CFJ Awards: F. Ball Named Manufacturer of the Year

Run by the flooring industry’s premier magazine, the Contract Flooring Journal (CFJ), the awards celebrate the industry’s best products and installation successes, as well as special achievements.

The CFJ Awards 2025 were held at the Dallas Burston Polo Club, in Warwickshire, and hosted by comedian and former carpet fitter Jack Skipper.

The Manufacturer of the Year award recognises both the range and performance of F. Ball’s products, including high-performance adhesives and smoothing compounds, with the winner voted for by readers of the Contract Flooring Journal.

The company invests heavily in research and development to enhance its range and help flooring professionals meet increasing customer expectations, facilitated by on-site laboratories at its Staffordshire headquarters.

Lifetime’s work

Geoffrey Ball, whose great-grandfather founded F. Ball in 1886, was recognised for his lifetime contribution to the company and, by extension, the UK flooring industry.

He joined the family business in January 1965 before progressing to become managing director in 1982. His tenure has been integral in establishing the company’s standing as the UK’s leading manufacturer of flooring adhesives and subfloor preparation products, known for quality, innovation, exceptional service and unparalleled technical expertise, as well as a conscientious approach to business.

He has led the company with the intention that it should be a truly world-class manufacturing operation and the viewpoint of a custodian, ensuring its sustainability for the benefit of future generations and retaining its values of honesty, fairness and integrity.

Installation awards

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.

The use of products from F. Ball’s System LVT range by flooring contractors from Décor Design to meet high expectations for a contemporary flooring installation at their own newly opened bar, in Bromsgrove, triumphed in the Flooring in Hotels category.

Together with Saint Flooring Group and others, F. Ball won in the best use of flooring in Residential Developments (new builds) category for work at Middlewood Locks, Salford, and the company was among the winners of Best Use of Flooring in Offices (refurbishments) for the Shakespeare House project in Cambridge.

The installation of floorcoverings by Westcotes Flooring at the Dame Clare Marx Building, Colchester Hospital, with
F. Ball subfloor preparation products and adhesives, won the award for the Best Use of Flooring in Healthcare (hospitals and medical facilities). The company’s products were used in work at the Broomfield Village Care Home in Chelmsford, which was named the winner in the Care Homes category.

F. Ball was among winners in the best use of Flooring in Education (colleges and universities) award for the Edinburgh Futures Institute, and the best use of flooring in Education (schools) award went to F. Ball and others for work at the Emmanuel Community School, Walthamstow, London.

Particularly successful

Commenting on the awards success, 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, the people who use our products. Thank you 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 are also delighted that F. Ball products have played a role in the flooring industry’s most prestigious and ambitious projects of the past year, across a breadth of sectors. Congratulations to customers and other partners who were involved.”