CALUM GILLIES NAMED APPRENTICE
OF THE YEAR 2016 Calum Gillies, an apprentice at Islay Flooring and Home Furnishings in Scotland, has been awarded the Contract Flooring Association (CFA) ‘Apprentice of the Year 2016’ Award, which is sponsored by manufacturer of subfloor preparation products, F. Ball and Co. Ltd.
Now in its fourth year, the competition recognises the hard work and achievements of flooring apprentices and aims to raise awareness of the opportunities and positions that are available in the industry.
F&X CARPETS COMMITS TO UK
EXPANSION F&X Carpets has announced a new UK warehouse, based in Preston, which will enable the company to supply cut-lengths on all brand ranges within just three-days and in some cases the very next day.
The 42,000ft2 warehouse will have
Along with the accolade, Calum won an-all-expenses- paid two-day F. Ball training course of his choice, together with a host of prizes from competition sponsors, including a specialist flooring toolkit and a £500 cheque from the Construction Industry Training Board. Calum was presented with his award and prizes at the Flooring Industry Training Association (FITA) training centre in Loughborough.
The competition was open to all flooring apprentices and required employers and tutors to prove their apprentices’ talent in an online application form that questioned attributes including: practical ability, initiative and attention to safety.
Ewan Logan, Joint Owner of Islay Flooring and Home Furnishings, said: “The award is very important for the trade and Calum has already started to use his tools and
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capacity for some 4,000 rolls of carpet and will feature a computer- controlled cutting table, capable of handling the manufacturer’s offerings of five metres wide. With Himalaya wool-blend, Suretex stain-resistant polypropylene and Aevita recycled fibre brands, F&X Carpets is now in a strong position to provide UK retailers with a complete portfolio and high standard of service.
Gordon Hugo, Managing Director at F&X Carpets (UK) Ltd, said: “Our new warehouse will not only help to serve our existing retail partners with better efficiency, but also allow us to
prizes. We are very proud of him and his work. We can send him out on jobs on his own with no worries. We are really impressed with him.”
F. Ball Marketing Manager, Richard Harris, said: “We are delighted to sponsor the Apprentice of the Year award once again this year. It is important that
welcome new ones too, and we are confident that we will be able to deliver excellent service levels.
“With warehousing as well as a showroom and offices for dedicated accounts and sales teams, our new facility will become a beacon for spreading the messages of our value- driven brands.”
The news of the new warehouse comes at the same time as the announcement of the opening of a new train connection, dubbed ‘New Silk Road’, between China and Europe. F&X Carpets will be using this new rail service to greatly speed up transport times of carpets to the UK. The manufacturer will send a fully- loaded train carrying 42-containers of product from its manufacturing plant in Xining to its Belgian warehouse, before distributing some of these to the new UK facility.
F&X Carpets are exhibiting on Stand M14/28, The Flooring Show, Harrogate, 18-20 September.
gordonvhugo@googlemail.com
young people are encouraged to join the flooring industry and we hope that this award will promote apprenticeship schemes as way of entering the trade. We are really pleased to be able to celebrate apprentices’ success through this accolade. “
www.f-ball.co.uk www.tomorrowscontractfloors.com
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