Kitchen & Bath Business/KBISJanuary/February 2023 - 10

HAPPENINGS
Plumbing Giant Secures New Brand
KOHLER CO. has named SAMIE BARR
chief brand offi cer. In this newly created role,
she will lead global creative, media and digital
outlets, as well as the global teams in charge
of the brand experience.
LIXIL Corp. has acquired Basco, a shower
door company, to expand its product
portfolio in the Americas. Basco is a familyowned
business that started in 1955 and
is one of the largest manufacturers of
custom shower enclosures in the U.S.
with a strong presence on the East Coast,
Midwest and Southeast. The acquisition is
designed to help move LIXIL to the number
four position in the shower doors and
enclosures segment. Basco also offers
exceptional lead times for its products and
can ship stock doors in two days.
PAUL HAN has been appointed vice president
of supply chain North America for MIELE. He
will be responsible for managing the Miele USA
and Miele Canada supply chains and improving
logistics service off erings.
2022 Tile of Spain Award Winners
The 21st annual competition winners were
decided on by a panel of judges, including
Eric Parry, (Eric Parry Architects), Biba
Dow (Dow Jones Architects), Luis Rojo
(Rojo/Fernández-Shaw), José Juan Barba
(METALOCUS), Agnès Blanch (estudi
vilablanch) and Ángel Pitarch (Castellón
Architects' Assn.). The Architecture winner
was " Social Housing in Ibiza " by RipollTizón,
who created a building in Talamanca
with materials such as glazed stoneware
tile. The Interior Design winner was " Avila.
Planning an Empty Space " by ALL AROUND
LAB (Noelia de la Red, Jordi Ribas), a
multifunctional space in Barcelona designed
with ceramic tiles. The Special Mention in this category went to " A Home/Gallery in Granada's Gran
Vía " (pictured) by Annona Arquitectura (Silvia Cabrera Jiménez & Felipe Hita Suárez). The Final Degree
Project winner was " Rampant Architecture. The Town and the Home " by Marta Millanes Sánchez from
the Toledo School of Architecture, who used ceramic material to connect sections of a home.
Sintered Stone Brand Expands
The SEN DESIGN GROUP presented its 2022
Innovation Award to JACK KELLERMAN, a
former kitchen designer and member of the
nationwide kitchen/bath buying group. He
created a Plexiglas stand to hold Ziploc bags in
place so food can easily be poured into them.
Neolith has opened two new distribution
centers in Melbourne and Sydney,
Australia. The spaces feature material
applications for kitchens, bathrooms,
fl ooring and facades and allow visitors to
experiment and get inspired. With its new
openings, the company expects to reach
its annual sales target of 50 million euros
in Asia Pacifi c in 2025. Neolith's new 3D
printing surface offerings are silica-free,
100% of the energy used to make these
new surfaces is from renewable sources,
and the water used in the production is
recycled.
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/ JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2023

Kitchen & Bath Business/KBISJanuary/February 2023

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