That year, Wayn-Tex equipment was perhaps the first of its kind in the country, symbolizing the beginning of a new era of carpet production, industry experts said.

The plant at 901 S. Delphine Ave. long has been one of the area’s leading employers, but rounds of layoffs hit this year as the continued slump in the housing market made for dwindling demand for carpet.

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