Rug Manufacturer & Importer Capel Appoints Eric Birnbach, President & CEO

Furniture World News

Capel Incorporated, manufacturer and importer of area rugs since 1917, announced that Eric Birnbach has joined the company as President and Chief Executive Officer of Capel, Incorporated; Capelsie Mills, Incorporated; and Capel Real Estate and Development Corporation. Birnbach will be based in Capel's corporate office in Troy and begin his duties the first week of October 2005. This is the first time since the company's inception in 1917 that a non-family member will lead the operation. A. Leon Capel, Jr., Jesse S. Capel, and Arron W. E. Capel will retire as executive officers effective October 1, but the brothers will remain as directors of the Capel corporations. In a statement from the three executive officers, it was said that Capel conducted extensive national research and the brothers "are confident that, with his 26 years of experience in the home furnishing industry, Eric brings outstanding management competence and impeccable leadership skills to Capel." Their statement concluded with "he is the right person to lead the future growth of the company." Birnbach said "I am delighted to become a part of Capel's rich history. The Capel family has built a wonderfully successful company with a superb reputation." Over the past two decades, Birnbach has served in numerous leadership capacities with companies in the upholstery, textile, and top of the bed areas of the home furnishings industry. Birnbach and his family will relocate to the Troy area from New Jersey. Capel Incorporated is America's oldest and largest privately-owned area rug manufacturer and importer. It produces original Capel braids in company mills in North Carolina and imports a large and diverse selection of handcrafted and machine woven area rugs from around the world. Capel rugs are sold through leading retailers nationwide and nine permanent showrooms in cities including Atlanta, High Point, Las Vegas and New York. More information about Capel is available through www.capelrugs.com.