No matter the category, technology has been playing a major role in the types of products manufacturers are able to produce, and the tile industry is no different. In fact, many would argue there’s a technological revolution taking place in the category—some would call it an evolution—as companies are creating products with looks and textures never before seen.
Aside from better, high definition visuals, there are two major movements taking place in tile: One is the fact Americans are starting to gravitate to using larger products as seen in other parts of the world (see related story on page 22). The second is that tiles in general are getting thinner. This would almost seem to be in contrast to the first point as one would think as the product got larger is would need to be thicker—or at least maintain its traditional thickness—to meet the extra demands placed on if from the overall size of each tile being bigger.