Hicksville, N.Y.—Along with the growing popularity of ceramic tile among many in the flooring marketplace, has come a breadth of new technology, innovations and product designs to make most dyed in the wool carpet salesman think again about taking this exciting segment on. While many are familiar with the growth of porcelain, the increase in natural stone looks and darker colors, as well as more larger format tiles becoming available, what follows is a look at some other innovations in the tile industry including new installation systems and trends as well. Quick Stone USA is a new product which takes the idea of a floating floor system to another level—a stone one. Introduced at the recent Surfaces and Coverings shows, Quick Stone uses a floating floor system that can be in-stalled on both horizontal and vertical surfaces. It features an interlocking method made of an injected molded synthetic carrying frame.

A main selling point of the system is the use of grout—there isn’t any. “The spaces between the stone, normally filled in with grout, are filled with a water-tight plastic gasket that comes in a variety of colors,” said Mike Lathrop, co-owner of Mika International, the import company that is bringing Quick Stone to the American market. “The gasket is color-dyed and is stain and scratch resistant.” And no grout means less time with installation which translates into, what Lathrop hopes, will be more profits for retailers, contractors and installers. “This new floor simplifies the installation process of stone and can reduce installation time by as much as 70%. “Quick Stone consists of premium natural stone from around the world that comes with the patented interlocking system fixed to the bottom side of the stone,” he continued. “The product arrives ready to install out of the box. “Installers and contractors we have talked to so far realize there is a potential for time savings for them,” he added. “A two- or three-day job can now be done in two or three hours, leaving plenty of time for other jobs.“Quick Stone is going to revolutionize the stone and ceramic flooring industry similar to the way Pergo revolutionized the laminate flooring industry,” proclaimed Lathrop. “I have been in the stone industry for 18 years and this is the most impressive innovation I have ever seen.” Medallions,

Too Another impressive innovation to hit the stone market recently is a product called TrimStone by Miami-based, Stone-works of Art, a company which specializes in waterjet cut natural stone products. “TrimStone is a new product category in the world of interior design,” said Jo-Ann Zanzuri, the company’s vice president. TrimStone consists of stone medallions made from slab, sliced thinly and mounted on lightweight aluminum honeycomb backing to fit in any type of flooring. Stoneworks of Art has developed its patented manufacturing process for making TrimStone during the past year, and is now building a nationwide network of distributors through a mutually beneficial partnership program. “Just 3/8-in. thick, our TrimStone products have combined the natural beauty of stone with leading-edge technology,” she said. “Consumers appreciate having a thin medallion without all the joints of traditional tile medallions. Installation, crating and shipping costs are much less, putting our medallions in reach of a much larger residential and commercial marketplace. “Installers find TrimStone easier to handle and more durable—it won’t break if dropped,” explained Zanzuri. “Mechanics don’t have to compensate for the 3/4-in. thickness of regular medallions by digging down or floating the surrounding floor up when setting a medallion in a 3/8-in. flooring material.”

Laser engraved markable ceramic tile, while still only a niche market item, continues to gain in popularity. 3Score is a company which employs the use of advanced technology in the creation of its product, LaserTile. “Any CO2 laser can produce highly detailed, solid black engravings on these specially made tiles,” said Galen Weaver, director of marketing for 3Score. Before LaserTile, permanently marking ceramic tile has been out of the question, he noted. The uniqueness of LaserTile is the durability of the marking, which is actually subsurface, and in the glaze. “This process makes the marking as durable as the glaze,” he said. “Laser engraved tile can be used for signage, custom accent tiles, beautiful wall murals and many other applications. The durable floor grade tile is available in six standard colors and four standard sizes and has a specially formulated glaze that reacts with the laser beam.

“The LaserTile series is the ideal commercial grade ceramic tile suitable for interior floors, interior walls and most exterior walls in freezing temperatures when proper installation methods are followed,” he explained. While at Surfaces 2003, Weaver was blown away at the response LaserTile received. “The interest from dealers to our product has been overwhelming. The interior designers really seem to love it, too. It allows additional customization to what they could normally do. The ability to take any image from a computer and superimpose it on a tile to create a permanent floor or wall accent has been exciting for people. They see a lot of potential for the process.”

While not a new innovation, leather tile from companies such as Edelman Leather is another tile type which offers a very dramatic and different look. The 50-year-old, family-owned company has been making leather floor tiles for 20 years now, and sells to designers and architects from around the world. Made from the thickest part of the cowhide, Edelman’s tiles go through quite a process before being shipped. “The leather is vegetable-tanned in a solution drawn from the bark of mimosa, chestnut and quebracho trees,” said Terry Edelman, the company’s co-founder. “This age-old procedure results in a shiny, resilient leather suitably rigid for tile.” High-quality analine dyes thoroughly penetrate the leather while additional dyes may be hand-rubbed or sprayed on. Finishers then use embossing, engraving or other handwork to create the diverse upholstery patterns for which Edelman is known, such as crocodile prints, lizards and tapestries. Edelman believes the more people learn about using leather for interiors, the more they’ll choose it. “Leather is classic, so it works well in modern and traditional settings. It softens sound, creates a warm atmosphere and feels great underfoot. And, the older it gets, the better it looks.” —Louis Iannaco