Qualified to talk tile in NJ & at home

Sometimes it takes an out-of-town audience to fully appreciate our hometown know-how. That was certainly the case for our own Nyle Wadford when he recently traveled to Dayton, NJ, to present a large-format tile seminar to an architectural and design community. 

3rd from left, Wadford presented NTCA seminar.

The local American Olean & Marazzi USA distributor wanted a special guest to introduce their services to an important client base, and they asked Wadford to present an NTCA seminar on large tiles and participate in a discussion about qualified labor. The hosts and audience said the seminar was “informative and truly helpful,” and Nyle was glad to participate.

As a long-time tile contractor and Chairman of the Board of the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA), Nyle is absolutely passionate about correct tile installations – whether in NC or NJ – he just loves talking tile!

The NTCA is an invaluable association for our industry, and, as a Five-Star Contractor, Neuse Tile is able to present its seminars for continuing education credits to the Architectural and Design communities. As NTCA’s 2012 Tile Person of the Year, Nyle is also quite well-known and respected by his peers in the industry (and throughout the country).

Neuse Tile has no plans to install tile in New Jersey, but the visit is helping open doors for the NTCA and furthering discussions about proper tile installations, so Nyle sees it as a worthwhile investment of time. And, sometimes it’s also nice to get that ‘out-of-town’ recognition as well.

Nyle is also the Vice Chairman of both the NTCA Technical Committee and the ANSI A108 Committee. Great job, Nyle!

Tile Person of the Year – congrats, Nyle!

Our very own Nyle Wadford was recognized as Tile Person of the Year by the National Tile Contractors Association at Coverings 2013 in Atlanta this month. Since 1958, NTCA has been honoring a tile professional each year who is dedicated to supporting the non-profit trade association and its service to all segments of the tile and stone industry.

NTCA Tile Person of the Year

Nyle joins a prestigious group of tile professionals who have received this honor, and, we’re pleased to say, he was completely surprised at the ceremony (good job team!).  Nyle’s work to create qualified labor specifications for the tile industry and his contributions to the growth of NTCA were cited among his many industry accomplishments.

The whole Neuse Tile team shares Nyle’s passion for correct tile installations, but it’s Nyle and the team at NTCA who have worked so diligently to make sure all tile contractors have the technical instructions they need to perform installations that will last. When Nyle was President of the NTCA, the organization experienced record growth in membership, expanded its Partners for Success program, formed an historic partnership with Tile Contractors Association of America, and significantly expanded the NTCA’s Five-Star Contractor Program.

Nyle will continue to represent the NTCA on the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) Handbook Committee, and serve on the ANSI ASC 108 Committee, making Neuse Tile Service one of two contractors worldwide to sit on all three committees! He currently is the Chairman of the Board for NTCA.

Way to go Nyle! We’re proud of you!

Check out this interview with Nyle from the floor of the Coverings Show in Atlanta:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1137610517001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAi5oby5k~,gf8A03pw9syJ8i8_PnfPj-SRCKEGXH2m&bctid=2379083272001

The Tile Market is On the Grow: Insights from Crossville’s Chairman Emeritus

Tile is outpacing the growth of alternative products in the floor covering industry. This interview with the ‘godfather of ceramic tile in the US’ gives some insight into the attributes that are sending tile to the top of the list for remodeling and commercial concerns: versatility, style, ‘green’ attributes, durability, and ease of maintenance.

Elevate Your Space

The tile market is on the rise in the United States, according to a recent report by John Baugh at Stifel Nicolaus. Svend Hovmand, Chairman Emeritus of Crossville, Inc., has some insight on what’s sparking this double-digit increase during an interview with FloorDaily.net.

Tile already tops the market in Europe, South America and other countries. The ever-increasing rise of popularity in the US is naturally occurring thanks to several key factors.

Tile is versatile. Today’s remodeling market is relatively strong. Tile is a premium material selection that fits into remodeling budgets to provide the versatile, high-end style and durability today’s consumers demand.

Tile is evolving in style and appearance. Tile of today is more beautiful and authentic than ever before. Thanks to advancing technologies, the looks and colors that can be achieved are immense, offering fresh new options for a range of styles.

Tile is green. Sometimes industry pros…

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Tile industry leadership and passion

I have experienced this business from the mud box to the grout float to the balance sheet, but as I have continued to watch our industry grow and change, I am reminded that it is people who are the constant — PASSIONATE PEOPLE — Passion for the tile industry is the common thread you will find in Five-Star businesses like ours and in family businesses throughout this great country.

It is this passion and love that drives us to better our industry on a daily basis. As Bob Noyce said, “Knowledge is power and knowledge shared is power multiplied.”

I am proud to lend my passion to the tile industry, and to work with the many others that share the same fervor, as we forge ahead to the future.

I know times are tough. I implore you to stay in the fight; continue to do the right things for your business and your family.  I believe that our nation still believes that private property, entrepreneurial risk, and the potential for profit or loss are the elements that make our system dynamic and are what has spread prosperity to more people in and out of our country than any system in the history of man.

Leadership will take us there.  God bless.

Nyle Wadford

Nyle is President of Neuse Tile Service and current president of the National Tile Contractors Association. These excerpts from his induction speech serve as good reminders in challenging times. We are grateful for our people and their passion for our industry and our customers.

Tile installation takes math & creativity

We seem to be making lots of circles lately – and, with square tiles, that’s a pretty big accomplishment 😉

When you were in school, you probably wondered if you’d ever use what you learned in math class. Most people don’t need a compass or protractor to accomplish daily tasks, but our profession is based on measurements, fractions, and geometry (with some chemistry and physics thrown in, of course).

It takes skilled craftsmen to install these works of artistry, but behind-the-scenes we’re often using colored pencils and protractors to prep for the laser lines and configurations used on the actual job site.

Detailed measurements and certified installers combine to create beautiful symmetry.

A recent photo of our work on the front page of the local newspaper featured mosaic tiles with concentric metal rings that we fashioned from regular square edging.  And, after we made a circular pattern with changing-colored tiles, an architect wrote to tell us,

“the floor tile in the lobby is some of the best work I’ve seen in a while. The circles are very close to perfect. The arches are cut in nicely, the joints are very good. It’s just a good neat job.”

Geometry & tile artistry make this lobby a work of art.

And, we even won a national award for a combination of tile and marble circles that we formulated to fill the first floor of a commercial space. Good thing we still remember how to use that compass and string from math class all those years ago!

Whether it be in circles or squares, we love a long-lasting and beautiful tile installation.  And, no matter what– it takes math to get there.

5 million square feet and care with every inch

      We recently tried to calculate how much tile our company had installed in its 48 years in the ceramic tile industry. We came up with more than 5 million square feet, so, odds are that if you’ve spent much time in houses or businesses in Raleigh and the surrounding area, you’ve seen some of our work.

      We’ve worked in many residential neighborhoods, banks, churches, and office buildings, and most of our work is standing strong and beautiful. We’re proud of that, (though it may not be such a comfort to those who live with those ‘perfectly good’ pink or sky-blue tiles of the 70s. 😉  We’ve even seen one of our mud-set showers survive an area tornado when the house that surrounded it was obliterated.

     Tile is meant to last, and, on the residential side, we’ve no doubt installed more of it in our area than any other tile business around. However, quantity doesn’t really tell the story of our business. Others who install commercial tile could easily surpass our numbers with their malls and schools.

     Perhaps quality and technical proficiency set us apart more than volume? Our certified installers are among the most talented in the industry; our superintendents are passionate about the trade; our company leaders are on national boards and committees and help write the tile installation standards used throughout the world. We believe we are among the most capable and knowledgeable installation contractors in the country.

     But our story is not one sufficiently explained by quality either. I think the story of our business is better told by how our staff reacted to an unhappy customer on Thursday. She called us to task for something that went wrong on her job 10 years ago, and our staff reacted with the genuine concern of people who care about what they do. Her statements weren’t dismissed or excused, and the primary point of all the ensuing conversations was ‘how can we make this right now?’ Yes, 10 years later, it still matters to us!

     Most of us have been with the company more than 15 years, and we take our work and the satisfaction of our customers personally. Ours is a family business in that a family owns it, but ours is also a ‘family company’ in that each of us has a personal stake in every job, every customer, and every long-lasting installation.

     In today’s coupon-crazy, commodity-driven culture, it’s hard to know if businesses that care about their craft, their customers, and their people will survive. But it’s nice to know that when it comes to our company– quantity and quality are evenly matched with character.

Tile’s Green Squared measures sustainable systems

     “Tile products are durable, inert and intended to last as long as the buildings in which they are installed. Tile and related installation materials are engineered to serve as permanent finishes capable of outliving several generations of building occupants,” writes Bill Griese of TCNA as he describes the importance of a standard which can be used to assess the sustainability of tile and installation materials in today’s ‘green’ building environment.

     In light of tile’s long life-cycle and the increasing movement toward industry-wide sustainability criteria, the Tile Council of North America has announced the establishment of Green Squared SM, the world’s first consensus-based sustainability standard and certification program developed exclusively for tiles and tile installation materials.

     “With the recent approval of ANSI A138.1, the standard upon which the Green Squared certification  program is based, our industry now has a means by which to define and certify the environmental and social sustainability attributes of tiles and related installation materials,” remarked Griese, TCNA standards development and Green Initiative manager.

     ANSI A138.1 is a multi-attribute sustainability standard which was written by an ANSI Accredited Standards Committee, ASC A108, representing ‘green’ building stakeholders, tile consumers, manufacturers, distributors, installers, and many other relevant interests. Encompassing ceramic tiles, glass tiles, setting materials, grouts, backer boards and membranes, this standard allows the tile industry to offer installed systems of conforming sustainable products – the first offering of its kind by any building material industry.

 developed the Green Squared program as a way for tiles and related installation materials to be certified as meeting ANSI A138.1. Products evaluated by an independent, third-party certification agency and verified to meet ANSI A138.1 will appear in the marketplace beginning in April 2012. These products will bear a single, easily recognizable Green Squared Certified mark that will give architects, specifiers, and consumers the confidence that these products are truly sustainable.

(Neuse Tile’s Nyle Wadford serves on the ANSI ASC A108 committee which approved this exciting new standard for the industry.)

Tile specifications to net best results

To raise the level of integrity and professionalism in the tile trade, and to present project owners, architects and design professionals an opportunity to demand installation excellence, two major tile associations have come together to help ensure project plans are carried out by qualified installation contractors.

The National Tile Contractors Association(NTCA) and the Tile Contractors Association of America(TCAA) have come together to mutually promote their associations’ recognition programs. This unprecedented partnership provides a way for project specifiers, contractors, and owners to ensure tile is installed with excellence.

As architects and designers create plans for their projects, they write ‘specifications’ to make sure the details of their vision are understood by all concerned. In the tile category, these specifications have traditionally only included types of tile, setting materials, and method of installation. As the two associations have come together, they have provided a means for also including the specification of a quality installation company.

Both NTCA and TCAA have recognition programs which feature companies that demonstrate a proven track record of success and ethical business practices. NTCA’s Five-Star Contractor and TCAA’s Trowel of Excellence programs will now be promoted together to provide “an unsurpassed level of comfort that projects will have the highest levels of quality at the national, regional, and local level,” said TCAA president John Trendel.

Specification language will be further developed in 2012 so that it can be considered for inclusion in several important industry installation methods and standards. “This unified language will make it easier for specifiers and owners to feel confident that their material is being installed by a company which has the expertise and integrity to do the job correctly. It will also assure manufacturers that their quality products are being installed by knowledgeable craftsmen who will stand behind their work. We are proud to be part of this historic effort,” said NTCA and Neuse Tile president, Nyle Wadford.

Elevate your space with tile

Looking for trends and tips in tile? Check out Crossville’s blog, elevateyourspace.wordpress.com  Posts talk about using subtle design to make a big statement and even show the runway debut of a dress made from mosaic tiles.

This TN tile and stone manufacturer hosted us for a tour of their facilities last summer, and it was fascinating to see the process that turns clay to a beautiful home (or even fashion) accent. The scientists and production staff at Crossville are top-notch, and the products they produce are a pleasure to install.

When you pair regionally produced quality with local expertise in installation you truly ‘Elevate Your Space.’

Local and national leaders

Our company president, Nyle Wadford, has been elected to lead the largest tile contractors association in the world for the next two years.

The National Tile Contractors Association elected him their president at the Total Solutions Plus conference this year. Wadford has been in the tile industry for many years and been president of Neuse Tile since 1987.

He has gone from hauling mud buckets during summer breaks to representing us as a leader in the entire tile industry. Dad would be proud!

Way to go Nyle!