Meet the Team: Michael Giles 

Since the end of 2024, Michael has been providing technical support for flooring contractors based in North London, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex regions. Coincidentally, he has previously worked with colleague Paul Trubridge, the southern area sales manager, as well as Simon Jenkins, national sales manager. Keeping in touch over the years has proven fruitful as Michael joins the company.  

He’s now got a bustling brief, as flooring contractors on his patch are keeping him busy in need of technical support and guidance. Michael begins: “There’s been lots going on, from school jobs of over 2,000m2 to small residential bungalows. Enquiries and site surveys have been coming in thick and fast which has given me great opportunity to meet flooring contractors on my area.

“I’ve known of the brand for years and was essentially trained up on F. Ball adhesives and smoothing compounds when I started in flooring.” 

Michael is cheerful as he chats to us, sharing stories of what he’s been getting up to, and he goes on to talk about his thinking behind joining the company. 

“I was happy where I was working before making the move, but it was an easy decision to make as F. Ball is an established, market leading brand in flooring adhesives and smoothing compounds, and a British company with real heritage.”

“It’s the biggest challenge of my career so far. It’s a lot more technically involved than my other roles, however I feel that my past experience crosses over well in my new role here at F. Ball. I’ve previously worked in flooring distribution, flooring contracting, and for a flooring manufacturer, so I’ve built extensive experience in specifying projects over the years and making sure the right products are used in the right environments.”

Sounds like he’s already living and breathing F. Ball.  

Next, we’re interested to know what sort of tech rep Michael will be.  

He says: “A big part of my ethos is supporting contractors in their learning, and what I’ve found is that some aren’t always 100% sure what it is they are looking for when assessing floors, the specialist features of our products and what they do. So, I’ve developed a compact training presentation for them.  

“Of course, we have the F. Ball Centre of Excellence offering practical training courses for more in-depth learning. This is just me and my laptop, and I call it my ‘mini-CPD’. The goal is to provide a quick run through of us, what we offer, a bit about how we can support their sustainability efforts, and answers to some FAQs. 

Michael goes on to tell us that the most common enquiries he receives are about subfloor moisture. Contractors will do their due diligence, but what many don’t know is that F. Ball can provide a written technical assessment to confirm the result of a test, which can prove crucial in any case of disputes.  

He goes on to summarise how he views his role: “It’s a case of being an expert in all F. Ball products, applying this knowledge to the jobs I visit and looking where I can save contractors time and money.”  

Finally, seeing as he’s such an industry stalwart, we’re interested in Michael’s answer to our regular question about favourite F. Ball products.  

He tells us: “Styccobond F77, our two-part, one coat waterproof surface membrane. It’s brilliant; it gets you out of so many pickles.  

“And of course, Stopgap 1200, our all singing, all dancing smoothing compound. I bet everyone answers with this, don’t they?” 

They do indeed, Michael. They do, indeed.