Leverage LFT

AT THE CERSAIE 2016 TRADE SHOW recently held in Bologna, Italy, the Tile of Spain branch of the Spanish Ceramic Tile Manufacturer’s Association identified large format tiles as one of the top 10 trends at the show. The organization observes that ceramic tile sales are continuing to grow year after year and in parallel, bring new possibilities for design.

These thin, very large ceramic tiles can be used to cover large surfaces and achieve continuity when installed properly — and not just on floors and walls, but countertops as well. The trend has been ramping up for a while in the tile industry as taste pressures from both residential and commercial applications take hold.

In a 2014 survey of U.S. countertop fabricators/ installer members of online communities CountertopIQ, WoodIQ and FinishIQ prepared for Stouton, Wisc.-based NueMedia, by Sankheki Analytics & Research of Bengalura, India, 25.9 percent of all members/users were involved in the countertop business (up from 15 percent in 2012). The same survey revealed that the surface type percentage rise in the countertop industry went from 10 percent to 18 percent (2012 to 2014) for all tiles, including large format styles.

According to NueMedia president and founder Ross Scovotti, the potential for large format tiles (LFTs) encroaching on the countertop market is there, but feels it may be a while before it makes a big impact. For both traditional countertop installers and hard surface flooring businesses, “you need a different set of expertise,” says Scovotti. “Grout line technique improvements are also helping, and not just for LFTs.”

The technical challenges of working with LFTs has not been lost on Mark Meriaux, accreditation and technical manager, MIA+BSI: The Natural Stone Institute based in Oberlin, Ohio. He has 14 years of stone industry experience and was most recently a commercial sales manager with VT Industries in Holstein, Iowa. The institute serves more than 1900 members in 55 countries, including Canada.

“What I’m hearing from my side is that there is whole different set of tooling and a little more patience required to work with LFTs — the tiles are a little less forgiving that natural stone,” says Meriaux. “They tend to act more like glass.” Suddenly a small chip or imperfection that you might have with stone that is easily repairable becomes waste material, he adds.

THE COST OF ENTRY for flooring establishments to add countertops to their list of customer services is daunting, according to Sergio Buccieri, project manager at Majestic Marble Import, Concord, Ont. The company is family owned and operated, with over 25 years in the business of importing, fabrication and installation of dimensional stone.

“For a start-up that wants to do porcelain and ceramic there’s not much cost at all,” says Buccieri. “But when you are dealing with natural stone and slabs then you’re talking big dollars.” For natural stone and the type of work that Majestic Marble does on the commercial side for countertops, the investment has been enormous.

“Considering one CNC can cost $260,000 and we’ve got six of these things,” says Buccieri. “But a guy just starting on tile might spend $3,000 or $4,000 to start his first small residential kitchen project.”

COUNTERTOPS ARE TYPICALLY DOMINATED by natural stone suppliers and their network of retailers and installers, who in turn work with partners from other industries, such as kitchen and bath cabinet makers and floor covering specialists.

“I find most of the flooring and tile companies would call or subcontract from a company like ours — a marble shop — to do countertops,” says Buccieri. “It’s too big an investment for them to start doing countertops. But for companies that do countertops like we do, it’s a lot easier for us to get into the tile industry because of the machinery and the know-how that we already have.

The other way around it’s harder.” To do top notch domestic fabrication, Meriaux says, you need $250,000 to $500,000 to invest in the proper digitized CNC equipment. “And that doesn’t include all the handling equipment such as forklifts and overhead cranes.” Meriaux estimates that one-third of his Natural Stone Institute members do flooring directly, while another third use a mutual alliance with flooring contractors, with the last third “sticking with what they know.”

To become a countertop service provider “the smaller guys that are looking to get into that market are buying something prefabricated or cut down pieces that are already countertop depth,” says Meriaux. “These pieces are used on predominantly multi-unit or multi-family projects, commercial projects like hospitals, hotels, motels, condominiums because those require a minimum of fabrication.”

Because there’s less equipment needed — such as fan tools or small shaping tool machines, routers — you could get into the business for $50,000 to $60,000, he adds. What Meriaux has seen more prevalently, however, are flooring companies working in partnership with other local fabricators because of the large investment to do the jobs properly and safely.

“As well you’ll find local flooring operations that want to partner with countertop guys. So it’s a win-win for both sides there.”

According to Mariangela Muia, business development director, Majestic Marble Import, “this business, our industry, is all about building relationships —there are so many distributors out there, there are so many suppliers — who do you pick to work with?

Sometimes the scope of the work is so large that it requires us to pull in partners and that’s when we reach out to other suppliers or other partners outside of Canada to help us.”

MUIA SAYS THAT MAJESTIC Marble has been dedicated to providing its customers with superior service along with the best quality materials. “We strive to create a long lasting relationship with all of our customers,” she says.

“Homeowners, decorators, builders and commercial clients may come to our warehouse and select from our impressive selection of slabs that will be purchased for their home or project.”

A knowledgeable staff is in place to so that customers can feel confident about their selection, along with skilled craftsmanship that can be viewed in various kitchen, bath and fireplace showroom displays. Stone slabs come to Majestic Marble in containers and are cut to whatever size the customer prefers: 12 x 12 in. and 36 x 36 in., according to Buccieri.

“There are large format tiles that are popular now — 48 x 48 in. — that people are installing in their homes. The thickness that we deal with is ¾ in. natural stone materials. Porcelain and ceramic tiles are 3/8 in. thickness.”

Buccieri adds, “right now we already have projects on the commercial side that incorporate all the surface material elements, whether we create them in-house or with contractor partners.”

MERIAUX DOESN’T think that anyone has produced an easy-to-use large format tile product yet. “I know that the tooling manufacturers are trying to address this issue,” he says, “but I’m still hearing a lot of moans and groans from our membership.

“I do hear from some that there is a great opportunity for income with that product because it is challenging to work with. The guys who have chosen to learn to deal with it are commanding a premium for working with that product.”

Some are shying away from the challenges of LFTs, too. “Always order an extra slab or extra tile,” says Meriaux, “because when you least expect it, one of them is going to break.”