The National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) has recognized Dale Kempster of Schluter Systems as the NTCA Tile Person of The Year. This award is given annually to a contractor, distributor or manufacturer member who has demonstrated a strong commitment to the tile industry and has supported the mission and goals of the NTCA.
“I can’t think of a better person to receive this recognition,” said Marco Ludwig, CEO and president, Schluter Systems. “It’s truly a reflection of a lifetime’s dedication to the tile industry and a unique passion Dale has consistently brought to the industry every single day for over three decades. We’re extremely proud to have him on the Schluter team.”
One of the NTCA’s strategic initiatives is to create a stronger collaboration between international tile contractor associations in an effort to share and learn common best practices related to the proper installation of ceramic tile and natural stone. “In addition to being a member of the NTCA Technical Committee for many years, Dale has worked closely with NTCA Executive Committee members in our efforts to communicate with international tile contractor associations,” said Bart Bettiga, executive director, NTCA. “He was instrumental in having Schluter representatives in Germany take part in NTCA sessions presented at Qualicer 2018, an international technical conference held every two years in Castellon, Spain. In addition, Dale has participated in two ground breaking international labor summits held the past two years at Cersaie in Bologna, Italy.”
Kempster has also been instrumental in bringing NTCA and TTMAC (Terrazzo, Tile, Marble Association of Canada) representatives together to collaborate on the development of a Canadian version of the NTCA Reference Manual. This collaboration has provided valuable information to the Canadian market on the prevention of tile installation job site failures and helped bring the standards for the two countries closer together.
Kempsterjoined Schluter Systems 32 years ago as the company’s first full-time employee in North America. His early responsibilities with the company included receiving, shipping, answering phones, making sales calls, organizing and attending trade shows, working with architects and setting up new distributors. Over the years he has gravitated toward his passion for the technical side of the business and has been active in industry associations for over 25 years, including being on the board of directors for TTMAC for more than 15 years. He is currently director of International Technical Network of North America where he contributes to industry standards and methods and ensures the interests of the tile industry are considered and represented appropriately in numerous associations and standards setting bodies.