Claudio Bizzaglia, director of laboratory services at the Tile Council of North America (TCNA), has been elected to serve as chairman of the International Standards Organization's (ISO) TC189 Committee as of January 2018, the ISO Central Secretariat recently announced. Bizzaglia will succeed Svend Hovmand, Ph.D., former president and former chairman of the Board of Crossville. Hovmand has served and is currently serving on numerous industry boards of directors, including the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation, Porcelain Tile Certification Agency, Coverings, and Tile Council of North America.

“Claudio is uniquely qualified to become the chair for the ISO TC189 Committee, as he has extensive work experience in the tile industry on an international basis having worked throughout Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa," said Hovmand. “He has worked in many different capacities, with experience in manufacturing plants on top of his nearly 10 years leading TCNA's laboratory. On an international basis, he has worked with the development of laboratory methods and standards for tile for many years. I congratulate him on this appointment, and wish him all the best in this important industry role.”

Bizzaglia commented, “It's an honor to represent TCNA and serve the industry on this international committee. Stepping into this role following Svend will not be easy, but I hope to be up to the challenge. We look forward to continued innovation and progress on the standards front as the committee moves into 2018.”

Bizzaglia also participates in the Materials and Methods Standards Association (MMSA) for installation materials standards, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) C21 committee, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A108 Committee, the NTCA Technical Committee, the TCNA Executive Committee, and the Ceramic Tile World Forum.

For more information, visit www.tcnatile.com.