Ton Holten started in the ceramic tile industry driving tile-laden tractor trailers for a Dutch forwarding company, from the far reaches of two continents back to his native Holland. In the 1980s, the Holten family moved to Canada and began Tilemaster, a retail and construction industry supplier in Aurora, Ontario, where it provides a vast array of metal, stone, slate and marble tiles, as well as countertops and related products.
Early on at Tilemaster, Holten moved company accounting from paper ledgers to the computer, where Vigilant point-of-sale and inventory control software helped Holten control his business for more than 20 years. But seeing a growing demand for tile fueled by a boom in local house building and a healthy economy, Holten moved Tilemaster from its original location to another in Aurora and opened a second store in Barrie, about 25 miles away.