Graham Wildgoose, Liaison Manager at F. Ball, reflects on his 22-year career in the flooring industry and shares his take on the state of the market and where he sees it a few years down the line. He also discusses why rigorous product testing is so crucial for manufacturers and gives a sneak peak into the intricacies of getting that all-important badge of endorsement for new products.
Ed: First up Graham, could you tell me a little bit about your role as Liaison Manager at F. Ball?
GW: In a nutshell, my role is to liaise with manufacturers of floorcoverings, both national and international, and encourage the testing of F. Ball adhesive compatibility with the floorcoverings they manufacturer with the aim of getting our products on their recommendations list. Ultimately, it’s that endorsement that we want.
Ed: So it’s not a sales role, as such…
GW: No, the only thing I sell is the F. Ball ethos. I create a link between F. Ball and manufacturers of floorcoverings to make sure that both of us are getting what we need. I keep my eye on the trends and innovations in the industry to help guide F. Ball towards creating products that are compatible with the requirements of the floorcoverings on the market.
Ed: How rigorous is the testing of new adhesives, and how fastidious are floorcovering manufacturers when it comes to endorsing a new product?
GW: We don’t face too many problems getting endorsements because, ultimately, the products we make are created in response to a need or a gap in the market. Product testing at F. Ball is extremely rigorous so, when it comes to taking them to floorcovering manufacturers for compatibility testing, every product has been thoroughly tested and they can see that the product we’re bringing to them has a benefit to them and their products.
Ed: How do you think the industry has changed during your career?
GW: I’ve been in the flooring industry for 22 years now, and there have definitely been a few changes over that time. The industry is much more global now; for example, there are more flooring manufacturers from Europe and the Far East at play in the UK market these days. We’ve also observed quite a significant shift towards more resilient floorcoverings with central and underfloor heating becoming commonplace in most buildings. There’s less of a need for comfortable, textile floorcoverings, particularly in commercial environments.
Ed: What’s your take on the present state of the flooring industry?
GW: I think the industry has evolved to deal with the changes relatively well. We’ve lost some UK companies, no doubt, but many of the big names still exist, even if it’s under a wider umbrella group of companies rather than as standalone businesses.
Ed: What about Brexit – has that had any impact on the industry?
GW: No immediate impact, no, but the industry works quite far in advance so it may be that the cracks begin to show 6 – 12 months down the line. We may also never see any problems, but I anticipate that UK exporters, rather than importers, may be the ones to encounter some roadblocks along the way.
Ed: Looking forward, what do you think we can expect from the industry in the next few years?
GW: It’s inevitable that we’ll see more companies joining together. To keep pace with the evolution of the industry many companies look into branching out into different markets, but production, distribution and development can be very expensive and they may find it cheaper to buy into existing companies. I also think we’ll continue to see LVTs and carpet tiles in high demand, particularly in commercial environments, but I have no doubt that there will be many more exciting innovations to come.
We’ll be talking to another leading figure from the flooring industry in next month’s F. Talk.