The International Surfaces Expo (TISE), which took place in Vegas at Mandalay Bay in late January, always kicks the year off with the flooring industry coming together to gather, learn, and discover new products. It’s also a great meeting place for early-year planning for groups, associations and companies and a chance to offer accolades.
NTCA events
For the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA), it was an opportunity to honor members for a range of accomplishments. On the eve of the opening of the show, NTCA conducted its annual Ambassador Reception. NTCA Executive Director Bart Bettiga opened up the program that featured accolades for the NTCA Tile Setter Craftspersons of the Year: Jeff Occhipinti, of Columbia River Tile & Stone, Inc., in Portland, Ore., for the residential honor and Juan “Junior” Mercado of Christian Brothers Flooring & Interiors in Lakeside, Calif., for the commercial award. These awards were presented by Matt Welner, Training Department Manager for NTCA, who was celebrating a birthday that night and received a rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday” from the crowd.
NTCA’s Deputy Director Jeremy Sax announced the Contractor Ambassador Couple of the Year — Tom and Shana Cravillion from Cravillion Tile & Stone in Plymouth, Wis. He said, “Your tireless efforts for what you do in our industry means the world to us. Your unwavering support exemplifies the very best of what the Ambassador program represents.”
This award was followed by Brad Denny, Executive Director of CTEF announcing the Dan Hecox Service to the Industry Award — which also went to the Cravillions for their outstanding dedication to the industry! Master mosaic artist Angie Re of Unique Mosaics, South Salt Lake, Utah created custom plaques which were awarded to all winners. The rest of the evening was punctuated by industry friends taking the time to catch up and reconnect.
NTCA trainers and CTEF personnel conducted numerous demonstrations. CTEF’s Academic Director Scott Carothers tag-teamed with NTCA’s Matt Welner to present demos and educational sessions on what finishers need to know and how they add value, as well as details about the hands-on CTI test and carving out your path with ceramic industry careers. And Bart Bettiga headed up a presentation on case studies of successful tile installations.
Other manufacturers like Schluter and MAPEI gathered crowds around their booths with their educational demos, and members new and old clustered around the NTCA booth, while member volunteers signed up several new members during the show.
Manufacturer take-aways
Manufacturers said the show was a positive experience for them. Russo Tile Company’s Rich Eckert said his company exhibited with partner Maximus Pedestals, conducting “countless” demos which garnered multiple customer quotes from the show. RTC also promoted its Wringo Electric Sponge Wringer, and got the chance to introduce its new outside sales team, expanding its reach with “dedicated outside salespeople,” he said.
At QEP, there was an exciting soft launch of the new Xtreme Power Nippers, developed in partnership with mosaic artist David Arnott, who was in the booth demonstrating its features. The company also introduced its Large Format Cutting System for tile and Katana Manual Tile Cutters, which QEP’s Leslie Del Pozo said were very well received. “Listening to what the installer needs has made a huge difference to how we go to market with our newest tools,” she said.
Jordan Richards Abbott of ProKnee said, “We were most excited to garner feedback about our newest product launch, the ProKnee Bomber Pad. There’s nothing like getting real-time feedback and being able to see and connect with customers and distributors face-to-face!”
The Tile Pick was a TISE newcomer, displaying its unique device — The Tile Pick — designed to facilitate moving a tile to adjust spacing when installing. Ken Olschewske of The Tile Pick said, “One highlight of the show was when the QEP team—our exact target audience—was the first group to stop by our booth on Tuesday morning. It set the tone for the rest of the show and led to some great discussions.” He also was blown away by “the incredible introductions made by [NTCA Digital Advertising & Membership Specialist] Angie Weber and [NTCA Five Star Contractor and Regional Director] Gianna Vallefuoco. Their energy and networks were unbelievable, and the connections they facilitated opened doors we never expected. It was a game-changer for us.”
NTCA members speak out
NTCA members and attendees also had a great show. Nicole Kothe of The Tile Chick in Mesa, Ariz., and her partner Amy attended for the first time. Kothe will take the All-Women’s CTI Test in Vero Beach, Fla., next month. She said she “was able to connect with so many people in the industry and put a lot of faces with names. Networking is huge and I was able to do a lot of it. It opened my eyes as to how big the industry is from tile to carpet and wood to stone from across the country.” She was eager to try out the many products, setting materials, and tools she’d never even heard of before. She also felt welcomed. “Whether you were an installer or someone behind the booth, everyone was very humble, kind and generous on giving all sorts of information regarding either products, tools or just advice in general.” Kothe was one of the new members that signed up with NTCA right after the show.
NTCA member Tom Habelt of Habelt Custom Tile in Portland, Ore., — and Dad’s Dinners fame on Facebook — returned to TISE this year. “I’m a residential tile contractor with a couple guys working for me. I’m not going to these conferences to look for mass deals at the booths but to learn about new products and network with everyone at these events.” He feels a family connection with those he sees at the show, and is happy to “lift each other up by networking together” — a key to growing his business. “The one thing that really impressed me is seeing seasoned installers like myself have booths or now work with companies that have booths at TISE. This really gives me a huge smile.”
Matt Blood, of NTCA Member company Paragon Tile Installation in Cumberland, R.I., said, TISE is an interesting show from a contractor perspective. Although the focus is on other forms of floor coverings, he said, it still gives him the opportunity to seek out new materials or tools “to level up my installations.” Personally, he said, he truly enjoys “giving back what I can to the industry to help move us all into the future, and in doing so I get to spend time with like-minded folks looking to do the same.” In addition to cool new things he saw at the show, “what left the biggest impact were the interactions with other industry professionals eager to bring tile into the future and build the strength of our trade.”
Lesley Goddin has been writing and journaling since her first diary at age 11. Her journey has taken her through a career in publishing and publicity, landing her the editor position of TileLetter and its special publications in 2006. Her goal is to educate, inspire, recognize and encourage those in the tile industry -- especially the tile and stone contractor.
