Tile Manufacturers Address Need for Trained Instal

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Tile Manufacturers Address Need for Trained Instal
Anderson, SC, December 20, 2006--The Association of Ceramic Tile Manufacturers of Spain, The Association of Italian Ceramic Tile & Refractory Manufacturers, the National Tile Contractors Association, and the Tile Council of N.A. are addressing the need for trained tile installers in the U.S. According to Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF) Executive Director, Dave Gobis, these organizations are committed to helping CTEF expand and provide more installation training nationwide. "We share a vision with the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation. It is our hope that, by committing our resources, both financial and educational, other organizations will follow. The CTEF is a perfect vehicle for this to occur. We have heard time and again how concerned everyone is about the lack of quality training and education in the tile trade. We feel that a combined effort, led by the Tile Council of North America, NTCA and others, in support of the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation, will be the catalyst we need to overcome this challenge," commented Bart Bettiga, executive director of NTCA. In addition to financial donations, TCNA and NTCA will be providing two instructors to CTEF, Stephanie Samulski and Gerald Sloan, to teach courses and workshops that deliver hands-on techniques and the latest information on standards. “The board of CTEF is well-represented and committed to expanding installation education in our industry,” said Mr. Svend Hovmand,chairman of Crossville and president of the board of directors of CTEF. “Distributors, contractors, domestic manufacturers, and foreign manufacturers are all represented with the recent additions of Mr. Harold Yarborough of D & B Tile, Ms. Patti Fasan of Professional Attention to Tile Installation, representing ASCER, and Mr. Donato Grosser of D. Grosser and Associates, representing Assopiastrelle.” Other board members are Jim Isaminger with DMI Tile and Marble, Eric Astrachan with TCNA, Bart Bettiga with NTCA, Steve Rausch with Georgia-Pacific Dens-Shield, and Peter Nielsen of Schluter Systems. “Over the past ten years, the number of tile installers has not kept pace with large increases in the amount of tile manufactured abroad and sold in the U.S. Clearly, this shortage will impact the future growth of our market. We are excited by the participation of our European colleagues in the continued growth of CTEF and the positive impact this will have on quality installation education,” said Eric Astrachan, executive director of TCNA. "CTEF's objective is to expand our curriculum and course availability on an even greater national scope with this infusion of resources and financial support,” remarked Mr. Gobis. "We have grown due to the generous support of manufacturers and the Tile Council, but this new surge of industry support will take us to the next level."


Related Topics:Crossville, Schluter®-Systems