About Wayne Tile
Why Wayne Tile
When shopping for tile there are nearly infinite options before you.
At Wayne Tile we leverage our over 60 years in business to provide a unique customer experience.
- We have developed relationships with the best tile factories in Europe.
- We offer a curated selection of high quality products – featuring the latest sizes, colors and finishes.
- Our material is stocked locally and, in most cases, can be picked up at one of our showrooms the following day.
- If needed, customers can pick up directly at our warehouses.
Get inspired by visiting our showrooms and let our design consultants walk you through the process.
Our History
Founded in 1955 by Bob Westra, with brothers Harry and Don joining the business a few years later. Wayne Tile continues to be a family owned and operated business. From its humble beginnings in a small garage with three different tile colors to choose from, the company has grown in the past 60 years to be a leading distributor of tile. Today with five showrooms and design centers, and 110,000 square feet of warehouse space, Wayne Tile carries over 100 lines of tile from around the world.
Our History
Founded in 1955 by Bob Westra, with brothers Harry and Don joining the business a few years later. Wayne Tile continues to be a family owned and operated business. From its humble beginnings in a small garage with three different tile colors to choose from, the company has grown in the past 60 years to be a leading distributor of tile. Today with five showrooms and design centers, and 110,000 square feet of warehouse space, Wayne Tile carries over 100 lines of tile from around the world.
Visit Our Showrooms
Our customers absolutely love tile. The way it looks, feels, and transforms their homes. We at Wayne Tile share this love of tile and traveled around the world in search of the best tile collections. Visit one of our showrooms to see for yourself.
Italian Tile: The Standard We Stand Behind
Every year our Wayne Tile team visits some of the largest tile trade shows in the tile and stone industry. First, there is Coverings which takes place every April in the United States. This show is geared towards the US market with tile styles and sizes that Wayne Tile customers typically find most attractive. The second show we attend is Cersaie, which takes place in Italy every September. At Cersaie we gain exposure to new markets around the globe. In particular, the Italian tile market continues to push the envelope of style and design. Often Cersaie gives us an inside glimpse at what will come to the US market in the future. After both of these trade shows, representatives of various tile factories visit us at our offices in Wayne, NJ. They bring samples of the newest items in the tile industry and we discuss what we like or dislike about each new collection. Understanding our customers is key when giving feedback. We are given the opportunity to make changes to the colors, finishes, sizes, or other features that we believe will spark our customers’ interests . With experience, knowledge, and understanding , we hold a company meeting to make the final decisions on the tiles that we will add to our product portfolio.
Did you know that Italy is the epicenter of tile production? Along with the best factories, they also have supporting businesses which produce the highest quality tile glazes, discover top notch raw materials, and create superior kilns and technology related to tile production. Additionally, Italian tile factories go through extensive research and development to create a new tile collection. They hire some of the best designers in the world who monitor design trends in more than just the tile or interior design businesses. These design experts have their eyes on the fashion industry, pop culture, and anywhere else that they might find inspiration to get a sense of what customers will be looking for next.
Another unknown fact is Italian tile factories are at the forefront of utilizing green technology and limiting their carbon footprint. From recycling water, limiting waste in packaging, heat recovery, and even lessening the sound impact on their community, they are taking steps to protect the environment. Italian products are very often LEED Certified, part of the Green Building Council, and adhere to strict European manufacturing standards.
In addition to creating tile in an environmentally friendly way, tile is often created to resemble natural patterns and textures. The creation of a natural replica can be composed of a combination of twenty plus patterns. This gives the impression of natural marble, onyx, wood, or stone. Using the earth as a source of inspiration is a key reason why producing tile in an ecological way is so important; we want this beauty to continue far into the future.
At Wayne Tile, we understand that the tile you choose for your home is an important decision; therefore, we want the most prestigious quality tile for our customers to purchase. Tile from Italy is a smart choice for its environmental generosity, durability, design, and beauty. After research, education, and company consensus, the Wayne Tile team orders only the best tile from Italian factories to meet your tile needs.
Before any tile ships from Italy, we have put in a lot of effort to hand select an outstanding collection! We believe our company is driven by having the most beautiful products to present to our customers. Once we make a commitment to the factory to purchase a tile collection we then determine the quantities we will need to purchase and the colors and sizes we would like to have stocked in our showrooms. We strategize a marketing plan which details how we are going to show these products off to consumers.
The tile factory communicates with our purchasing department and our freight forwarder to determine the best way to ship the tile to us. Metal containers are filled and shipped from Italy to the port of Newark, NJ. They are then shipped to our warehouse in Pompton Plains, NJ.
When we consider the best tile to offer our customers, we go to great lengths to ensure the quality of tile is backed by style, sturdiness and sustainability. For us, tile isn’t just stone or a hard material used to enhance your home, but it’s a part of the story your home tells that shows the care and quality of who our customers are. It’s for this reason that we choose the standard of Italian tile to assist our customers in choosing quality tile every time.