Kohler Co. WasteLAB Wins Silver in Best of KBIS
Abstra Tile honored with Kitchen and Bath Industry award
KOHLER, Wis., February 21, 2023 /3BL Media/ - Kohler Co., a global leader in kitchen and bath products, luxury decorative brands, energy resiliency, and hospitality was honored with the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) Best of KBIS Product – Bath Silver for Abstra tile by KOHLER WasteLAB at the 2023 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in Las Vegas. Kohler featured its Believing in Better sustainability and social impact platform in its KBIS booth, highlighting initiatives from safe water projects to sustainable product design. Other top recognitions for Kohler included NKBA Best of Show booth award and the NKBA 30’s Choice honorary award for creative use of color.
The Abstra tile collection by KOHLER WasteLAB is a stunning series of bespoke brushed matte tiles for residential and commercial installations, made from nearly 100 percent recycled waste material. The WasteLAB pioneered a way to leverage the Kohler, WI pottery’s wastewater stream for Abstra’s tile body. Consisting primarily of pottery waste clay and glaze, the material is dewatered and processed into a useable base material. The collection is available in two different styles: Abstra Feature, which is a series of abstract patterned tile with raised and relief designs and an undulating surface; and Abstra Standard, an unadorned field tile with the same undulating surface detail.
Kohler’s Believing in Better display at KBIS included call outs to the company’s first ESG report, showcasing accomplishments within water saved through efficient product solutions, lives impacted through Safe Water for All initiatives and Innovation for Good products, as well as clean energy programs, and sustainable WasteLAB tile products.
KBIS additionally bestowed accolades on Kohler for the company’s impressive booth at this year’s tradeshow, naming Kohler’s booth Best of Show. The 15,000 square-foot space showcased the latest in design and innovation from KOHLER, Kallista, Robern, ANN SACKS, Kohler Lighting, KOHLER Home Generators, and Sterling. Throughout the booth, Kohler paid homage to its rich heritage, celebrating the company’s 150th anniversary. The booth displayed new and past iconic products, including an emphasis on its renowned bold use of color. The space also explored Kohler’s Believing in Better sustainability and social impact strategy.
The NKBA’s Thirty Under 30 Class of 2023 scoured the KBIS show floor to scope out products they deemed to be the best in six performance categories. The Kohler booth’s display of six Heritage Colors from throughout the company’s history helped to secure the 30’s Choice Award in the Creative Use of Color category. The colored enamel products spanned decades, having first been introduced into the bathroom in 1927. Visitors voted on their two favorite colors to be brought back into limited production in 2023 as part of Kohler Co.’s 150th Anniversary year celebration. Winning colors – Spring Green and Peachblow - were announced in-booth by Chair and CEO David Kohler and industry trends expert Sophie Donelson.
About Kohler Co.
Founded in 1873 and headquartered in Kohler, Wisconsin, Kohler Co. is one of America’s oldest and largest privately held companies comprised of more than 40,000 associates. With more than 50 manufacturing locations worldwide, Kohler is a global leader in the design, innovation and manufacture of kitchen and bath products; luxury cabinetry, tile and lighting; engines, generators, and clean energy solutions; and owner/operator of two, five-star hospitality and golf resort destinations in Kohler, Wisconsin, and St. Andrews, Scotland. Kohler’s Whistling Straits golf course hosted the 43rd Ryder Cup in 2021. The company also develops solutions to address pressing issues, such as clean water and sanitation, for underserved communities around the world to enhance the quality of life for current and future generations. For more details, please visit kohlercompany.com.
About KOHLER WasteLAB
At the KOHLER WasteLAB, we look for ways to see the world differently. Specifically, we look to nature as a model for sustainable processes. Through nature’s cycles of growth and decay, waste simply doesn’t exist. The WasteLAB applies such an approach in its manufacturing process, using landfill-bound pottery, wastewater sludge and other forms of waste to design and produce stunning products. The KOHLER WasteLAB is just one of the several success stories to come out of Kohler’s innovative start-up Innovation for Good (IfG). For more information, visit wastelab.kohler.com.
Believing in Better: Better Planet, Better Communities, Better Lives
Believing in Better is Kohler’s sustainability and social impact strategy and is based on the company’s operating philosophy that its best can always be better – for the planet, people, communities, and business. Believing in Better has three pillars: Better Planet, Better Communities and Better Lives. Through each of these pillars, Kohler works to develop products and programs that will have a meaningful impact, not only for its business, but for the communities it serves, and for the lives of the people who use its products.
Media Contacts
Vicki Hafenstein
Kohler Public Relations
Vicki.hafenstein@kohler.com
