78 2018 | TRENDS • 8 8 ormat as one o the ery e op ons 20 years a o, and it literally disappeared rom the mar et ith the in asion o lar er si es. t all o a s dden, this ormat is in the ame a ain ith an increasin demand. • ric shaped les can e another ood e ample, ith an increasin n m er o si e op ons in the mar et, o erin di erent loo s and finishes, s it a le or almost any desi n ideas. • ar e ormat les ith deep 3 relie s are idely sed or all applica ons in commercial mar ets. What steps are Turkish manufacturers taking to keep up with trends? he r ish le ind stry is pre y p to date hen it comes to prod c on technolo ies, and prod ct de elopment capa ili es. he n m er o man ac t rers, constantly chan in trends, and the re ire ments o di erent mar ets here r ish les are e ported to, eep r ish man act rers on their toes. ein ran ed as one o the top fi e ceramic le e porters in the orld ma es inno a e approach and con n o s in estment into technolo y ine i ta le or r ish man act rers. Are there any trends that really surprised you? one o s as really e pectin 8 8 enca stic tiles pa erns o o r childhood to e that s ccess l in the mar et, hen man act rers are tempt in cons mers ith lar er ormats. e ne that they o ld sell, t didn t ite e pect s ch a lar e demand. his is definitely one o the most s rprisin and s ccess l trends e ha e seen lately. What is the broad view of what most of the major Turkish producers will offer the US market in 2018? st li e pre io s years, r ish man act rers ill oc s on prod cts that can e sold e ery day y .S. distri tors, in con en onal .S. si es ith com pe e prices ood, stone, cement concrete, te le loo s, as ell as 8 8 enca s c les, 2cm pa er les, and ric s. ith that ein said, those ho li e alterna e distri on channels mi ht oc s on more niche prod cts s ch as thin porcelain, and lar e ormat porcelain sla s. INTERNATIONAL TRENDS FROM TURKEY (continued) his olished orcelain tile ro sa era i shows an u dated clas- sic blac and white loo with its lac arble and ugla hite, both in c c and c c ee it in erson at overings booth