News Briefs May 2007

• Best Tile Distributors of New England recently celebrated the grand opening of a contractor-specific showroom in Woburn, Mass., with an all-day training program sponsored by the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA).The program, hosted by Best Tile general manager Doug Maynes and Gerald Sloan, the NTCA’s director of training, featured table-top displays and training session demonstrations from LATICRETE® International Inc., Blanke, ProFlex, HardiBacker, Miracle Sealants and GranitiFiandre.
• Advanced Industrial Machinery (AIM) recently moved its operations to a 20,000 ft(2) facility in Hickory, N.C. Founded as an engineering consulting firm in 1977, AIM specializes in the design, development and manufacturing of industrial cutting, sawing, abrading and drilling systems for fabrication of stone and other hard-surface materials.
• LATICRETE International Inc. recently began packaging all mortars, thin-sets and grouts for the North American market in recyclable plastic bags. The new packaging is durable and puncture-resistant, will not rip or leak from the top or bottom, and is finished with a non-slip texture.
• Atlanta-based Stonexpress Inc. announces Space Flooring as its newest distributor for Stonexpress’ exclusive Laura Ashley Home stone-, porcelain- and ceramic-tile collection. Dalton, Ga.-based Space Flooring is one of the South’s leading flooring and supply distributors, with a total of 15 branches partnered with 43 full-service retail-flooring stores.
• CaesarStone joined with Architecture for Humanity in sponsoring a program of home development in East Biloxi, Miss., for families whose homes were destroyed by 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. The Sun Valley, Calif., company committed to providing quartz countertops for the program, which is providing design services and financial assistance for the construction of new homes.
• Universal Laser Systems Inc. recently doubled the size of its U.S.-based headquarters by expanding into a second company-owned building in Scottsdale, Ariz. The new state-of-the-art facility houses laser-system production; sales, marketing, engineering, and technical-support staff; and warehousing/shipping operations. 
• North American Stone Crafters of Enid, Okla., donated the fabrication and installation of black-granite countertops in February for a Lawton, Okla., home constructed as part of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition series. The Enid News & Eagle reported that the company worked as part of an effort to construct a new home for Gene Westbrook, a U.S. Army veteran wounded in Iraq, and his family.
• Close to 300 New York-area retailers, architects, and contractors attended the March 28 opening of Dal-Tile’s upscale tile-and-stone gallery in Manhattan. The 5,000 ft² street-level space features material displayed like fine artwork. The new trade-only showroom is the seventh gallery the Dallas-based company opened in the U.S. in the past four years.