IMPO Changes Name to AvanTile

Tinley Park, IL, February 28--Avanti means "forward" in Italian, which made AvanTile an appropriate new name for a growing and changing tile company. Formerly known as IMPO, AvanTile is the new identity of a network of 12 warehouses and distribution centers and the instant-access customer service network that supports them. In addition to the new name, AvanTile will have a new home, as a 100,000 sq. ft. building on an eight-acre sight in Tinley Park, which is set to open spring/summer 2005. The new site will host the corporate offices and Tinley Park branch operations, as well as a distribution facility that will serve as the flagship 4,000 sq. ft. showroom for the new company. "We thought AvanTile was more indicative of the direction we were going," said Davide Giovagnoni, president, AvanTile. "We are looking at new ways to improve the company, including streamlining our existing product line while working closely with our factories on developing new and quality products. AvanTile reflects that forward progression." Beginning four decades ago as a distributor marketing only in Illinois and Indiana, AvanTile currently reaches nine states spanning from coast-to-coast. The array of products also has increased. IMPO began distributing small 4-inch by 4-inch wall tiles. Today AvanTile offers several different varieties of high-quality porcelain tiles and natural stone tiles obtained from factories in Tennessee, Italy, and Canada. An independent corporation in Illinois, AvanTile is wholly owned by the Florim Group of Italy, making the Italian origins of the name even more fitting. The Florim Group owns several tile manufacturing facilities worldwide. These relationships allow AvanTile to continue to develop quality ceramic tile solutions for homeowners, designers, commercial developers, architects, and retail outlets. "It’s exciting to look at how much we have grown during the past 40 years," said Giovagnoni. "But with our new direction and identity, we are confident AvanTile will grow into a significant player in the ceramic tile distribution industry."