ONE day, young Guyanese entrepreneur, Dax Kissoon was in Barbados on a business trip to a block manufacturing plant. At that stage of his career, he was seasoned to look carefully at construction details, so he noticed a floor and inquired about it. His associate did not understand the question, and responded, “The ground! You Guyanese are funny!”

Dax explained, “No! No! No! Not the ground. There are no tile lines. What is this? Did you guys use some kind of paint?” Getting the gist of what he was saying, the Bajan went on to explain that it was from a company that was called Elite Crete, based in the US, and had a distributor in Barbados.
Dax did his research, contacted the company, and flew to the USA to discuss distributor rights in Guyana and Suriname. With his background in business, he was a natural choice for a distributor of the brand in Guyana and neighbouring Suriname under the umbrella of DKG Inc (Dax Kissoon Group).
DKG Inc., which you may have seen demonstrating the Elite Crete Flooring Systems if you had attended the recently concluded Building Expo, stands for Dax Kissoon Group, and is a sister company to A.H & L Kissoon Ltd., a company with over 70 years of business experience. DKG has unofficially been in existence under AH&L Kissoon for about five years, but established a separate brand because “AHL is best known for furniture, and it’s easier to explain to people that we also have walls, floors and other things”.

Elite Crete
So DKG Inc. was born to focus more on the finishing aspect of the construction industry. It also does procurement services for parts, trucking services, distributing for several American companies, and a website shop: caricom.com.
A graduate of the prestigious American-based Temple University, Dax believes we basically have to start forgetting about tile, as Elite Crete is superior. Proving that this is no empty boast, he goes on to show the pros and cons of the flooring against the more common choices.
For instance, it’s a good choice for the home with a small child. “The beautiful part is there is no tile line, no grout. A lot of people have to realize that those lines store most of the mould and dirt. Germs become ingrained. The elite system is completely seamless. It is as if your floor is one big tile from wall to wall”.  As the finish is put right over the concrete, it’s safer for the child to crawl around on the floor.”
Elite Crete is also stronger, explains Dax, as tile is made from clay which is compressed and baked in a kiln, and afterwards finished to give it that colour and texture. “Remember, concrete is one of the strongest building materials there is, and is much stronger than tile. What we do (is) that same epoxy we take it and put it over your concrete.”

Affordability
The product is surprisingly affordable, as Dax explained: “This company came from very humble roots under the stewardship of Lyla Kissoon, and one thing she has instilled in us is that the Guyanese people are the people who deserve it. The working class, the average man, he deserves to have a quality product, and that is the foundation the company is based on. We have a finish for everyone. We have a price base, from the lowest level price all the way to the highest level price.”  The average cost is only $800 per square foot, completely sealed and labour inclusive. We have some that could even be cheaper; and we go up to $1,600 per square foot, like if you want a cobblestone driveway or Brazilian slate.”
He explained that the company is not going after one “big bang buck” as they strive to help people to help themselves. “We are Guyanese for Guyanese. We have a price base to include everyone.”
He noted that he brought Elite Crete to Guyana with great pride, because he believes the housing and construction industry can only move forward. It’s a segment of the economy that is growing and it is of benefit to the consumer. Many people came into the booth and were wowed by the beautiful floors, but Dax had to explain that these were sample boards of floors, and not tiles.
“When we come to your house, we totally customise your floor. You can’t customise tile; you have to take what you get (although) you can mix different textures and colours”.

Resilience
How durable is the product? “Very!” said Dax. “People want to know about longevity; tile cracks because it cannot withstand the pressure. The only way you’re cracking this floor is if you’re cracking concrete. This material is used internationally in airports, malls, hotels, restaurants and so on.”
He also stressed the need to focus on the ability to not only customise our floors, but to consider the aspect of maintenance. In 10-15 years down the line, you have to do a complete rip-out and  reinstallation, as commercial floors take a lot of wear and tear. “If your floor gets dirty and nasty 10 or 12 years down the line, they place another coat of Elite Crete sealer on your floor and it is brand new again. Sealer is cheap and sealer is quick.  You can’t do that with tile,” says Dax.
Dax hates to go in someone’s home and see bad tile work. He has had firsthand experience in that regard. “Some of these contractors don’t pay attention to detail. You can build a fine house, but if you don’t pay attention to proper finishing, your home is an ugly house,” he says. “Tilers can make mistakes. Sometimes you see tiles twist. This product is remarkably easy to install.”
He personally vouches for his product, saying, “The only way I put my name on a product is because I put my neck on the line for the quality. You pay for what you get. All of our distributorships are world leading products; we do not go to the cheap man.”
A quick web search shows the Elite Crete system is used worldwide and is a leading decorative concrete finishing system in the world, subscribed to by a number of high profile clients, such as leading hotels and airports.
Within three weeks when they are fully ready to serve the Guyanese public (they already have a waiting list), DKG Inc. will revolutionise the way we do floors in Guyana, and you’ll never look at tile the same way again. They can be contacted at sales@dkginc.net or phone numbers 225-3377 0r 667-7222.