Proalso, the Spanish labor associa- tion, the Terrazzo, Tile and Marble Association of Canada and the Australian Tile Council. Strengthening the labor market is an important undertaking for all sectors of the tile industry said Assoposa’s Director Francesco Bergomi. “We have industry partners who understand that when labor suc- ceeds, they succeed,” he said. “We must make sure manufacturers of tile and allied products as well as distributors respect and support strengthening the fixer (installer) professions.” While there are no international standards for certifying tile install- ers or for the installation of tile, sev- eral ideas were floated that could lead to improving both workforce certification and installation stan- dards. “Assoposa has some impressive methodology for the installation of thin panel tile,” said James Woelfel, Board Chairman and Chairman of the NTCA Technical Committee. “Watching the installers in action and briefly discussing their stan- dards during this trip has sparked several ideas for me. Now if I could just read Italian!” Despite some language barri- ers, the desire to establish a regu- lar forum for exchanging ideas was unanimous. Confindustria Ceramica’s Luciano Galassini offered to continue the formal dia- logue by hosting a meeting at Cersaie 2018. Between now and then there is sure to be more infor- mal discussion, and work will be done to establish a clear agenda and action plan for the meeting. SPECIAL FEATURE –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– NTCA Board Chairman James Woelfel dur- ing the labor summit at Cersaie. The assembled group included members from the NTCA, as well as Dale Kempster from Canada for TTMAC, and Svend Hovmand representing CTEF. Bart Bettiga, Martin Howard and James Woelfel of NTCA represented the U.S. in meetings with other labor representatives from around the world dur- ing Cersaie at the end of September. 74 TileLetter | December 2017