NTCA NEWS 98 TileLetter | November 2017 Welch Tile hosts NTCA U curriculum planning session As NTCA University approaches the completion of the first two years of training for a tile finisher, Training and Education Coordinator Becky Serbin had the opportunity to travel to Welch Tile & Marble in Kent City, Mich., to spend three days with the company’s Dan Welch and Dave Rogers, along with Woody Sanders from D.W. Sanders Tile & Stone Contracting, Inc., in Marietta, Ga. and Dirk Sullivan from Hawthorne Tile in Portland, Ore., to begin out- lining the next three years of online training for tile setters. Since the three contractors' companies are from different areas of the coun- try, and represent both commercial and residential work, the days were filled with great discussions on the appropriate classes for any type of installer. Once these courses are developed, they will be available online on NTCA University. INDUSTRY NEWS––––––––––––– Emser Tile opens 3rd distribution center Emser Tile opened its third North American distribution center at 1020 CenterPoint Drive, Suffolk, Va. The 400,000-sq.-ft. location will service the growing East Coast and Midwest markets, expanding company’s resources to account for a growing product portfolio and increased customer demand. It has the capacity to expand to 850,000 sq. ft. to support long term growth. The company operates over 20 showrooms and distribution cen- ters throughout the East Coast and Midwest, the majority of which opened in the last five years. “Our growth in the East Coast and Midwest markets gave us an opportunity to build a state-of- the-art distribution center to meet our customers’ needs through even Gathered for planning the next phase of online tile setter training through NTCA University are (clockwise from left): Dirk Sullivan, Hawthorne Tile; Woody Sanders, D.W. Sanders Tile & Stone Contracting, Inc.; Dave Rogers, and Dan Welch, both of Welch Tile and Stone. Becky Serbin, NTCA Training and Education Coordinator, is behind the camera!