Las Vegas—Surfaces might not be the biggest show for tile—that would be Coverings in April—but it doesn’t mean the industry’s best tile suppliers don’t come prepared. In fact, TISE had tile suppliers showing off their best offerings for the dealer community in 2024.
The show itself was abuzz with excitement among the tile booths and suppliers noted the high energy and buying potential, plus the possibility for a strong year ahead. “I think the vibe is very good,” said Patrick Warren, vice president, residential sales, dealer & showrooms, Daltile. “Everybody seems optimistic that it’s not going to be a terrible year. I think builders are going to be coming back, and I think commercial is going to be coming back. But remodel is going to be dependent upon the Fed. I have a feeling it’s going to be OK. The second half is going to be strong. We’re optimistic, and Daltile’s in it to win it.”
Emser Tile
Emser always brings its A-game to any show it participates in and TISE 2024 was no different. One major callout was its Radiant line. The product integrates porcelain tile with LED lighting to create a backlit look for users. It’s currently available as a wall tile in three styles—Pyramid White, Wave Black and Stries Calacata—and a floor tile in six colors and two sizes. What’s more, the new line is designed for outdoor and wet areas.
“It’s perfect for wayfinding or illuminating around a pool,” said Kathy Green, director of brand strategy and communications. “It has an anti-slip finish, so it’s perfect for outdoor use. The tile itself is waterproof, and the LED can be waterproof as well. And what’s nice is if it’s installed at a 2% slope, it’s water shedding. You can put it by pools, on decks, in showers and the water will shed and not pool.”
The company is also working with an LED supplier to provide light-changing LEDs for the product line, which will also allow users to adjust the lighting using the company’s LED application via a mobile device.
Emser’s Radiance took home the Best of Surfaces Innovation award at this year’s show.
Daltile
Daltile is set to make a big splash during this month’s KBIS/IBS show but for TISE 2024 the company focused on selling—and its new products were here for it. What’s more, the tile brand has a new tile plant coming online in Gibson, Tenn., giving it one of the biggest capacities in the U.S. “We feel like nobody has a better footprint to go after that kitchen and bath business, so we’re going to leverage that,” Warren said.
The products Daltile launched at the show were Divinium, Acreage, Artcrafted and Gamma.
Divinium is a porcelain and ceramic wall and mosaic collection. The line includes 3D ribbed, 8-inch hexagons, plus 6 x 18, 3 x 12 pickets a 1 x 6 mosaic and a basketweave mosaic. It also features Defend powered by Microban, which eliminates 99% of the bacteria on the tile’s surface.
Artcrafted is a handcrafted-inspired, glazed ceramic wall tile and mosaic series. Uneven surfaces and high variation add a custom-made backdrop, available in warm neutrals or vibrant accent colors. This line is available in glossy 4 x 4 and 3 x 12 wall tiles as well as a 1 x 6 mosaic.
Daltile’s new Acreage emulates natural hardwood visuals. Available in a 8 x 48 plank, Acreage is crafted with an authentic grain pattern to achieve a realistic, textured look obtained by RevealSync3D, Daltile’s glazing technology.
Gamma—what Warren called the brand’s crème de la crème at the show—is a real marble mosaic that features drastic veining on top of exotic colors. The line is suitable for floor, wall and countertop applications. It’s available in four colors with matching mosaic designs.
MSI
MSI had its plethora of product lines available in new, visually appealing applications at this year’s show. From outdoor hardscapes to large format slabs and intricately designed wall tile, the company came to impress.
Take, for instance, MSI’s Cordova series. The line is created using 3D ink to give unprecedented realism to the material’s surface through a flexible high-definition production process. “If you feel 3D printing, it’s almost like an embossed in register,” said Manny Llerena, director, sales and marketing. “This is a rare vein cut travertine. So you get the real coloration, the real feel of a travertine stone with no maintenance because of its porcelain origin. This is available both in an indoor tile with a sister outdoor product, both having that 3D printing technology.”
The company’s new Brickstone and Brickstaks also stood out. Brickstone is a reclaimed brick look in a porcelain tile range that includes traditional red to modish white and subdued grays while BrickStaks is a reclaimed clay brick. From classic red brick tones to creamy whites, Brickstaks features standard staggered bricks and a herringbone pattern. What’s more, the clay bricks offer a mesh backing for easy installation.
Crossville
In October of 2023 it was announced that Crossville had been purchased by AHF Products. Three months into that acquisition and both parties extoled the benefits of the deal. “It’s a fantastic brand,” said Yon Hinkle, VP of product management, resilient, AHF. “And every customer of Crossville’s that I’ve met, that’s the first thing out of their mouths—how much they love the brand. They’re doing business with them because of how they do business and what they deliver—whether it’s the products, the service or the relationships. So from that perspective, bringing that into AHF is a natural kind of synergy.”
Lindsey Waldrep, VP of marketing, Crossville, agreed, noting Crossville’s ability to get in front of the retail community once again. “With the AHF acquisition, we’re meeting all these flooring retailers, which are different than tile retailers, which is very exciting because that just means we can get our tile into a whole lot more places.”
To help service its newfound dealer network, Crossville focused on several new projects, including a new display system for retailer showrooms. “We saw a decline in our dealer sales and our dealer network after the pandemic, and we really wanted to get back into that,” Waldrep explained. “So we launched a new display system. It’s scalable, it’s modular, it shows the best of the line. That’s been a big part of what we’ve been up to.”
In terms of product, Crossville showcased its new Beljn collection, which is a digitally printed product. “In the last five years, digital technology has just become amazing. It’s a fully digital product made in Tennessee. It gets as big as a 24 x 48, two finishes, one is a textured exterior finish, the other is unpolished with a new proprietary glaze technique that is incredibly soft. It feels like cashmere under your feet. It is luscious.”
Louisville Tile
Louisville Tile celebrated its partnership with designer Jennifer Farrell with the launch of Barrel Parquet by Jennifer Farrell Designs. It is offered exclusively in Louisville Tile’s Livable Luxury Collection. The porcelain tile features a grand scale and authentic wood look. Three rich color ways of Bleached Oak, Weathered Oak and Heritage Oak embody the heirloom quality of handcrafted wood parquet floors, with the durability of porcelain tile.
Boldly designed at an impressive 36 x 36, the installed tiles form a distinctive 6-foot x 6-foot parquet pattern of circles and crosses. Artisan crafted in Spain, each colorway offers 10 unique faces. Unlike wood flooring, Barrel Parquet is rated for indoor and outdoor use.
