Precision Tile Company Profile

hen Bernd Schwarz of Precision Tile in Corte Madera, California talks about his partner Terry Moussa, you get the sense of a healthy, long-time friendship based on honesty, kindness, laughter and an excellent combination of two talented and driven, yet humorously self-effacing men. If you ask Terry, he's the silent partner who jokingly says he does the heavy work. If you ask Bernd, he's the engaging people person, even though his German upbringing in Hamburg might lead people to expect him to be the quiet one. In every great partnership, you've got to have give and take, and these two certainly do!

German-born Bernd Shwarz and Egyptian-American Terry Moussa (who grew up in Marin and graduated from Tamalpais High) came into tile work by circuitous paths, but have spent the past twenty years building an enduring business partnership and a solid reputation as precise, highly creative and reliable artisan-craftsmen in the old world tradition. As a young man, Bernd traveled through Asia and then came to America to work with friends who were importing Mercedes direct from Germany. It seemed like a great business idea, but when the U.S. dollar fell against the German mark, not so much. The partnership dissolved, but the three partners have remained friends, which is a testament to Bernd's ethos. Bernd Shwarz stayed in America and did all sorts of odd jobs, but fell into tile work at the insistence of a German veterinarian who just knew Bernd would be a great tile setter. Bernd did his first tile job, and had to agree with his countryman—he loved to do tile work, and yes, he was unusually good at it!

Soon, Bernd Shwarz had so many tile jobs that he needed to hire a second person. He immediately thought of his friend Terry Moussa, a former chef who worked as an assistant to a carpenter he knew. Bernd "borrowed" Terry from his carpenter friend (who still is his friend, amazingly enough), and respected his work so much that he made him a partner at Precision Tile. Since then, Bernd and Terry have gone from strength to strength, and have distinguished themselves as innovative custom tile craftsmen who work primarily by word-of-mouth referrals.

Old-World Craftsmanship with State-of-the-Art Materials
When Bernd Shwarz talks about his work, you can certainly hear the craftsman talking. He truly knows his materials, and he's got a discerning eye and a focused attention to detail. But he and Terry also anticipate changes in tiling materials and application techniques, and they often pioneer ingenious ways to use the newest innovations. For instance, Precision Tile has been installing Nuheat radiant heating mats under their tile floors since 1991—before Nuheat (which is a Canadian product) was even sold in the U.S. When Nuheat sent a salesperson into California a few years later, Bernd and Terry were actually asked to teach their radiant heat installation techniques to the Nuheat instructor!

Precision Tile also works with glass tiles, and with the newest epoxy grouts, which are impervious to staining and tend to last longer than traditional grouts. These materials are excellent innovations, and in the case of glass tiles, quite beautiful. However, in less skilled hands, they can be very difficult to work with. Precision Tile is proud to offer their expertise with glass tile and epoxy grout (and of course, radiant floors) to their clients.

Where People Skills Come into Play
When Bernd Shwarz and Terry Moussa set up their work space, they keep their area clean and protect the surrounding areas from dust and debris, using exhaust fans to pull the dust away from living areas. Tile work can be quite messy, but he and Terry work diligently to keep the disruption to a minimum. This attention to all of the details of the job—human needs, top quality materials, and logistics—is the reason tile stores and suppliers so often refer their customers to Precision Tile.

Though Bernd Shwarz takes pride in the fact that Precision Tile is known for great craftsmanship and professionalism, he feels that his attention to the human details is what sets his business apart. Bernd has a degree in social work, and continues to take workshops on human behavior and communication skills - because he knows that communication is central to good relationships. Bernd spends a lot of time with his clients, listening to them, educating them on the best possible products, and making sure that they understand the scope and length of the project. "Some contractors schedule ‘optimistically'," he says, "but I schedule conservatively and don't overbook clients. I couldn't care less for this push-push advertising world where people promise that gold will drop out of the sky, and then you're left with nothing. I want to be truthful in my life and work so that people know they can depend on me, every time." Bravo!

---Karla Rutherford
Staff Writer
The Prime Buyer's Report