LaticreteCeramic Tile & Stone Installation

Laticrete International is a world wide manufacturer and marketer of materials and methods for the installation of ceramic tile and stone. Laticrete International is responsible for the development and introduction to the construction industry of thin adhesive mortars for bonding ceramic tile and stone. The company was founded in 1956 by Mr. Henry M. Rothberg who is a chemical engineer. He was interested in bringing the improvements of chemistry to the normal Portland cement based installation systems for tile and stone. The pioneering work in this area done by Engineer Rothberg is the basis for all modern adhesives used today for the installation of tile and stone by the Adhesive Mortar Method. It was during the late 1940's that the use of Portland cement based adhesive mortar technology sparked the interest of a young chemical engineer in the United States. Henry M. Rothberg was managing a family tile, terrazzo and marble installation company when the problems inherent to installing these materials with the traditional " full mortar bed" became more and more evident to him. He decided to dedicate himself to research into alternate methods of installing ceramic tile and stone. The search brought him to the Chemical Division of U.S. Rubber Co. (Uniroyal) in Connecticut. Rothberg became a consultant to develop the use of latex in the construction industry, primarily in the area of ceramic tile installations. After more than 300 synthetic rubber polymers had been prepared, tested and evaluated, he developed a unique compound that had all the properties of natural rubber plus the properties necessary to make it viable to the construction industry The new latex was introduced to the market as "LATICRETE."