Testimonial

"There isn't enough space for me to explain how much I took away from PTK. One very important thing worth mentioning though is that ever since we went there last year, my bottom line has increased. There were so many things that Laticrete offers in terms of support that I didn't even know existed and I utilize them now. A great, simple example is the Lifetime Tile and Stone System Warranty, which has closed more jobs than I can count and justifies my pricing."Jim Picarazzi Jack Splash's Backsplashes and Floors jpicarazzi@gmail.com Rochester, NY Click here for more information regarding Laticrete PTK Educational & Training events.

Interesting Email Received Today

All is well expanding the business to the East Bay area of San Francisco.
You guys are great, some of the best products on the market!
Thanks,
Rod


Rod Chambers
President
Charmet Tile
Office 858-695-0804 x 224
Fax      858-695-2454
Cell     619- 921-6905
Email  chambers@charmettile.com

Oprah Gives Away HYDRO BAN?

I received an email from a remodeling contractor who does a fair bit of tile work:

Henry,
I have to apologize for letting my Thank You lapse for so long. You sent me a fantastic LATICRETE Shirt - black, golf shirt with collar. Wow, now that's a fancy one. I wear that one when meeting clients and when shopping for supplies (when I'm not dressed like a working stiff). Anyway you sent one of those and a T-shirt and I really appreciate it.

You are a marketing expert. And you're a great part of the best thinset / grout / pan / drain / etc. manufacturer out there for us. I appreciate all you do individually and as part of that great company. Keep up the great work and we'll keep specifying LATICRETE-ONLY on our projects.

Best regards
Kevin McKernan
HomeSmith Remodeling LLC
Sammamish WA
206-972-8358

So I asked him if I could use his words on my Blog.  His reply:

You are hereby authorized to use my comments, gestures, and good will to your best use. 
I'm proud to stand up and be counted for supporting the best things in life. And LATICRETE is at the top.
Hey, you ever watched Oprah? At Christmas time she gave her audiences a whole bunch of "Oprah's Favorite Things." If she ever does that again wouldn't it be great to see all those housewives walk out with a bucket of HYDRO BAN under their arm? ;-)

Kevin

Email Received

"Good morning Henry. How are you ? In this part of the world things are great. Work is really good !  We are filling trash cans with empty bags of 253 gold and 252 silver. The support I have been receiving and the knowledge from your representatives is making tile installations like child's play. I've been out of touch with you lately but I'm here to say, the ride along with you guys is awesome. We are spreading the word more and more with my fellow installers to invest that extra 2, 3 dollars in a productive material. It's working.

Have an awesome day Sir ! Best wishes."

Orlando Car
Certified Floor Covering
Owner / Master Installer

Interesting Posting on our Facebook Page

"Why do I keep coming back to Laticrete? Quality AND customer service, that's why. A client's last-minute grout selection turns out not to be stocked in my area (1600-series Toasted Almond). I can't find it anywhere, so I call my local rep to ask him who might stock it locally. Mike Werner tells me, "Let me look into that for you", at 7:30AM. By 8AM, he calls back to tell me that he's having the Oregon plant break open a case and they will be shipping two units to my job site, "Next Day freight" and won't let me pay for the shipping!
Thank you Laticrete and thank you Mike Werner!"
Shaughnn Lee-Capua

Read more ... and follow us at www.facebook.com/laticrete

Message From A Renovations Contractor

"I am so proud to pass out my brochure that your team designed for me! People are blown away with the professionalism and they have a sense of relief to see tile and stone installations that I have done. My customers love it when I put the Laticrete grout color swatch sample stickers directly on the tile for them to compare. Laticrete has given me the tools to put myself above my competition. I used to have my customers purchase their own grout but now I insist on using PermaColor and SpectraLOCK. Besides my underlayment it is usually a total Laticrete install."

Click on image to enlarge

Laticrete PTK Educational Program in Hawaii

"Thank you again for bringing this course to Hawaii.  It was awesome!  I honestly can say that this is the best seminar/training that I have attended ... and it was free!  I'm in awe.

I've been to many classes and training seminars where most of the class had glazed eyes or closed eyes. The lectures were long and most of the information went in one ear and out the other.  Laticrete has it down, though.  The speakers were exceptionally knowledgeable and entertaining.  I've retained more information from the day and half I spent at the Laticrete seminar (I had to leave early the second day, against my will!) than I have from courses that were 3 or 4 days long!  In addition, the materials that were provided are sooooo helpful and greatly appreciated.  We are already putting the ANSI and TCNA books to good use.

Keep up the AMAZING work!!!

Mahalo,

Rachel
 

Rachel Whalen-Holderbaum (Ludman)
Design & Engineering
All Pool & Spa, Inc.
905 Kalanianaole Hwy
Kailua, HI 96734
(808) 853-4761
Cell (808) 782-0807

Message From A Tile Contractor

"Just a quick THANK YOU to LATICRETE. I sold a very large job to a car dealership today. Because of the knowledge I had when using LATICRETE products and methods. They were so impressed with the grout by far not staining. The owner told me flat out that what sold the job was the grout and the thinset being used.

Can't wait to get started ... and take pictures for my family at LATICRETE

THANKS AGAIN"
Dan Whelan

"Its not the just the tile you install ........... its the product you use to adhere it ........ LATICRETE"

Message From A Contractor

"You have fine products and I don't mind telling people about them. I don't even offer any other grout but Laticrete. That PermaCOLOR is something else.  SpectraLOCK as you know is awesome. Thank you for your help sir."

Eschbach Renovations
Brian Eschbach
Petersburg, Va 23805

Laticrete is the coolest

A posting from the JB Tile Forum. Used with the author's permission:

"I couldn't agree more about Laticrete. Not more than an hour ago, I received a pallet of stuff I jokingly asked to try out. Laticrete's amazing customer service and willingness to go the distance to please their customers is astounding, not to mention how incredible hydroban is.

Seriously, check out Henry's blog, I waterproofed a paper bag with it.

I am not just a Laticrete customer, I am a Laticrete fanatic."
 
Luke Hennigar
Coping Skills Construction
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Dana On The Jobsite

Email from a tile guy:

Hi Henry,

Hope all is well.  Here are some photos of the Laticrete hat & mug in action, sort of.  It's been a while since I've used your products, not by choice, and they didn't let me down. Grouted the tub splash with Permacolor and about to grout the floor with Spectra Lock.

It was the first time I used the Permacolor and it went well. I'll be recommending it for any sanded grout applications I come across.

Also spoke with Mike Werner today about some concerns my customer had regarding cleaning Spectra Lock and he took care of me like he always does.


Dana Hagin  LLC
2836 Danbury Ln. SW #1633
Tumwater, WA 98512

Phone       360-507-3288
Fax          360-236-8203
haginco@reachone.com

A nice message

I received a message yesterday ....

"Thanks for your offer. Are you the same Henry Rothberg that I met in Atlanta in 1978/79 at the Dal Tile Service Center? I worked for Dave Adams there.

While I have your attention, I want to take this opportunity to tell you how much I appreciate the performance of all the Laticrete products.

The SpectraLock and Permacolor grouts are easy upsells for us as flooring/tile dealers, and since I have the SpectraLock Pro all over my house, it's easy for me to guide my customers to the benefits and long term value.

Your sales reps and tech guys (well, the ones in MY area anyway - Mike Goins and Gary Martin) are first rate professionals who make the extra effort to make sure we're happy with your products, and who also make sure that we understand how to use them via our warehouse 'classes'. "

Jule

A Few Words From A Tile Guy

Henry,

Love my Laticrete 252 !!!! 2 pallets of 3!

Craig Marcus
Tile Installations Unlimited
Rochester, NY 14622
(585)734-6644

Some Nice Words About A Laticrete Rep

"Henry, I just wanted to let you know you have a h*ll of a rep in the Northern Virginia area.

Kurt Weber, your Laticrete rep, and I did a demo for my company's product yesterday for a client at a Dal-Tile warehouse.

He did an excellent job. Quite honestly the best and most informative demo I have been involved with. I learned a great deal about your products yesterday, so I am sure you can imagine how informative it was for the company’s employees.

The company is a high end exterior design company made up of people who have worked on the ground level with their hands in the dirt, but also see the need and desire for people to want their exterior living area to be as nice as the interior.

This is their first move into using tile in an exterior application, so the questions were coming from the basic to the extremely complicated. Anything they were dishing out to Kurt he was on the ball. Just thought you would want to know. I wish all the reps I do demos with were as prepared and knowledgeable."

(Email from an industry materials supplier - who makes a rather interesting product that I wish I could share with you - who prefers to be unnamed because he doesn't want to offend my competitors ...!)

A Phone Call

I received a phone call from a tile installer late one afternoon last week. We chatted about a problem a friend of his was having. He later sent me this email:

"Thanks Henry. When I called, I didn't think about it being after 5PM where you are. I think it shows what a great company you have there when you give out your number and answer your phone after hours. I briefly talked to Mark about you and Laticrete, and mentioned the warranty that is offered when your products are used exclusively. He is certainly interested in using more of your products, and I think the fact that he will be in touch with the area rep is a step in the right direction."

Kevin

Life At Laticrete

I asked a new Laticrete Field Rep how he was doing and what he thought about his position at Laticrete.

Here is his reply:

"Great Henry,

You know what ? The last 2 1/2 to 3 months have been great. Got my schedule figured out, which helped balance life. Talking to people has always been easy for me, but talking to people productively by listening and asking questions has been something that took time. I actually really like doing cold calls now and have no fear in setting up appointments now. Demo's are definitely the part of this job that is by far the easiest and most fun for me, I love it and can't get enough of showing, teaching and helping people see the great products that Laticrete has and how easy they are to use. You wouldn't believe how jacked I get when someone is struggling with SpectraLock or 3701 thickbed on walls or our new 4XLT, its like yeah ! Jeff to the Rescue ! Lol.

I have a great job for a great company that has great employees that just so happen to have a great product that's easy to be proud of.

Henry, I've always been passionate, creative and emotional about my work in the tile industry, I was good at setting tile, being a boss, supervisor, co-worker and I believe that I was a good representative of any company that I worked for.

Now I have found a place that I can feel the same way about, along with being in a industry that I love.

This has not been an easy transition for me, those first 6-7 months I questioned if this was right for me ( I think most of it was the part that in sales Instant gratification and results are few, Walt always said that its a marathon not a sprint ). Even home life was different and needed adjustment. but you know what ? I'm getting it. By all means, I don't have it ( I hope I never think I do ) but I'm getting it. Lol

Thanks to people like you, Ed, Ron, Walt, Eric and especially Todd.

Sorry about the long letter Henry. I guess I was just feeling it tonight. Don't know what it was but something in your last email struck a cord.

And thank you for that,
JJK"

Jeffrey Kimmerling
Contractor Sales Representative
jjkimmerling@laticrete.com
(203) 314-4240

Some background about Jeff:

Jeff joined our Laticrete team as a CSR for Territory 270 bringing more than 20 years of experience as a master tile setter. His familiarity with LATICRETE products and comprehensive installation experience make him ideally suited to take on the challenges as a CSR and cultivate relationships with contractors. Most recently Jeff was a project manager with Lakeside Stoneworks.

This Milwaukee native and his wife, Julie enjoy world traveling when not cheering for their hometown Brewers. Jeff is an avid golfer and competitive Foosball player. He has won more than 15 Foosball titles including the 2005 World Championship!

All in a day's work

A rather nice message from a Tile Contractor. These types of messages always put a smile on my face:

Henry,

After recently finding out what your position is within Laticrete, I am even more impressed with your level of service, commitment, and generosity to myself and to many of the other people on this forum. These acts, along with having some awesome products, has earned my loyalty towards specifying, recommending, and using Laticrete products.

I hope you know that your efforts have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. I look forward to meeting you at Coverings next month.

Thank you,

Juan

http://www.redrocktilestone.com/index.html

Our first experience with Laticrete products

“The renovation to the University of Tennessee Lindsay Nelson Baseball Stadium was our first experience with LATICRETE products. Not only did LATICRETE provide good technical phone support and product literature they also provided on-site training and installation observations to ensure proper application. LATICRETE was able to easily color match grout to maintain a consistent appearance with the new and existing traditional masonry. Rouse Construction Company built the original stadium in 1992 and with using quality building products, like LATICRETE, we are confident that the owner will continue to be satisfied with their facility for years to come.”

Jason E. Cathey, P.E.
Project Engineer, LEED AP
Rouse Construction Company
Knoxville, TN 37934-2890

SpectraLock - Nothing to fear

A recent posting on the John Bridge Tile Forum:

"SpectraLock, used it for the first time on Friday. All I can say is WOW!!! Nothing like the epoxies of my childhood. That stuff was a pain in the A??, if you know what I mean. I actually called my Pops on the way home and told him about it. This stuff is almost like regular grout. I had used another manufacture's "easy to use" epoxy and can say it was as painful as the old stuff. My Hats off to the fine folks at Laticrete for a product that delivers everything that they promise."

Greg Hiens
Hiens Tile & Stone
ghiens@mac.com
859-983-6087

An Interesting Comment

"It's been awhile since we spoke, but I'm glad to see you're taking an active role on this forum. In today's environment of company policy and procedure it's nice to see a company representative (especially at the top) that's truly involved."