A flooring installation products manufacturer has picked up a top title at the industry’s most prestigious awards while the great grandson of the company’s founder was also honoured.
Cheddleton’s F. Ball and Co was named Manufacturer of the Year at the CFJ Awards, run by the flooring industry’s premier magazine the Contract Flooring Journal.
The scheme celebrates the industry’s best products and installation successes as well as special achievements.
Geoffrey Ball, whose great-grandfather Francis Ball founded F. Ball in 1886, was given the Lifetime Achievement Award.
He joined the family business in 1965 before progressing to become managing director in 1982. He was instrumental in establishing the company as the UK’s leading manufacturer of flooring adhesives and subfloor preparation products.
Geoffrey is also recognised for his role as a custodian of the company, maintaining values of honesty, fairness and integrity and ensuring its sustainability for the benefit of future generations and with the intention that it should have a positive role in the local community and the wider flooring industry.
This includes creating employment opportunities for young people, providing free training for flooring professionals at the F. Ball Centre of Excellence, sponsoring local sports teams, and supporting local community events.
There was also recognition for F. Ball in the award’s installation categories, celebrating projects showcasing excellence in flooring that involved partnerships between manufacturers and flooring contractors.
F. Ball Managing Director Darren Kenyon said: “We are delighted by a particularly successful CFJ Awards this year.
“Winning Manufacturer of the Year is special because the winner is chosen by readers of CFJ, knowledgeable flooring professionals who use our products, and we’re very grateful to everyone who voted for us.
“It was great to see Geoffrey Ball receive well-deserved recognition for his role in making the company what it is today while maintaining a concern for the local community and the wider flooring industry.
“We’re also delighted that our products played a part in so many of the award-winning projects this year.”
