NTCA held workshops at two different Morena Tile distributor locations in Southern California this past April. More than 50 contractors attended each workshop, both of which featured technical presentations by NTCA director of training and education, Justin Woelfel, Jr.
The Morena workshops focused on technical and business topics, namely protecting the business financially and marketing. “As the owner of the company, the information provided will help me maintain a higher profit margin, while protecting me against warranty claims,” said Jeff Young, owner of Tile Concepts. Young attended the Palm Desert workshop.
“Justin Woelfel Jr. did a great job with his presentation,” said Rick Gray, president of Morena Tile. “His knowledge and expertise was very apparent judging by the comments, which were made by the contractors in attendance.”
Dan Schumacher, owner of Dan the Tile Man attended the workshop at the San Juan location. He was “Impressed with the NTCA’s commitment to inform, educate, and support tile contractors.”
This type of technical training and support goes a long way toward benefiting the tile industry as a whole, and is irreplaceable for tile setters who are just starting out, as well as those with decades of experience, Gray said. “Education is one of the most important aspects to the future of the tile and stone industry,” he added. “It’s very reassuring to see that people from every sector of our industry feel the same way.”
The manufacturer community also supported the events. Companies involved included Hardibacker/James Hardie Building Products, Pearl Abrasive, AquaMix, DeWalt, Barranca Diamond Products, Nu Heat, Stone Tech, and Custom Building Products.
Morena Tile is an up-and-coming wholesale tile distributor. It purchased the 8,000 square foot Palm Desert showroom and two-acre slab yard and the 3,500 square foot San Juan site in July 2002. Plans are to expand to seven locations in five years, Gray said.
The company is aggressive with its marketing and advertising efforts
as well as ongoing education to all facets of the trade. The company caters especially to contractors, offering large tool rooms and a wide selection of mid-high end stone and custom ceramic tile.
“Our service is geared towards supporting the trade – contractors, fabricators, designers, and builders on how they can best service their clients,” Gray said. Morena Tile is a member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), the Building Industry Association (BIA) of Southern California and the Desert Contractors Association (DCA). It held a well-attended workshop last year with NTCA and offers quarterly workshops in partnership with manufacturers. Recently, Morena Tile sponsored a large event for over 125 ASID architects and specifiers.
Gray sees education and industry cooperation as key measures to advance the tile industry. “NTCA is really informed and training is critical to anyone related to the tile business: builder, contractor, even the homeowner,” he said. “There is not enough education being done, so it’s great to see NTCA in front of the field. We are not as ‘on it’ as carpet and solid surface industries are, with all these groups and associations out there. Instead, we are so fragmented and everyone is worried about themselves vs. the industry and long term growth.”
For more information on Morena Tile, visit www.morenatilesanjuan.com on the Web.
