b'EDITORS LETTER Our future success is directly proportional toA T nolo gy land t C por H eour ability to understand, adopt and integrate tech onal E Con rend t sr re Ass t from thNati Ti etrac o sociationnew technology into our work.Sukant Ratnakar, author Production: Bart A. Bettiga, Publisher bart@tile-assn.comLesley A. Goddin, Editor lesley@tile-assn.comMichelle Chapman, Art Director,Lesley Goddin michelle@tile-assn.comFor my letter for this TECH issue, I want to lean heavily on some thoughtsMary Shaw-Olson, Advertising Sales pennedaboutthetileindustrybyGiannaVallefuocoofNTCAFive-Starmary@tile-assn.comContractor Vallefuoco Contractors, LLC of Rockville, Md.Mailing Address: Vallefuoco notes, As one of few fields still heavily reliant on a human skillP.O. Box 13629 set, the tile industry is renowned for its indelible hands-on craftsmanship. ThisJackson, MS 39236 U.S.A.has proven to be a huge asset for us as a tile contractor during the pandemic. Being among the scarce industries deemed essential, weve managed to workShipping Address: throughout the darkest days of this years struggling economy. Much of our626 Lakeland East Drive capacity to stay employed has hinged on the incredible effort and innovation ofJackson, MS 39232 Tel: 601-939-2071 our supply chain. Our manufacturers and vendors have not only kept us stockedFax: 601-932-6117with staple setting materials, but theyve pivoted to create new and adaptive products to address our changing needs. Website:She adds, Social distancing requirements have prohibited us from workingwww.tile-assn.comside by side with other trades as we did before. This has greatly prolonged over- www.tileletter.comall project length for the client. Any means of reducing our installation time has become essential. Another priority has been to help clients choose tile acces-sories without having to leave their homes. Tile industry technologyas well asNTCA would not be possible without the dedicated service targeted marketing campaignshave readily accommodated our need for twoof our board and committee members, and regional and state directors. Meet these dedicated volunteers by visiting categories of products in 2020; those that reduce installation time and thosewww.tile-assn.com and clicking on About Us. You can also that satisfy our clients needs. nd information and a continually-updated list of Five Star Contractors at www.tile-assn.comclick on Find a Tile Con-These thoughts set the stage for the TECH 2020 issue, that explores emergingtractor or Consultant.and popular technologies in use in the industry, provides an overview of those TRENDSANDTECHEDITORIALPOLICY:TRENDSandTECH advances, and presents thoughts by contractors in select categories about theareofcialpublicationsoftheNationalTileContractors need and positive contribution these technologies offer to the trade of tile set- Association,Inc.(NTCA).TRENDSprovidesamediumfor expressing views and opinions without approving, disapprov-ting. Some of these technologies in this issue also do double duty, which savesing, or guaranteeing the validity or accuracy of any data, time and money as you plan your timeline and budget. claim or opinion appearing under a byline, or obtained or quoted from an acknowledged source. Statements of fact Also in this issue, we present a number of feature stories, including insights onand opinion are made on the responsibility of the authors installing encaustic, cement or hydraulic tile, authored by John Cox, with supportalone, and do not imply an opinion or reect the ofcial from some industry experts, an overview of what the virtual Total Solutions Plusposition of NTCA.TheNational TileContractorsAssociation,Inc.isanequal (TSP) will offer you later this month, and an announcement of the NTCA Five-Staropportunity association and seeks to include qualied individu-Project of the Year winners. On the latter, check TileLetter.com for expanded infor- als and businesses in all phases of its activities. The National Tile Contractors Association, Inc. does not discriminate on the basis mation and supporting videos of these outstanding projects by expert contractors.of race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national Its our hope that this issue helps you to get on top of the technological trendsorigin, veteran status, or disability. The National Tile Contractors Association, Inc. seeks opportunities to include these groups in and harness the advantages they offer to make your projects more efficient,its programs and activities.well-performing, and beautiful. We hope you find a nugget of information that helps your encaustic installs, become inspired by the award winners, or find a session to support your business on the virtual TSP agenda. If you walk away with one insight that benefits your work flow, or one new product that makes your life easier, our job is done! God bless, Lesleylesley@tile-assn.com42020|TECH'