Pendleton, S.C.—Technical sales teams from Sika and Merkrete were on hand at at the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation’s (CTEF) headquarters recently to conduct tile-setting training. Professionals representing the SikaTile and Merkrete systems product lines joined Scott Carothers, CTEF director of certification and training, at the 9,000-square-foot tile installation training facility for four days of tailored, hands-on training. The goal of the joint training, according to Merkrete national sales manager, Todd Boos, was to provide sales teams with a better understanding of industry standards as well as knowledge to become a better resource for customers.
Carothers said he worked with Sika senior product manager, Tom Carroll, to craft a customized training program designed to give the teams invaluable tiling application and industry knowledge while using a combination of both brands’ high-performance tile setting materials. “Tom gave me a parameter of what was needed, what aspects he wanted to hit and I built the curriculum around it,” Carothers explained. “It’s an individualized program.”
Carroll and Boos said they determined that the optimal training coursework should incorporate the latest American National Standards Institute (ANSI) specifications and Tile Council of North America (TCNA) Handbook application methods. According to the companies, these classroom lessons gave the technical sales teams a strong understanding of the standards that their products are designed to meet or exceed, as well as industry best practices for using these products in a variety of relevant scenarios. Boos said that while this will better position the teams to present sales-generating demonstrations of their product lines, the company wants to be able to provide a service to its customers.