By Matt Simko
For WisBusiness.com
VERONA – As city of Madison recycling coordinator George Dreckmann recently explained, it is not just a desire to recycle a material that determines whether it actually gets collected.
“The markets dictate the materials we collect for recycling. We need a firm commitment for sufficient volume over a long period of time before we would add a material to our program,” Dreckmann said.
Companies that devise new ways to use recycled materials create those markets. Verona, Wis.-based Tilehaus hopes its newest tile will soon become a successful example of how recycled materials can be used to create a profitable and environmentally friendly product, according to Tilehaus business development manager Erik Gammell.
Using a low-temperature firing process, Tilehaus produces a tile that contains a high percentage of recycled material. Gammell said the product is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-qualifying, which means that builders using the tile in high enough quantities could be eligible for LEED tax credits.
Existing tile products made from post-consumer materials generally fall into one of two categories. Quarry tiles are widely used in flooring applications and may or may not contain recycled materials. Those made with recycled content usually have a low level of post-consumer material relative to the other major group, fused glass tiles, which may contain up 100 percent post-consumer content.
According to Gammell, the new tile’s higher content of recycled material and its capability for wall applications creates distinct advantages over quarry tiles. The new tile also has an advantage over fused glass tiles because it can be formed into a greater variety of shapes.
“We can use it just as we can use any conventional tile. It is similar to the tile in your bathroom that is glazed and fired. This tile, with its clay body, can be finished in the in the same way,” Gammell said.
Tilehaus plans to market its new tiles to architects and designers with whom it already works with on its Subway Tile line of historic tiles. Gammell said he believes that these designers and builders who work in restoring historic structures will be interested in the value added by using tiles that are both period appropriate as well as eco-friendly.
Gammell said Tilehaus plans to sell varieties of the tiles that are not designed for historic preservation purposes, believing that there is a substantial market of customers who value using eco-friendly materials and who may be able to benefit from LEED tax credits. Gammell said he believes it will be consumer value of the eco-friendliness of the product rather than cost reductions that will ultimately determine the market interest and the price customers are willing to pay.
According to Gammell, Tilehaus hopes to roll out the product in the first half of 2010 and to introduce volume production within the first year.
“We have prototyped it and we do have a process for volume manufacturing, but we still need to refine that process, especially with the finishing of (the tile),” Gammell said.
Despite the decline in the economy and the construction industry specifically, Gammell said he still feels that there is a need for the product and expects demand to increase as the economy recovers.
Gammell said early financing for the project has come through the company’s revenues from its existing products. Tilehaus was a semi-finalist in the Wisconsin Technology Council-produced Governor’s Business Plan Contest, which offers a $50,000 grand prize.
— Simko is a student in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the UW-Madison.
