Article Number : 4273 |
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| Date | 3/10/2009 9:41:35 AM |
| Written By | LGM & Associates Technical Flooring Services |
| View this article at: | //floorbiz.com/BizResources/NPViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=4273 |
| Abstract | By Louis Iannaco Always on the cutting edge of technology and state-of-the-art innovations, ceramic tile producers once again showcased their wares during Surfaces ’09. And while the economic climate may be cloudy at the moment, ceramic and porcelain manufacturers were not shy about what they had to offer... |
| Article | By Louis Iannaco Always on the cutting edge of technology and state-of-the-art innovations, ceramic tile producers once again showcased their wares during Surfaces ’09. And while the economic climate may be cloudy at the moment, ceramic and porcelain manufacturers were not shy about what they had to offer in products, initiatives and programs. Avaíre Relatively new to the industry, Avaíre specializes in an interlocking, floating porcelain tile, which features its patent-pending SnapSys Interloc technology. “We’re determined to provide the most user-friendly, highest quality and best-performing flooring products,” said Jonathan McIntosh, president/CEO, “and we’re committed to sharing these benefits with the world. “Surfaces was a phenomenal show for us,” he explained. “The response was exceptional.” Part of the positive response received by Avaíre, MacIntosh admitted, stems from the uniqueness of the company’s product. “There was nothing else like it at the show. I’m not sure if the other exhibitors received that type of response, but for us it was phenomenal.” And what makes Avaíre’s product so unique? Well, where others have failed in the past, the company seems to have perfected the technology needed to create a true porcelain tile, floating floor. The tile is permanently attached to a non-skid, sound-deadening grid and installs directly over solid, flat subfloors such as vinyl, wood and concrete. No thinset or cement board is needed, MacIntosh said. “Avaíre is a [true] floating floor,” he explained. “A rubberized grid absorbs minor imperfections in the subfloor and the tiles easily click into place. Anybody can do it. And broken tiles are easily replaced.” For more information, call 888.528.2473. Crossville According to Laurie Lyza, director of marketing, the porcelain producer “is really strong coming in to 2009.” The reasons? “We ended 2008 fairly strong. A lot of that was because of smart decisions we’ve made all along. The time to prepare for a recession is when you’re not in one, and our ownership has done that really well by making smart decisions and good investments.” One of the catalysts that has always made Crossville stand out has been its products, and this year is no different. A new line called Ultimetal, which will be officially introduced into the marketplace during the second quarter, was showcased in the Crossville booth. “Metal tiles are not going away,” she said. “They are still very popular. What we were finding was, most metal tiles in the marketplace would either scratch or etch. It wasn’t something we felt we could put the Crossville name on. So we said we needed to create the ultimate metal that has the durability, won’t scratch, stain or etch.” Ultimetal will retail for $6 to $10 per square foot. Other introductions at the show for Crossville included the Bella Via collection and Modern Mythology field tile. Bella Via natural stone is recommended for floors and interior and exterior walls. It features a honed finish and choice of nine natural hues including champagne, ivory, golden beach, seashell, gascone beige, napolina, seagrass, as well as walnut and nova blue. Bella Via comprises sheet-mounted 1 x 1 mosaics and 2 x 2 hexagons, plus 12 x 12 and 18 x 18 stone field tiles. In addition, the collection’s designer, Barbara Schirmeister, created a Versailles pattern (available in ivory and walnut) which consists of multiples of the following stone field tiles: 8 x 8, 8 x 16, 16 x 16 and 16 x 24. Trim pieces include a 5/8 x 12 pencil liner and a 2 x 12 chair rail. Offering a spectrum of natural stones from travertine to slate and black and white marble, Modern Mythology provides a tapestry of colors, shapes and textures, and is Schirmeister’s inaugural natural stone line for Crossville. “Adding stone field tile to the collection,” she said, “offers specifiers and homeowners great flexibility in creating unique modern and classic spaces.” The line comes in 12 x 12 and 18 x 18 sizes. For more information, call 800.221.9093. Dal-Tile Offering a porcelain tile with a slight metallic glaze, Dal-Tile used Surfaces to introduce its newest line, Metal Effects. “We’re really excited about this collection,” said Lori Kirk-Rolley, marketing director. “There is a lot of depth and dimension to the pattern, and yet when you look at it from different angles, you may not see the metallic.” There are four colors in the collection: bronze, titanium and two different shades of copper. Regarding the sizes for Metal Effects, Kirk-Rolley said Dal-Tile went really big and really skinny. Sizes available include 20 x 20, 13 x 20, 13 x 3, 61/2 x 20 and 13 x 13, as well as a 1 x 2 mesh-mounted mosaic brick straight joint pattern. The collection is suitable for floors, walls, backsplashes and countertops in residential and commercial settings. “It’s a good sized package that visually plays off the subtle metal influence and has those linear sizes which is a trend that is only gaining more traction.” Another new entry for Dal-Tile was Athena Mosaics, a clean, sophisticated glazed porcelain mosaic tile that features a rainbow of colors. The mesh-mounted ½- inch mosaics feature slightly cushioned edges and come in a total of 33 satin-finish colors. In addition to its plentiful color palette, Athena also features eight color blends (Match Point, Toasted Almond, Nautical Breeze, Autumn Harvest, Iron Gate Pacific Mist, Cactus Hill and Coral Soiree), which randomly mix as many as four complementary colors onto a 12-inch mesh-mounted sheet. Yet another new product for Dal-Tile, part of its Exterior collection, is Paredon, which comes pre-packaged in the sizes that create the pattern. Three boxes are needed to make the complete pattern. “It’s really neat,” she said. “As an installer, we are showing you, on the packaging, exactly what you need to do. Paredon is perfectly suitable for inside, so if the homeowner wanted to put it inside and then carry that theme through to the outside decking, this is a perfect option.” For more, call 214.309.4100. Florim Jana Gatlin, area manager for Florim USA, said the company made a lot of new contacts and prospects during Surfaces and, accordingly, “We feel it was a very productive show. It’s going to work out well for us. The attendance was lower, of course, but the people we saw are the ones who will provide good business opportunities for us.” As for what the company had to offer, Gatlin echoed a familiar sentiment. “Everybody has been looking for the green products with the high recycled content, and that’s what we highlighted this year at Surfaces. Everything we displayed was really popular with the folks who came into the booth. People liked the solid colors in our Urban Landscape line. And we also displayed more earth-colored tones. Everybody was really excited about the new displays we have as well, our new prototypes.” As for 2008, Gatlin said Florim did better than anticipated, “and we’re hoping 2009 will be even more profitable for us. We actually made [new] business in 2008, so we are just expecting it to get better and better.” For more information, call 877.356.7461. Mannington Among the major stories for the company at Surfaces this year, almost as much as its products, was where it was showing them. Having moved off the showroom floor into a nearby ballroom, Mannington was still, well, having a ball. “Traffic was actually very good,” said Jay Carpenter, national sales manager. “We all missed the Mannington display and our customers always look forward to coming by and seeing it. “We were able to bring out all our displays. Dealers sometimes have certain displays but you never really see the rest of them, except in a picture. So this really helped us get many dealers into a new product category.” Betsy Amoroso, Mannington’s director of corporate communications, said of the mill’s ballroom location: “It really became a destination. And one of the unanticipated benefits was that it became this very social gathering place. So, even though people came in and had an opportunity to buy things, they also got the added benefit of being in a place where they got to develop their relationships a little deeper.” Mannington, according to Carpenter, enjoyed a very good year with its tile business in 2008, and was, in fact, “approximately 8% up over 2007. Although it was a transition year for us, as we did drop several products, everything new we brought out was more appropriate for today’s market so we recovered everything we lost.” As far as new products for 2009, Antiquity was a big hit at the show. Featuring the look of reclaimed, antique tile, Antiquity comes in Weathered Stone/Parchment, Patina and Iron Gate. Mannington, which will now feature all porcelain products in its ceramic tile lineup, plans to launch six series in 2009 and will also be updating its accents. For more information, call 856.935.3000. |