Name: Hayden Smith
Company: MDA Contracts
Job Title: Project Director
How did you get into the flooring industry?
As a young lad, I started out fitting carpets for domestic jobs. A good friend of mine owned a contracts company, and I worked for them from age 18 for close to 30 years.
It was during lockdown I had to take some time off of work for personal reasons and that’s when I looked at my life and the options available to me. I knew I’d end up staying in flooring as it’s what I know and it’s a great industry to be in, and I ended up moving over to MDA Contracts.
What’s been the biggest change in the industry over the past 10 years?
I think a lot of people in the industry would agree, there’s fewer and fewer people coming into the flooring trade. As older floorlayers retire, there just isn’t enough of the younger generation filling the gap by learning the trade.
Looking forwards, what do you think will be the biggest change in the next 10 years?
The demand for LVTs doesn’t show any signs of stopping; they’ve definitely overtaken carpets in popularity, perhaps because they’re a lot easier to maintain.
It also seems the architects are looking back a few decades for inspiration — we’re seeing trends such as cork being specified. It’s like fashion: trends always come back around again in cycles.
What’s the worst job you’ve been on?
We did a job a few years ago in two residential towers that stood next to one another and we were running up and down between them all day. The lifts weren’t always running and there were times when we would be working in the top of one tower and in the bottom of the other, at the same time. It was tough going but at least we got some exercise.
And what’s the best?
Amazon’s new head office close to Liverpool Street station, in London stands out. We had a mixture of timber, carpet tiles and rubber floorcoverings. There was loads going on and it was a great result.
Do you have a go-to product for certain jobs?
Stopgap Green Bag has always been a trusted favourite and more recently, we’re using Stopgap 1200 Pro more. For adhesives, Styccobond F41 has always been our go-to carpet tile tackifier.
What do you like best about the job?
I’m enjoying the new role as I’ve got a great team underneath me, and it’s a smaller business so you get to know everyone really well and form strong relationships. It’s also a challenge, which suits me down to the ground.
What is your least favourite thing about the job?
It has to be out-of-hours working!