Name: Steve Dixon
Age: 48
Company: Aiken Flooring Contracts Ltd.
Job Title: Managing Director
How did you get into the flooring industry?
After finishing my A-levels, I considered going to university, but I was offered a job as a flooring contractor by our MD John Aiken. I started in February 1989 and I worked with John up until his retirement in 2016. The business has developed significantly over the years,
What’s been the biggest change in the industry over the past 10 years?
Everyone expects work to be finished much more quickly. Sometimes builders and developers forget the technicalities of installing floorcoverings properly.
Looking forwards, what do you think will be the biggest change in the next 10 years?
We’ve seen great improvements in levelling compounds and waterproof surface membranes in recent years, and I expect they’ll get even better. I hope to see levelling compounds that are a bit more forgiving of variables such as temperature when they’re being applied.
What’s the worst job you’ve been on?
Jobs at housing developments tend to be the most challenging. In winter, the mud can sometimes be thick leading up to the doors of properties, which makes everything more difficult for us.
And what’s the best?
We installed floorcoverings in massive open-plan offices over two floors of a newly-built office block. The job was straightforward as we just moved from one unit to the next.
Do you have a go-to product for certain jobs?
We use F3 for a lot of our jobs. It never lets us down and it does exactly what we need it to do.
What do you like best about the job?
The variety from one day to the next. Every day is different. Also, we get to see behind the scenes at some fascinating places where the public don’t usually get access to, like on a recent project in the Norman Gallery of Durham Castle.
What is your least favourite thing about the job?
The time pressures. Everyone wants things doing really quickly, and we’ve got to get things right the first time, every time.