and the customers who give us so much support,” he added. “The wedi Building Panel is proudly engineered in Germany, and it is also now proudly produced 'Made in the U.S.A.'” “Our second, new manufac- turing plant is equipped with highly sophisticated state-of-the- art machines and equipment- automation at its best and fully designed and built by wedi’s own engineering team,” said Alexander Deutz, wedi's Director Production & Technology. "This plant will not only produce the finest wedi Building Panels. We also believe, that we are adding value not only for our customers, but we can now give back much more to our community here in Batavia. For example, by offer- ing high-tech jobs and education- al opportunities to our local work- force. In fact, our production in the USA is and will remain highly competitive when compared with any other international competi- tor or region,” he said. “The new North American head- quarters and production plant is an incredibly fulfilling milestone for all of us at wedi, and it is cementing our commitment,” Deutz added. “It is strengthening our logistics capabilities allowing us to further grow in substance”. And there's more: for example, an integrated brand-new train- ing center, a testing and QA laboratory. “Since we have started pioneer- ing the market with our shower systems, hands-on contractor workshops and trainings on proj- ect sites have been at the heart of our development efforts,” Duetz said. “Today this is not only pro- gram to us, it is embedded in our DNA and culture. We want to ensure our customers know and see that wedi is proving its qual- ity and performance in the field. “Today, we are training over 10,000 craftsmen in the use of our product systems every year,” added Bastian Lohmann, who is respon- sible for wedi in North America. “With our new training center, we can now keep adding training and support value. In fact, we have begun offering the new wedi PRO certification classes, which are quali- fying our installers for a warranty program that is second to none.” wedi is known for its leadership in premium quality, performance, installation experience, and inno- vation in shower and tile backer board systems. And a field and support service infrastructure and offering that is unparalleled. In part, this is because wedi maintains an exclusive focus on shower systems and on consistently working to meet the needs of con- tractors working with tile in espe- cially wet areas such as showers and bathrooms. This expertise is also paired with 35 years of expe- rience in manufacturing, research and product development. ADVERTORIAL –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 92 TileLetter | 2018