Tile-products distributor to employ 20 at TRIC facility

The distribution center that Schluter Systems L.P. plans at Tahoe Reno Industrial Center will be a gift that keeps on giving for the northern Nevada economy.

The 90,000-square-foot distribution facility will employ 20 people when it opens in mid-2011.

But another 30 to 40 people will come to the center each month for training in the use of Schluter tile-installation edging and finishing products, and the center also will provide training to architects and engineers.

That will provide a boost to the region's travel and hospitality sectors, said Rob Hooper, executive director of Northern Nevada Development Authority. The economic development agency worked with Schluter on its plans, and Tom Miller of Miller Industrial Properties in Reno led a team of NNDA volunteers on the project.

Miles Construction of Carson City is general contractor of the building, which is designed to meet the Gold Standard of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership In Energy and Environmental Design program.

The building will include ground-source heating and cooling systems, an indoor "living wall" with plants that will add oxygen and humidity to the structure and daylight harvesting to reduce lighting demand.

Schluter Systems, a German company, also operates a distribution and training facility at Plattsburgh, N.Y.

The company wants a West Coast location to better serve customers from Southern California to western Canada, said C.J. Madonna, general counsel for Schluter.

He praised the work of Storey County officials and development executives in moving quickly to make the project a priority. For instance, Tahoe Reno Industrial Center developer Lance Gilman allowed the company to access the property for surveys and other preliminary work even before Schluter opened escrow.

Launched in 1975 by Warren Schluter, who had worked as a tilesetter in Germany, Schluter Systems entered the North American market in 1986.

The company makes about 40 lines of products to protect the edges of tiled surfaces.