Hicksville, N.Y.—As more and more retailers continue to add ceramic tile to their product mix, an increasing number of overseas tile manufacturers are coming to America to display their wares. And at what better show to strut your stuff than at the Superbowl of flooring shows, Surfaces, where the products are the stars and thousands of eager dealers pack the house every day?

Those visiting Las Vegas over the last few years for the country’s largest flooring show, have un-doubtedly noticed a growing selection of ceramic tile, stone and marble available for the buying. With consumers going for a more natural look inside the home, it only makes sense for dealers to provide them with what they want from the finest European manufacturers.

 During Surfaces—scheduled from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center—those visiting the Pavilion of Spain, which is making its third appearance at the show, will get to see a total of 21 Spanishbased tile manufacturers along with a couple others showing outside the pavilion. “The exhibitors from Spain will show a wide range of products representing the latest trends from Europe in ceramic tile,” said Inma Roca, spokeswoman for Tile of Spain. Italy will also be well represented at the market with approximately 30 companies displaying the best the country has to offer. There will be a “healthy contingent of manufacturers at Surfaces” said Christine Abbate, spokeswoman for Ceramic Tiles of Italy. “Look for factories like Fratelli Poggi, Natia Italia and Atlas Concorde to make a big splash at Surfaces.”

According to Abbate, the design news this year has been texture. “Ceramic tile introductions have rich surfaces and innovative formats which include circular shapes, rectangular mosaics and square cut-outs. Metals of every kind are shown as trims and accents.” Porcelain also continues to be a hot trend in ceramic tile, noted Roca. This very popular category continues “to reach new heights in design excellence” and will be well represented at Surfaces. Spanish-based Roca’s Leo Collection incorporates one of the latest developments in all-through-body porcelain technology by mixing special glazes and powders at the press to create colors and patterns. The collection includes travertine patterns with rectified edges; white and black aged marbles; smooth slate surfaces; rough, tumbled stones, and handmade tile looks such as terra cotta. Tau adds to its porcelain offerings with Baltimore, a glazed porcelain rustic stone with slightly irregular borders. Available in a matte finish with soft indentations and reliefs in tone-on-tone colorations, it also comes in a bullnose to connect floor and wall surfaces. Roca also noted, Surfaces attendees can look for new glazed porcelain lines such as Porcelanatto’s Creta; large format glazed porcelain in Azuvi’s Ducal; Alaplana’s Tanami, a stone-look series, and Azteca’s Meseta series which is designed to coordinate its field tile with mosaic borders and inserts.

With its new North American headquarters based in Ontario, Canada, Novalis will introduce a polymer and stone collection, Creststone, at Surfaces. Designed exclusively for special ty floor covering retailers, Creststone offers a consumer friendly display and a collection of natural designs in an 18X18-in. format. “Our factory’s mission is to develop a natural-textured, fashion-driven floor, which comes from our European experience,” said Chee Chin Wu, managing director. “We know from Europe that consumers appreciate textured, variable gloss surfaces that bring nature into the home together with practical and simple maintenance.”

U-S-A, U-S-A! While Italy, Spain and other European entries will be on hand at Surfaces, there will be no shortage of American companies at the show as well. “The United States is the 10th largest producer of ceramic tile in the world,” said Bob Daniels, executive director of the Tile Council of America (TCA). “It is the largest importer on a yearly square footage basis and is the fourth largest consumer of ceramic tile on an absolute basis.” As more and more domestic ceramic tile producers continue to pop up, established companies like Crossville and others manufacture more innovative products and carpet giants like Mohawk Industries and Shaw Industries get involved in providing their own ceramic tile lines, the race for the dealers’ attention at Surfaces should make for quite an interesting show.

Crossville hopes its new Milestone Mosaics will be a big hit in Las Vegas. In what it considers a “milestone” in mosaic tile production technology, Crossville is offering Milestone Mosaics, “the first thru-body porcelain stone-look mosaics ever produced.” The tiles are 3X3-in. and feature a subtle, multi-colored slate finish that makes them suitable for both interior and exterior applications. “The technologically advanced decorating techniques Crossville has employed in the development of Milestone Mosaics ensure that the colored porcelain surface won’t wear out,” said Crossville’s Jim Dougherty. “The procedure lets the body of the tile show through, allowing it to become part of the overall design and making every tile unique.”

As the consumer’s appetite for ceramic and porcelain tile continues to escalate, Shaw’s Hard Surface division is addressing the increasing demand with a variety of new introductions to be featured at Surfaces 2002. “Each new product in the Shaw ceramic collection features realistic natural stone texture and color characteristics which will set them apart from other marketplace alternatives,” said David Wilkerson, vice president of marketing for Shaw’s hard surfaces division. The product selection includes a variety of popular stone looks including tumbled marble, slate, Jerusalem Stone and a cross-cut travertine. Full size samples will be featured on display boards, which also include high resolution room scene photography, grout color suggestions, product specifications and helpful installa tion guidelines. Some of Shaw’s products that will be at Surfaces includes Sparta, which features natural colors and intricate textures combined to create a rustic slate visual; Verona, a versatile floor and wall combination featuring the look of honed travertine in three natural colorations, and Enigma, which is designed to capture the elegance of aged marble in a durable porcelain. —Louis Iannaco