Crossville, Inc. commenced manufacture of porcelain stone at its newly built plant in Tennessee in 1986. Today the company is one of the largest manufacturers of porcelain stone in the United States. Equipped with the latest technological innovations, Crossville’s plants manufacture tiles ranging in size from 3" square to 18" square.

Crossville designs triggered a revolution in the American tile industry that still rages today. Prior to Crossville introducing Porcelain Stone® to the market, the choice in porcelain tiles to the American consumer was limited. Today Crossville has made available a vast selection of high–quality products for residential and commercial applications. Crossville follows a policy of vigorous development to offer the consumer an on–going choice in contemporary style and designs. Its design range verges from the traditional, to the avant–garde looks of Questech Metals, a series of tiles embedded with premium metals like copper, bronze and nickel silver.

Porcelain tiles, because of differences in manufacturing process and raw materials, are a superior product to ceramic in terms of absorption, durability and breaking strength. The approximate composition is 50% feldspar with the balance comprising an amalgam of light–firing, high–quality ball clays. This permits a through–body coloring in a porcelain tile rather than surface glazing of a ceramic tile. Porcelain is also denser compacted and fired at a higher temperature which accounts for its low absorption properties. Crossville Porcelain Stone® has an absorption rate of less than 0.1% as against the permissible international standard of 0.5% for porcelain tiles. This low absorption rate makes it an all–weather tile suitable for indoor and outdoor applications.

As a member of the US Green Building Council (USGBC), Crossville is dedicated to environmental protection through sustainable quality manufacturing processes entailing environmentally–friendly and recycled inputs.

The company is proud of its many citations earned for effective waste–water practices. It is committed to a waste-water policy that far exceeds regulatory standards, so much so that waste water used in manufacture is returned clean to the environment.

The extensive use of natural gas minimizes greenhouse gas emissions and atmospheric pollutants. This is further augmented with high–efficiency dust collection procedures that contain air pollution inside and outside the plants. Wherever possible, unfired raw scrap material is reused so limiting the impact on landfills and conserving raw materials. Crossville’s EcoCycle was the first porcelain tile using certified recycled content.

As part of new product innovation, Crossville recently introduced Ultimetal Porcelain Stone® tile, an industry first. This is a porcelain tile with a metalized glazed finish that is scratch and acid resistant. It is available in 5 solid metallic finishes in sizes ranging up to 24" square.

Crossville also recently released its Echo recycled glass suitable for countertops, walls and floors. Depending on the color, this series of tile has a recycled content ranging from 10% to 100%. The line is available in 15 colors in a clear, luminescent quality.