Photos from Coverings.

Below are just four of our new product panels on display at Coverings 2016

Click on the product name below the photo to download the brochure.


BETON


KOSMOS


NEW SANDSTONE


NEWSTONE

For prices and order enquiries contact Brin at Coverings today.

Looking forward to seeing you at the show,
The Link International team, KREM tiles. Booth 4036.

 Booth 4036

Coverings Begins!

Our team have had a very busy weekend, setting up the stand.

Coverings 2016 opened yesterday.

The team, all dressed up and ready for day one!


Earlier...building the stand.
The link below is to a video pan of the expo hall prior to the stands being set up.
https://www.facebook.com/marius.kruger.568/videos/10208362546675285/


taking in the sights.

Looking forward to seeing you at the show,
The Link International team, KREM tiles. Booth 4036.

 Booth 4036

Coverings in Chicago Next Week!

Our team are all driving or flying in today to commence assembling our stand and getting ready for the official opening next Monday.

If you want to meet with a company that has a range second to none, and can offer you a packaged service of Itallian designed products made on the latest equipment out of China, then you MUST visit our stand at Coverings 2016.

No one else at Coverings will offer you the complete suite of Quality, Range, Price, and Service in the manner that we will with our KREM brand.

If you are serious about wanting an edge that will provide you profitable growth in your sales, we will set aside some time to get to know what you are after, and match your needs to what we offer, we are sure you will be delighted and pleased you popped by.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon, The Link International team, KREM tiles.

 Booth 4036

Coverings 2016 is coming up this month & we'll be there!

Coverings starts in Chicago on the 18th of this month and we'll be there! This year is its 27th edition, with hopes of reaching record attendance. Our tile samples have been delivered and our stand is ready for assembly! The first of our team has already departed on tour before the main event begins. Our exhibit is booth 4036. You belong here too!
Register to attend by clicking the image below, we'd love to meet you there.

www.coverings.com

 Booth 4036

Selling Mosaics for Fun and Profit

Because we've just received new mosaic samples from our factories we've been unpacking them and thinking hard about how to sell mosaics.

Mosaics are expensive which is why they are often only used in decorative strips. But precisely because they are expensive compared to ordinary tiles they represent a great opportunity to increase your margin.

Here's how you do it...

1. Play the safety card. Ask whether the customer has children or seniors at home. Shower floor tiles should be no larger than 15cm and 10cm or smaller is recommended but first prize is mosaics. There are two reasons for this: One is so there are enough grout lines underfoot to provide traction for slip resistance. The other is that you need small tiles to cover a sloping drainage floor.

2. Play the beauty card. Glass tile, with its jewel-like qualities and multiple color options is an attractive sell. Given the price differential even the addition of a decor strip around the bathroom and say the shower floor can increase the value of the sale by up to 30%. Remind customers that the footprint of their bathroom is really quite small; generally only 6m2.

3. Play the design card. For a clean, continuous look advise your customers to use the same material on the bathroom floor and the shower pan. This floor expanse is only broken up by the curb. Mosaics throughout are safer and much more attractive.

4. Then also remember to up-sell to the best quality adhesives and grouts.

The beauty of this approach to selling is that you're not selling your customer short. On the contrary you're offering the best professional service.

The benefit is that your customer leaves with a higher opinion of the purchase they've just made which means that they will talk about them and in all likelihood be back for more... and you've increased your profit by 30% or more!

All the best,

We're working on our new mosaics range now. Look out for it soon.

I promise you...this technique works!   ...Really well.

The Link International team, KREM tiles.

Grout and About - 7 Fixes

We've been grout and about testing tile adhesives lately. Because we've set up a tile sample-making workshop next door we tested various tile adhesives to fix tile samples to our cardboard folders and eventually decided on flexible adhesive which is normally used for mosaics. 

All this gluing led us to thinking about grout. I'm sure you have had customers come in complaining about grout problems. Grout can turn a good-looking tile job into a bad one. Furthermore, no matter how grout is applied, problems can crop up. Fortunately common grout problems are usually easy to fix. For each problem below there's a cause and a solution you can advise your customers to follow. If it is necessary to retile a section, always advise customers to employ a qualified and reputable tiler.

 

Equipment

• Sponge
• Water
• Latex caulk
• Pre-mixed grout
• Grout saw
• White vinegar or speciality grout cleaner
• Stiff bristle brush

1. Fix minor grout cracks. Grout cracks are the most common problem. House settlement or improper underlayment installation usually cause small grout cracks. Minor cracks can be fixed by this process. Run a bead of latex caulk across the width of the entire crack. With your finger push the caulking into the crack. Wipe any extra off the tile with a wet sponge. Sprinkle dry grout onto the caulked area. Use a finger to rub this in. Drip water on the area and blend. With this method if the tile moves again the caulk will stretch to help hide the crack.
2. Fix low grout. Low grout spots are created when the installer wipes to much grout out of the grout joint during installation. To fix, wet the grout with clean water and re-grout, blending the new grout into the old. Wet grout bonds with new grout better than dry will.
3. Fix powdery grout. Soft powdery grout is caused when the installer does not use enough water when mixing the grout. The only solution is to use a grout saw or knife and remove the problem grout. Re-grout these areas with properly mixed grout.
4. Fix pinholes. Grout with pinholes is caused when the installer uses soupy grout. Too much water was used during mixing or the installer left too much water on the joints while wiping. As the grout dried the water evaporated leaving holes. The solution here is to dampen the holes with water and push grout into the holes with a finger. Wipe off extra grout with a damp sponge.
5. Fix discolored grout. New grout that is discolored with dark or dirty looking spots, is caused when the installer added too much water to the grout and then let it sit in the bucket to thicken up. The colorant separated and clumped together, creating uneven color. There are two solutions. The first is to remove bad grout using a grout saw then re-grout. The second is to use a grout stain to even the color. This usually means you have to paint all of the grout.
6. Fix two different colors. If a tile was repaired and the wrong color grout was used you can do one of the following. Remove the wrong color and replace with the new one, blend the new one into the old one, or stain the new grout the right color.
   
   
7. Clean dirty grout. Dirty sanded grout that has not been stained can be cleaned with white vinegar or speciality grout cleaner and a stiff bristle brush like a hard toothbrush.

All the best,
The Link International team, KREM tiles.

A Wonderful Variety in a Single Porcelain Range.

We recently filled an order for a wide variety of tiles for a hotel construction project. Some tiles were for floors, others for feature walls in social areas like lounges and restaurants. Yet others for floors in circulation spaces. Most tiles were specified as cement-like finishes in tones of grey.

In addition there was a requirement for accent tiles in much brighter colours.

When the client saw the variety available within the range and spotted these hexagon tiles they were entranced. The hex tiles were immediately added to the order.

Some apparently ordinary grey tiles an fact have fairly subtle patterning etched in. These are used as accents in otherwise plain areas. What a difference they make!

What is perhaps most remarkable is that all these tiles come from a single range, they are simply digitally printed, cut and finished in different ways. The bodies are all top grade porcelain.

If you or one of your customers have a project requirement like this, get in touch with us to discuss your needs. We can customise one or more container loads for you.

Visit our recently updated KREM website to see our new inkjet designs.

All the best,The Link International team, KREM tiles.