COVER STORY:
LATICRETE innovation makes a permanent reservation at Jade Mountain in St. Lucia
By Eric Carson

In the early 1970s, Nick Troubetzkoy, a young architect from British Columbia, was asked to design a vacation villa on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

He never came back.

Instead, he landed in Soufriere, an island village in the shadows of the Piton mountains... Read More

Small tile contractor?
This column’s for you!
By John C. Cox
first vice president, NTCA

This is an ongoing series focusing on business issues from the perspective of a first generation tile contractor. I think I am in a unique position to help a lot of contractors because I offer the perspective of a small contractor in San Antonio, Texas. The perspective of large tile contracting companies, often presented in TileLetter, is a valuable one. But many of our membership wrestle with issues specific to a small company, and that’s where I can shed some light. Read More

Florida Tile jockeys for position with new ownership, porcelain plant
by Lesley Goddin

Amidst rolling green pastures and winding white fences in the heart of Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region is the country’s newest porcelain tile plant – a 35,000 square foot beauty that Florida Tile celebrated last month with an opening that drew over 200 guests including distributor customers, branch managers and state and county dignitaries as well as the consul general of Italy. Read More

Remembering Louis Liska

In 1965, Lou formed the Unique Ceramic Tile Co. with his father-in-law. He was affectionately called “Mr. Tile” in the Chicago area. His persistence and never-give-up attitude carried him through life-threatening stomach cancer, cardiac disease, asbestosis and diabetes. Read More

NTCA members win MIA Pinnacle Awards
by Lesley Goddin

Renamed the Pinnacle Awards in 2002, the Marble Institute of America (MIA) confers annual awards of excellence and merit to projects that reflect beauty, creativity, ingenuity, and craftsmanship signifying professional mastery in the use of natural stone in commercial and residential environments. Read More

Total Flooring Contractors:
A National Flooring Contractor
by Lesley Goddin

Seventeen years after its incorporation in 1990, Total Flooring Contractors, Inc., based in Coral Springs, Fla., is celebrating its 50th mall contract. Read More