FloorCoveringNews

Identifying problems key to finding solutions

by Louis Iannaco

With the advent of fast track building, structures and facilities are erected quicker than ever before, but the age-old problem of concrete moisture remains just that—a problem. Adhesive companies are addressing moisture issues, both in new and existing structures, with education and new technology leading the way.

Laticrete, a global manufacturer and leader of premium installation and finishing systems for the building industry, donated a considerable amount of Laticrete SpectraLOCK pro Premium Grout to The Empty Bowls, a charitable fundraiser based in Houston, Texas, which every year endeavors to sell handmade mosaic bowls donated by local artists in an effort to raise money for the Houston Food Bank. The Food Bank, in turn, provides three nutritious meals daily for 50,000 needy people living in the Greater Houston Area.  

Laticrete Supercap, manufacturer of the self-leveling Laticrete Supercap System, knows that the success of any organization can be directly attributed to the strength of its team. On July 1st of last year, Laticrete International, Inc., had announced a joint venture partnership with Supercap to form Laticrete Supercap.  Almost immediately, there was a buzz throughout the industry that “The Power of the Pump had joined with Innovative Flooring Leader.” 

Laticrete, a global manufacturer and leader of premium installation and finishing systems for the building industry, has announced today the appointment of Ken Madison to the position of national account manager, Lowe’s.  Based in Mooresville, North Carolina, Madison will report to Ken Barnum, Laticrete director of home center sales.

Laticrete, a global manufacturer and leader of premium installation and finishing systems for the building industry, donated funds to The Dover Boxing Club, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of young people from Dover, New Jersey and surrounding communities. Ed Leahy, Founder/Trainer, is a former professional boxer and judge, well-known in the boxing world, who won the lightweight championship while on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps. Through his leadership, The Dover Boxing Club provides young men with exercise programs, character development, self-discipline, self-confidence, and the opportunity to achieve competitive excellence. It promotes and grows the sport of boxing in the US by competing in local, state, regional, national and international competitions. Being non-profit, The Club depends on donations to maintain its operations.

Jim Partridge has been appointed as technical sales representative for Laticrete, a global manufacturer and leader of premium installation and finishing systems for the building industry. Partridge will represent the Pacific Northwest and will be responsible for the promotion and sales of the full specialty products division line.

BETHANY, CONN.—Laticrete announced major upgrades to its highly successful Most Valued Partner (MVP) customer loyalty program.

BETHANY, CONN.—Laticrete has promoted Robert Smith to acting assistant director of sales for North America. Smith will be assisting Ron Nash, director of sales for North America, on all aspects of the business including national accounts, training and development, and strategic sales planning. Additionally, he will be a liaison between the Laticrete’s sales and marketing and product development teams.

BETHANY, CONN.—Laticrete has appointed Nicholas “Nick” Derr as contractor sales representative.

“We’re excited to have Nick Derr on our team,” said Eric Pucilowski, Laticrete regional sales manager. “In addition to his ‘can-do attitude,’ he has a great understanding of the tile and stone industry from both contractor and distributor standpoints.”

BETHANY, CONN.— Laticrete has appointed Adrian Rivera as technical services representative.

“We are very fortunate to have a tile industry professional like Adrian Rivera onboard,” stated Arthur Mintie, director of technical services. “Not only does he know our industry and have a great understanding of customer service, he comes to LATICRETE with a great understanding of our product line and concepts, a valuable benefit to our customers”.

BETHANY, CONN.—Laticrete launched free eBook downloads for the complete series of Laticrete Technical Design Manuals at laticrete.com/manuals. The Laticrete Technical Design Manuals have also hit eBook stores online and are formatted to be compatible with virtually any eReader device including the iBooks app from Apple, the Amazon Kindle and the Nook from Barnes & Noble.

Bethany, Conn.—Laticrete recently donated a large amount of tile installation products to a major hospital construction project in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

“It’s not your grandmother’s linoleum” is a line that has become quite prevalent in recent years as the offerings in resilient flooring have evolved into fashion-forward, state-of-the-art, high-performance products. It can also be applied to ceramic tile, as technology continues to play a major role in advancing the segment, as well as tile adhesives.

Bethany, Conn.—Laticrete announced that Dave Anzaldo has been hired for the position of Laticrete contractor sales representative for the North Carolina Region, which includes North and South Carolina, Northern Georgia and Eastern Tennessee.

Bethany, Conn.—Laticrete has partnered with Supercap to form Laticrete Supercap, LLC. Supercap System licensed applicators use patented pump trucks to blend and deliver problem-solving underlayment systems to the jobsite. Pumping is done from the ground level and material is delivered quickly and efficiently, directly from the hose to the floor on large-scale surface preparation and remediation projects. Heights of 50 stories, even in congested urban areas, can be easily served. Deliveries and technical support will be available throughout North America.

Bethany, Conn.—Laticrete announced Jimmy Archer, Jr., has joined the company as regional sales manager for the company in Texas. Archer has experience in both the tile and stone industry and the state of Texas. For the last 17 years he has worked closely with Laticrete products in a few different roles with Daltile first in Austin, then Corpus Christi and most recently Houston. Archer will step in as regional sales manager for Laticrete Texas, working with his staff to build distribution relationships and MVP locations for Laticrete APD.

Bethany, Conn.—Laticrete sponsored the fifth annual Bethany Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 9 at the town hall here. Bethany Earth Day has grown each year with more and more exhibitors joining the festivities in an effort to promote renewable energy resources, sustainable products, and an overall commitment to preserving the Earth for future generations.

Bethany, Conn.—Laticrete has contributed as one of the top-sponsors or “Signature Level” partners for the 2011 Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF) testing program. In addition to financial support, Laticrete will make material donations for specific CTEF host testing sites, as well as making Laticrete technical sales representatives available in each region as the installer testing program makes it way around the country. The CTEF provides the only certified tile installer program with a nationally recognized set of standards that includes testing the hands-on skills of each end-user along with a written evaluation to produce a verifiable CTEF Certified Tile Installer (CTI).

Bethany, Conn.—Laticrete announced the promotion of Kirby Davis to national specifications manager for its Specialty Products Division (SPD). Davis will work closely with top architectural firms across the country to secure proprietary specifications forLaticrete materials and methods.

Bethany, Conn.—Laticrete announced the promotion of Bob Duke to the position of technical support and training specialist for the newly formed Laticrete specialty products division (SPD). Duke joined LATICRETE in the Texas Region in 2005  and has played an integral role in developing the materials and methods for the Laticrete MVIS specification for the direct adhered method of thin brick, manufactured and natural thin-stone masonry veneer installation. With 27 years of experience in the tile and stone industry, Duke now fills a national senior sales position and will work to seek out new opportunities for the Laticrete MVIS specification, as well as for additional product lines that fall under the specialty products division.

Bethany, Conn.—Laticrete announced the acquisition of Drytek Flooring Solutions, a leading industry supplier of self-leveling cements, decorative concrete toppings, and related products and systems. These products will be maintained under the Drytek brand name and sold through distribution within the Laticrete Specialty Products Division (SPD).

Since 2003, the innovative Drytek product line has been specified and installed in a wide variety of new building and renovation projects across the U.S., including the Empire State Building, Macy’s, Columbia University, Florida Mall and the Weill Medical Center in New York City.

Bethany, Conn.—Laticrete will move Matt Adamson from a leadership position in production at the Laticrete facility in Indianapolis, to distributor sales representative for the Laticrete Indiana territory.

“We are excited to have Matt join our team,” said Eric Pucilowski, regional manager. “His sales background, as well as his intimate knowledge of the manufacturing processes of setting materials, gives our team another added dimension. He has a high energy level and is eager to get up to full speed in his territory.”

Bethany, Conn.—Dave Barbagallo has joined Laticrete as training coordinator and technical services representative. In his new role Barbagallo will primarily be in charge of the planning and execution of continuous training sessions and demonstrations throughout the year. He will also work closely with the rest of the technical services team in recommending certain materials and methods for specific applications of tile and stone, as well as assisting with troubleshooting projects in the field.

Bethany, Conn.—The Laticrete manufacturing facility in Shanghai, opened in the spring of 2008, has been certified ISO 14001 for its design and implementation of a proven environmental management system that reduces energy costs and waste while minimizing negative impact on the environment. The core set of standards and guidelines have evolved slowly since 1972 and the certification is now rewarded based on a comprehensive on-site audit by the International Organization for Standardization.

Bethany, Conn.—Laticrete showed its support for the Collier Building Industry Association(CBIA) in Naples, Fla., with the purchase of an engraved brick for the stone path to the organization’s South Florida headquarters. CBIA is involved in construction for builders and contractors from all trades of the industry, with a diverse and active network that includes members in interior design, attorneys and insurance companies.

“We’re still running the engraved brick program right now,” said Tom Dardis, CBIA and Affordable Floors. “It’s something that we’ll probably do again. We’re a very strong association but times are tough all the way around and this has been a great way to raise funds. In Southwest Florida new construction has just stopped, especially when compared to how it used to be. A lot of our members have turned to remodeling and since this is a very tile and stone driven market, there are a lot of specialty installations, and that is where Laticrete becomes important.” He added the Laticrete 4-XLT product has been outstanding for the large number of large-format tile with tighter grout joint installations.

Bethany, Conn.— Laticrete made a sponsorship contribution to Ternullo Racing for the Wild ‘N Wacky Wednesday’s point championship series held each week at the Waterford Speedbowl from late May to Sept. 2.

Ternullo, 11, of Middletwon, Conn., had an interesting first season in competitive racecar driving, picking up his first victory back in May and rose as high as fourth in the point standings by mid-August. But Ternullo banged up his Bandolero on Aug. 18 a five-car pileup that left him upside down in Week 16 of the 18 event series. With one race left he seemed destined for sixth-place where he stands now with 419 points, 86 points out of a top-three finish.

Bethany, Conn.—Laticrete announced Wayne Hoerning has filled the newly created position of international sales support and training manager. The position aims to strengthen the company’s focus on training, education and technical support in international markets. His most recent position was with the United Distributors Tile Group.

A former employee, Hoerning began his career with Laticrete technical services in 1993 and worked his way to superior of the division during his eight years here. He left in 2001 for the International Masonry Institute in New York and worked as its marketing director, followed by four-years as a product specialist for Ardex in the Northeast, where he was responsible for introducing a new product line to architects, distributors and installers across 17 territories.

Laticrete launched its product information app as free to download and use. The full-service, jobsite reference, tool kit offers quick and easy retrieval of Laticrete product information from any iPhone, iPad or iPod touch device.

“Innovation is the fundamental principle that drives Laticrete,” said Henry Rothberg, co-owner of Laticrete. “It’s part of our culture, part of our history, and what drives us to stay on the leading edge of our industry. This is another service we provide at no cost to benefit the contractor, to benefit the end user: Information at your fingertips, right there on your iPhone—right now.”

Do you remember when air pollution was the big, environmental concern? Legislation, electric cars and clean burning energy has helped narrow that focus to the quality of air in homes, or indoor air quality (IAQ). “IAQ is going to be a big deal, maybe even bigger than global warming,” predicted John Woolsey, vice president of sales for Anderson Hardwood. As homes get tighter to improve energy efficiency and die-hard activists move to metropolitan centers to reduce their carbon footprints, the quality of air indoors has become increasingly important.

Some of the main factors affecting IAQ are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and isocyanates, both of which are off-gasses commonly found in flooring adhesives. Today, companies can proudly advertise the absence of these compounds with third-party verifications from organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI), the GreenGuard Environmental Institute, and Scientific Certification Systems. With their help, adhesive companies are going to great lengths to improve the floors we walk on and the air we breathe.