With Coverings cancelled due to the Coronavirus epidemic, Diary of a Tile Addict has been opened up to select tile manufacturers to keep tile information flowing world-wide. Known and trusted tile brands have been offered one FREE post during an initial three month trial, covering April, May, and June 2020. The latest of these posts comes from the much-respected German tile brand Agrob Buchtal; drawing attention to the brand’s success in a recent German reader’s poll.
The respected German trade magazine Fliesen & Platten has been calling on its readers to choose the products of the year since 2011. This year the victor in the tile category was Agrob Buchtal’s Kiano range; cementing the brand’s impressive run of successes in this poll. The result is based on the vote of the 11,000 readers of Fliesen & Platten, who are allowed one vote per subscription per category. This means that this award is not decided by a small jury, as is normally the case, but by a large number of professionals who work with the product on a daily basis.
Another special feature of this award is the timing. In order to allow a considered market response, the selection date is always at the end of the year of the product’s launch; with the results announced in the first quarter of the following year. The Products of the Year 2019 were thus honoured at the end of February 2020 at a ceremony held at the Maternushaus in Cologne. There were six categories: tiles, tile adhesive/mortar, software, substrates/sealants, tools, and accessories. In the tile category, victory went to the Kiano range by Agrob Buchtal, ahead of Fundo Top by Wedi, and Surround by Ströher brand Gepadi.
Inspired by Africa’s diversity, Kiano features a mix of calm and lively elements. The floor tiles, available in 300 by 600mm, and 600 by 600mm, feature a striking broken edge and four earthy colours. The sandy white matt wall tiles, available in 300 by 600mm and 350 by 1,000mm, create a discreet frame for decorative components such as Chess; a 100 by 100mm mosaic mounted on 300 by 300mm sheets. Looking like fingers drawn in clay, the Chess stick mosaic can be used as a one-, two- or three-row feature, or combined to create a bolder graphic element.
It would be easy to dismiss this vote as one for the home team. But this would do a disservice to both Agrob Buchtal, and to the highly sophisticated German ceramic tile market. In 2018, Germany imported 106 million sq. metres of tiles; representing 87.6% of the total market. So the readers participating in this poll can hardly be accused of operating in a space dominated by indigenous producers, making it all the more notable that Kiano stood out in this crowded market sector. This latest win follows other victories for the group including Jasba’s 2011 triumph with Homing, and Agrob Buchtal’s victories in 2014, 2016, and 2017 for Twin, Quarzit, and Savona respectively.
A new post by Joe Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, April 2020.