Balta U.S., with US headquarters in Dalton GA, and manufacturing facilities in Belgium, considers itself the world's largest manufacturer of machine-made shag rugs.  "During the  past three years,  Balta has not only quadrupled production of shag rugs but the company has also invested in more state-of-the-art looms in order to keep up with the world wide demand," according to Mark Ford, director of product development.

"Balta's patterned shag rugs today are not the shag rugs seen in the 70's. Made from a complex premium B-tron olefin yarn,  the rugs are made to withstand heavy traffic and endless vacuuming."

Ford added that Balta currently has three patterned shag collections totalling over 110 designs. "Some think patterned shags represent the next generation of product for the shag category.  Balta feels its patterned shags have been successful because this product is the perfect mix of contemporary styling in an approachable, safe product, without being so high fashion that it excludes the average customer," said Ford.

Balta takes pride in not producing lower end rugs, according to Dimitri Verhoye, vice president of sales and marketing. "Balta decided a long time ago that we were going to create superior product and that quality would never be sacrificed.  We want to be known as the company that does not sacrifice the product in the short term, and we think our shag collections exemplify what Balta is about, "  Verhoye said.