Motawi Tileworks acquires supplier, plans 3 new positions

Motawi Tileworks is on a bit of a growth spurt lately — a vertical one.The arts-and-craft ceramic tile company based in Ann Arbor recently acquired one of its suppliers, Rovin Ceramics. The Taylor-based company was on its way to liquidation because its owner wanted to retire and no one in the family wanted to take it on. Rather than let it fall by the wayside, Motawi decided to shore up one of her company’s main suppliers.”We had to do something about our supply,” says Nawal Motawi, president & owner of Motawi Tileworks. “It seemed like a nice little profit-making business.”Motawi Tileworks was already growing before the acquisition. It had hired six people, including for three newly created roles. Its staff now rounds out to 30 employees and one independent contractor. Rovin Ceramics staff and operations will move to Ann Arbor.The tile maker has watched its walk-in business go up recently, prompting Motawi to focus more on direct homeowner sales this year. She expects her company’s current growth curve to allow her to hire at least two more people on top of the firm’s current job opening.”We’re in a healthy place, just cruising along,” says Motawi. Source: Nawal Motawi, president & owner of Motawi TileworksWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.