Feb 27, 2019 - Dallas, TX
Why do tens of thousands of industry professionals attend their annual market at The International Surface Event (TISE): SURFACES | StonExpo/Marmomac |TileExpo each year? Answer, for the incredible opportunity to source the newest, most innovative products in the industry, to negotiate deals with their business partners and vendors, to learn more on a multitude of industry subjects, and to network and see old friends, all under one roof. That is exactly what happened at TISE 2019 in Las Vegas this January at the Mandalay Bay as the event experienced another year of power-house industry attendance, exhibits, product displays, and education. Attendees came from 77 countries and from every corner of North America to buy, source, network, and discover what is new, needed, and up-and-coming for their businesses.
THE BRANDS
800 plus brands, 135 new to the exhibition floor, presented their products in over one million square feet of exhibits, product showrooms, features, and education. Each showroom space offered beautiful displays, unique demonstrations, and thousands of products and services for the industry to discover for their businesses. The exhibit hall experienced the return of Shaw Industries presenting their Anderson Tuftex, COREtec, and US Floors lines, a host of creative displays and events from the Mohawk Brands: Mohawk, Quick Step, Daltile, Marrazzi/American Olean, PERGO, IVC, and Godfrey Hirst, large sets from Mannington and Engineered Floors, as well as other flooring, stone and tile displays. To discover the best of the best from TISE 2019, view the Best of Awards.
THE PRODUCTS
TISE exhibiting brands offer products from every aspect of residential and commercial sectors of the flooring, tile, and stone industry including hard goods, soft goods, equipment, tools, supplies and services, and so much more. This year’s market was a discovery for all the senses across the entire exhibit hall. A few key products directions noted by the trend spotting celebrity designers were the vast product displays for LVT products, as well as innovation in tile and stone products that offer more flexibility for design and installation. Watch this interview from House Tipster Industry with Jennifer Farrell featuring an exclusive bull nose, wood-look tile and other stunning items from Cerrad.
THE DEMONSTRATIONS
The benefit of attending live markets is to experience the products first-hand and to meet directly with the key people who produce them. Exhibiting brands at TISE 2019 ensured the industry could experience their products directly in live demonstrations within their exhibit spaces, as well as, on the Product Demo Stage at The Design + Installation Showcase Hub (The DISH), right on the show floor. MAPEI Corporation and USG offered daily demonstrations each hour covering topics from shower and floor prep to installing floors in a flash. Participating product demonstration brands at The DISH were Custom Building Products, DriTac Flooring Products, Johns Manville, Merkrete/Parex, and DryTile North America. View the on-floor education schedule to discover more of the product introductions and interactions that occurred at TISE 2019.
THE INSPIRATION + DISCOVERY
Many industry veterans attend TISE knowing exactly what they are searching for. Others attend for the first time desiring to see everything the industry has to offer. Both groups leave the event having learned or seen something new and unexpected because the vast TISE market is a place of discovery and inspiration. Iconic brands launch new product lines while new companies move into the marketplace presenting exciting innovation for the industry. A new trend discovered at TISE 2019 pertained to innovation in the ease of installation for floors, walls, backsplashes. One new exhibitor, Cal-Flor Accessory Systems, featured their OMUR On the Wall, a unique and innovative wall mount system which allows mounting of click floors on the wall. In addition, emerging for the second year is an expansion in magnetic installation products as seen by Intelli-Force Magnetix and Magnetic Building Solutions, a magnetic backing and base underlayment that adheres wood, stone, and tile to nearly any commercial and residential surface.
TREND SPOTTING + CELEBRITYDESIGNER APPEARANCES
Throughout the days of TISE 2019, the show floor had pop up events featuring such trend-spotting, celebrity designers as Chip Wade, Jennifer Farrell, Christopher Grubb, and Allison Eden - just to name a few. In addition, TISE hosted design influencers covering the floor for the greatest, hot new finds while Scarlet Opus presented design trends for 2019 and beyond at the Design Stage at The DISH. Each of these unique individuals offered their insights into trends they are seeing in the industry from color to patterns, material sizes, and more, all while highlighting their unique finds and perspectives at TISE 2019. “I absolutely love SURFACES,” says Allison Eden of Allison Eden Studios. “I’m like a nerd in a candy land. My favorite things that I saw were Laticrete’s translucent SpectraLOCK because I do a lot of backlit pieces, it’s a grout and you can add glitter. Also, DuChateau, who does THE most beautiful wood flooring, just gorgeous!” Allison Eden talks colors and trends and so much more with Christopher Grubb, view more.
THE STORIES
Every surface tells a story, and at The International Surface Event, the stories were shared. Leading into the event, the industry provided their perspectives on success, their products, and their unique positioning in the industry in the #mySURFACEstory campaign.
Once on-site, TISE presented SURFACES Live in conjunction with Floor Covering News, right from the show floor. The industry watched LIVE as exhibiting brands shared their product innovations, the ingenuity behind their products, and even live demonstrations on camera. Businesses can view the videos online, on Facebook, and may also share this content directly with their customers via their business’s social media pages. Participating SURFACES Live 2019 brands were American Biltrite, Anderson Tuftex, Congoleum Corp., COREtec/US Floors, Daltile, Dixie Home, DuChateau, Emser Tile, Engineered Floors, Forbo Flooring Systems, Hearthwood, HPS Schonox, Inhaus/Classen, I4F Patents & Technology, Mannington, Measure Square Corp., Mohawk, PERGO, Raskin Gorilla Floors, Southwind Carpet & Hard Surface, and Tarkett.
THE AWARDS
TISE is the place for individuals and businesses to be highlighted as winners, leaders, and innovators. At TISE 2019, winners were awarded for the Best of Event programs, the Best of Product programs, the Stone World Fabricator of the Year, the Installer of the Year for carpet, stone/tile, and wood, the Natural Stone Institute Pinnacle Awards, the annual winners in the Natural Stone Institute Award Ceremony, the Floor Covering Weekly Dealer’s Choice Awards, and so many more. Click the links above to view the winners and more information on each program.
THE EVENTS
From the show floor to across Las Vegas, the industry created buzz at TISE with events from awards presentations to networking happy hours, annual meetings and sales meetings, to a VIP bash on the show floor by the Mohawk brands featuring the surprise appearance by The Band, Perry. Some brands took the opportunity to give back to the community while they were gathered at TISE such as Tarkett who pulled together its own Light the Night team during the Tarkett Residential sales meeting to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), raising $11,765 in less than a month to support the cause of battling the complex disease that is blood cancer.
THE EDUCATION
TISE launched a brand-new education program called CONVERGE at this year’s event. Industry leaders covered the hard-hitting, on-point topics such as The 411 on 4:20: Medical Marijuana and the Work Place and What to Expect in Washington DC After the 2018 Elections, technically crucial topics such as Moisture Mitigation Roundtable and The Ways of Water: Critical Considerations for Shower Construction, and design-centric, forecasting sessions such as Color Vibes: A Journey Through Color and Trends and The Power of 5: The 5 Hottest Trends in Flooring & The 5 Types of People Buying Them. The program was led by experts from inside the industry with conversation by veterans, Jon Namba, Lisbeth Calandrino, and Katie Ford to name a few, as well as experts outside the industry such as Attorney Jeff King and social media specialist Shannon Vogel. Each influencer brought their own unique perspectives and vault of information to provide value to each CONVERGE attendee. Thought in it’s first year, TISE plans to grow, adjust, and improve the program ongoing to ensure it meets the education needs of the industry.
THE 2020 VIEW OF NEXT YEAR’S EVENT
There is so much to look forward to as the TISE team begins to plan out the next upcoming market for January 2020. Watch for updates and news coming to you in the months ahead. Make sure to sign up for the event newsletters and follow the event on social media to stay abreast of all the industry and event news. For more information on The International Surface Event, visit the website.
Save the Date #TISE2020
The International Surface Event (TISE): SURFACES | StonExpo/Marmomac | TileExpoEXHIBITS 28-30 January 2020EDUCATION 27-30 January 2020Mandalay Bay Convention Center | Las Vegas USA
THE TESTIMONIALS
TISE is sponsored by and partners with crucial industry associations who assist in the creation and development of the event. Their connection with the industry in their specific sectors allows for detailed analysis and development to ensure the event meets the needs of the whole industry. Hear what these partners have said about TISE 2019.
“TISE/SURFACES was once again an amazing show. The hosted Buyer program was a big hit – providing the opportunity to speak to an entire group encouraged more questions and much greater interaction. Overall at TISE, it seemed more of the key decision makers were present this year, energy was high, and the feedback we received was very positive. The event reaffirmed why TISE/SURFACES is “The” flooring show for North America.” ~ Scott Humphrey, President/CEO, World Floor Covering Association
“StonExpo is a great venue for stone professionals to see new products and emerging technology. It is our primary event to showcase education, awards, and network with our members. We love the event!” ~ Jim Hieb, CEO, Natural Stone Institute
“TISE 2019 was a great success for the National Tile Contractors Association. Our booth was busy all three days with tile and flooring contractors who were interested in our programs and services. We continue to meet strong flooring and tile contractors at TISE who are striving to improve their businesses. We are looking forward to a great 2020!”, Bart Bettiga, Executive Director, National Tile Contractors Association.
“Although Veronafiere has been a part of StonExpo/Marmomac, through the Marmomac Pavilion, for 14 years now, this was my first time attending TISE,” said Veronafiere Commercial Director Flavio Innocenzi. “I was impressed by the vast offer of hard and soft surfaces on display, as well as related machinery and technologies. Based on what I saw at the show, the outlook for the U.S. market is positive, especially for stone materials.” Zack Zehner, President of Mannington Residential, says “The show has been terrific, extremely busy, with great response to our new products and great momentum going into the year.”
