April 27, 2009—Noah Chitty, Technical Director at Stonepeak, explains the company's new anti-bacterial, anti-smog tile technology, which was announced last week at Coverings 2009 in Chicago. Listen to the interview to hear about this titanium dioxide technology as well as other new product introductions for this USA division of Italian based GranitiFiandre.
April 24, 2009—Massimo Barbari, VP of Sales and Marketing for Florida Tile, and Kemp Harr discuss Florida Tile's extensive investment in inkjet printing technology. This technology enables the company to more accurately emulate natural stone with random, non-repeating porcelain tile looks. Listen to the interview to hear more about Florida Tile's recent investments, Italian ownership (Paneria Group), and its outlook on market conditions.
April 23, 2009—Patti Fasan, an international design consultant for the industry and Tile of Spain's Ceramic Tile Consultant, and Kemp Harr discuss the latest design trends in ceramic tile. Patti talks about the differences in per capita use of ceramic tile in Europe compared to the U.S., along with the latest innovations in texture and printing techniques. Listen to the interview to hear more about what's new in the world of ceramic tile.
April 22, 2009—Donato Grosser of D. Grosser & Associates (a consultant for Ceramic Tiles of Italy), and Kemp Harr discuss the most recent statistics for Italian tile imports and the North American construction market. Listen to the interview to get more details about a recent article that Donato wrote about the North American construction market.
April 21, 2009—Gary Frankhouse, Jr., a full line flooring retailer in Galion, Ohio, and Kemp Harr discuss the benefits of conducting a benchmarking analysis whereby a retailer can compare his results with other similar retailers across the country. Listen to the interview to hear more details on this process.
April 20, 2009—Alan Beaulieu, economist with the Institute for Trend Research, and Kemp Harr discuss the current state of the economy and the indicators to watch for more insight on when the economy will recover. Listen to the interview to hear Alan's thoughts on the strength of the U.S. economy and the differences between Ronald Reagan's and President Barack Obama's economic strategies.
April 14, 2009—Tony Sturrus, President of Clarion Industries, and Kemp Harr discuss the company's marketing approach for its laminate and coreboard (panel) products. Listen to the interview to hear more about Clarion and Tony's new role. Before joining Clarion Tony was President and CEO of Pergo. Prior to Pergo Tony was President of Baldwin Hardware. (approx. 7 minutes)
April 13, 2009—Bill Griese, Green Initiatives Manager for the Tile Council of North America, and Kemp Harr discuss the environmental advantages of using ceramic tile as a floorcovering. Listen to the interview to hear about the new environmental section in the 2009 Handbook and the efforts that are being made to include tile in the LEED standards with USGBC and similar green standards within the NAHB.
April 10, 2009—Recorded earlier this week at the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation, Executive Director Scott Carothers and Kemp Harr discuss recent changes and momentum in the foundation's installer certification program. Listen to the interview to hear more about this, the foundation's source of funding and the overall mission of the organization.
April 9, 2009—Recorded at the Tile Council of North America's headquarters in Clemson, S.C., Executive Director Eric Astrachan and Kemp Harr discuss the latest trends in the North American tile market. Listen to the interview to hear how tile is doing versus other flooring surfaces and how the distribution channels and price points are changing.