Contract Flooring Journal articles from January 2007

Contract Flooring Journal archives from January 2007

Bother over a load of Bulgarians!(employment of illegal immigrants from Bulgaria and resulting penalties)(Editorial)
January 1, 2007... CONTRACTORS will be under close scrutiny this month when armies of inspectors visit building sites. What, you may ask, will they be looking for?. Major breaches of health & safety? You'll be lucky! CIS tax evasion? Not just yet! No, they're...

Gold floor puts Poles apart.(Installation of the month)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A METALLIC gold floor finish from FLOWCRETE has created an enticing entrance to a leading commercial centre. The new floor finish Metalika has been installed at Kosmeteria, a cosmetic salon in Warsaw, situated in one of the largest business...

'Huge number of mistakes': storm over skills scheme 'crisis' claims: comments by David Cheshire, an NVQ assessor, in CFJ November 2006 have brought a furious response by both CITB-ConstructionSkills and the director of training and FITA (the Flooring Industry Training Association) John Roberts.(Points of view)
January 1, 2007... A spokesperson from CITB-Construction Skills sets the record straight on skillsDirect: IN response to David Cheshire's comments (CFJ November 2006), CITB-ConstructionSkills would like to correct the huge number of misleading and incorrect...

'Shortage of candidates is the real problem'.(Director of training at FITA John Roberts on Building inspectors)(Viewpoint essay)
January 1, 2007... Director of training at FITA John Roberts says David Cheshire is wide of the mark: THE comments by David Cheshire (CFJ November 2006) cannot go unchallenged. He has given a very. misleading picture. Firstly, he claims there is a...

'We must look at standards in the real world': Peter Kaczmar crosses swords with Terry Wolfe.(Points of view)
January 1, 2007... TRADA flooring specialist Peter Kaczmar responds to an article by Terry Wolfe RH and MC: The experts are at odds (CFJ November 2006): THIS was Terry Wolfe's response to my piece in September, where I advocated that standards should be used...

Diary dates.(Points of view)(Calendar)
January 1, 2007... HEIMTEXTIL January 10-13 Frankfurt, Germany www.heimtextil.messefrankfurt.com DOMOTEX January 13-16 Hannover, Germany www.domotex.de BAU January 15-20 Munich, Germany www.bau-munchen.de ...

The glues brothers.
January 1, 2007... WOTS GOIN' ON ERIC? STILL OUT REPPIN' AT FOUR O'CLOCK ON A FRIDAY AFTERNOON [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT'S THIS NEW SALES DIRECTOR--INTRODUCED SOME NEW IDEAS HE HAS MORE COMMISSION TO MAKE YOU WORK LONGER HOURS? [ILLUSTRATION...

A CFA meeting is coming to a venue not far from you.(comment)(contract flooring association)
January 1, 2007... ONE of the pleasures of being president of the CFA is that, in common with my predecessors, I am endeavouring to meet as many members as possible via our regional meetings. I missed a reportedly wonderful dinner in Newport, but I did get to...

All the wood floor training you need: John Roberts, director of training at FITA (Fitter Training Association) describes the high level of wood floor training offered by FITA.(Training directory)(Column)
January 1, 2007... AS a consultant I receive numerous complaints from end users, retailers and fitters who have all had problems with wood installation. In fact just lately 80% of the complaints I receive are wood flooring complaints. Nearly all of these are...

FeRFA backs surface prep training centre.(Training directory)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... THE new Preparation Group training centre in Lincoln is now fully operational. Officially approved by FeRFA, the centre currently offers resin floor NVQ's and apprenticeships. The centre includes a comfortable, fully equipped training room...

How to spot a flaw in a floor installation.(Sid Bourne on trouble-shooting for retailers)(Column)
January 1, 2007... Q: I am a retailer selling real wood flooring, lain not am installer and I always find it strange that if there is a complaint l am usually the one who has to go out to see what has gone wrong. We employ contractors to install wood...

Countdown to CIS.(Help and advice)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... THIS month you need to look again at the employment status of your workers. Under new CIS, starting on April 1, you will be required to sign a monthly declaration that you have considered the status of the subcontractors on the return and...

Many of today's fitting problems are age old.(David Gatfield on dealing with difficulties on site)(Altro Floors)
January 1, 2007... NO matter how hard you try, sometimes things can go wrong. Time pressures, difficult working conditions on site and challenging installations are just a few of the things that can stop the job running as smoothly as you'd like the finished...

Success is simply a stone's throw away.(Ian Knifton on protection for stone flooring)(Column)
January 1, 2007... STONE flooring has seen an increase in popularity over recent years, but can suffer from problems of cracking and debonding on different types of substrate, unless protective measures are taken. In fact, in its specifications and...

Manage your carpet or you'll have to talk dirty.(Dr Eric Brown on carpet cleaning management)
January 1, 2007... THE general ambience of any public place is hugely influenced by the state of its floorcoverings, whether they are in the corporate headquarters of a city finance house, a prestigious hotel in the heart of some capital city, or on board a...

How to create your own design trail audit.(Dids MacDonald on testing your company's IP 'health')(Column)
January 1, 2007... LAST month I invited you to test the intellectual property 'health' of your company with eight questions. Here are the answers to the first four questions see how well you score: 1. Do you know the difference between a registered Community...

So, you want to employ a foreign worker! Continuing CFJ's acclaimed legal advice series, leading employment lawyer Jonathan Exten-Wright answers questions from bosses in the flooring industry about hiring overseas workers in the first of a two-part series.(Jonathan Exten-Wright on giving jobs to immigrants)
January 1, 2007... THE European Union grew again this month (January 1, 2007) as Romania and Bulgaria became members. Their citizens do not have an automatic right to work in the U K and employers who ignore this will learn the hard way. With this in...

Do you need help to cut through red tape?(Help and advice)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... BATTLING red tape and increasing sales turnover are the major concerns for UK construction companies in 2007, according to new research. Whilst seven in 10 (71%) construction company bosses are worried about how they will increase their...

Payment abuse is still the big issue.(State of trade survey)(Survey)
January 1, 2007... THE Construction Act outlaws pay-when-paid, yet it remains the most widely practised contractual abuse, according to the latest state of trade survey for the third quarter of 2006 produced for the National Specialist Contractors Council (NSCC)...

Flaming Nora!(Freudenberg group sale of division and sales)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Reports in Germany say that the Freudenberg group is considering the sale of its building systems division, which manufactures Nora rubber floorcoverings. The unit is believed to have an annual turnover of around 150m Euros (101m [pounds...

A&K extends FSC scope.(Business in brief)
January 1, 2007... Atkinson & Kirby has extended the scope of its FSC Chain of Custody to include hardwood flooring with most lines available from stock. The premium Platinum Range will be fully certified soon. The mouldings and flooring accessories from sister...

Latham is doing well.(Business in brief)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Wood flooring distributor James Latham has seen pre-tax profits rising 5.3% in the six months to September. The firm made 2.9m [pounds sterling] pre-tax for the six months to September up from 2.7m [pounds sterling] last time. Turnover was u p...

Topps Tiles optimistic.(Business in brief)(earnings of Topps Tiles PLC)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Topps Tiles reports pre-tax profits of 39.1m [pounds sterling] in the 12 months to September 30, a fraction lower than the 39.2m [pounds sterling] in the previous financial year. This was despite a 3.9% rise in revenue from 173.3m [pounds...

Screwfix Direct grows.(Business in brief)
January 1, 2007... Screwfix Direct sales grew by 27.2% to 91.4m [pounds sterling] with profit increasing by 38.3% to 6.5m [pounds sterling] in the 13 weeks ended 28 October. Customer and order numbers plus average order values are ahead of last year, according to...

Well, hello!(News file)(Ryalux Carpets Ltd.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... RYALUX, LOMAS and POWNALL CARPETS have set up a state-of-the-art telecommunication system as part of an ongoing strategy to improve customer satisfaction and provide first class levels of support. The aim is to deliver a one-stop solution...

Minister dashes hope for fair payment rules.(News file)(Margaret Hodge on forthcoming revision of the Construction Act)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... THE Construction Minister, Margaret Hodge, has deftly dampened the hopes of specialist contractors for getting new 'fair payment' rules agreed within the forthcoming revision of the Construction Act. The editor of CFJ, Alan Bakalor, was a...

Quote.(News file)(Quotation)
January 1, 2007... 'It is not Alice In Wonderland. Nothing's a mess. Everything's going exactly according to plan. I'll make a prediction--and providing Londoners re-elect me I'll actually be around to honour it--that these Games will make a profit" --London...

Bigger voice for flooring.(News file)
January 1, 2007... Former president of the Contract Flooring Association, Hamish MacGregor, has been elected as junior vice president of the National Specialist Contractors Association at its recent AGM.

Hodge silent on fate of college.(News file)(Margaret Hodge)(National Construction College)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... WHILE introducing Margaret Hodge, NSCC president Simon Bottomley referred to the CITB National Construction College in Norfolk threatened with closure. The CITB college, the largest of its kind in the world, could be forced to close if it...

KKR buys 50% of Tarkett.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) has acquired a 50% stake in Tarkett, saying that the company has 'a great future and potential'. KKR wants to help Tarkett 'reach new heights'.

Low growth forecast.(Industry in brief)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... The floorcoverings market grew by only 0.3% in the past 12 months with many firms in the sector seeing a fall in sales, according to Plimsoll. It records overall margins in 2006 of 4%. However, a few market leaders were enjoying 20% or more....

Colbond price rises.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... Colbond, the Dutch producer of synthetic nonwovens for flooring, automotive, and construction applications, is to up its prices from next month following escalating raw material and energy prices in 2006.

More builders are failing.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... More construction firms failed in the first nine months of 2006 than in the whole of 2005, according to Experian. Between January and September 1,250 businesses folded, 28 more than in 2005. Some 29 building materials firms went bust in the...

Lafarge offloads roofing.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... Screed manufacturer Lafarge is selling its roofing business to French private equity firm PAI for 1.6bn [pounds sterling]. Lafarge will buy a 35% stake in the new firm for 144m [pounds sterling].

Cowboys hit 10m.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... Around 10m homeowners have suffered from cowboy tradesmen, costing them over 865m [pounds sterling] a year in repairs of botched jobs, according to Rated Tradesmen, the online service, www.ratedtradesmen.com

Will you be fit to work at 60? 1 in 3 British workers say 'no'.(News file)
January 1, 2007... NEW research has found that 36.5% of UK workers believe they will be unable to do their jobs at 60. In just six years the UK has slipped from first to sixth in the European table for the proportion of workers confident they will be up to...

Bonar gears up for higher performance.(News file)(Bonar Floors Ltd.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... BONAR FLOORS, which claims to be the largest supplier of contract flooring products to the UK market, has unveiled a new global brand identity, and strategy--'the high-performance flooring company'. By bringing its six flooring brands...

Enia Tecsom UK opens for business.(News file)(facilities of Enia Carpet Group)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... ENIA TECSOM UK is the name of a new sales uperation set up following the purchase of the Tecsom carpet tile business by Enia Carpet Group. Based in Kidderminster. Enia Tecsom UK provides a sales and supply service for all its products,...

Challenge to MCG.(Industry in brief)(Major Contractors Group)(National Specialist Contractors' Council)(CSCS cards )(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... The chief executive of the National Specialist Contractors' Council, Suzannah Nichol, has challenged the Major Contractors Group to carry out their decision to enforce a fully-compliant workforce from this month following anecdotal evidence...

Winners and losers.(Industry in brief)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Construction orders in the 12 months to October 2006 rose by 8% compared with the previous year. During that time period the winners were public housing and housing association orders, private commercial and private industrial orders, which...

Fewer fatal injuries.(Industry in brief)(control of work place accidents )(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A new report estimates that over 5,000 lives have been saved in the UK since the 1974 Health & Safety at Work Act by improvements that have cut workplace accidents. The UK currently has the lowest fatal injury rate in Europe. However, the...

Salaries up in 2006.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... The average salary in the flooring industry is 24,100 [pounds sterling], up 1% during the 12 months 2006, according to Plimsoll. The rise was largely productivity driven with sales per employee rising from 132,300 [pounds sterling] to 133,600...

BCFA product approvals.(British Contract Furnishing Association)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... The contract carpet winners in the British Contract Furnishing Association's 2006 Product Approval Awards were Brintons (for its Axis carpet weaving process), InterfaceFLOR (for its Straightforward modular flooring) and Ulster (for the Psylo...

International fitting, battle set for Hall 9.(News file)(Domotex)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A MAJOR focus at Domotex will be the world floorlaying championships taking place in Hall 9. Teams from Austria, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK will be battling against each other for the honours. The countries...

Top names line up behind new show.(News file)(The Tile and Stone Show)
January 1, 2007... SOME of the biggest names in the tile and stone industry, are to exhibit at The Tile and Stone Show (July 1-3) at Excel, London. With support snowballing, the show has just been extended for a second time with an additional 1,000sq m of...

Contractor wins award.(Industry in brief)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... 4m Flooring UK has won the flooring category in the specialist contractor awards organised by Building magazine. The independent panel of judges scrutinised 4m in areas including health and safety, innovation, training, a commitment to customer...

Polyflor cuts emissions.(Industry in brief)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Polyflor's latest environmentally sustainable development update, independently assessed by The Carbon Trust, claims a reduction in energy usage of over 5% in kW-hours per sq m of product produced, the equivalent of reducing carbon emissions by...

Flowcrete reaches US.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... Leading US industrialists recently visited Flowcrete hq in Cheshire during a three-day visit organised by The Manufacturing Institute. Flowcrete was one of 12 UK companies presenting best practice factory tours. Other UK hosts included Siemens...

FN expands.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... Supplier of floor moulding systems, FN Neuhofer Holz of Austria has invested in two additional production lines and a 2,000sq m warehouse aimed to extend its capacity and reinforce its flexibility. The company's investment in 2005 and 2006...

British Wool takes a spin in Las Vegas.(News file)(British Wool Marketing Board )(The Woolmark Company )(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... THE British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB) returns to the floorcovering show Surfaces in Las Vegas from February 7-9, renewing its successful partnership with The Woolmark Company and partners. British Wool will focus on wool's generic natural...

Contractor makes it to the boardroom.(News file)
January 1, 2007... FLOORING contractor Rudge Brothers and James were involved in the refurbishment of offices at Lewins House in Bristol on behalf of commercial property management and lettings company Burston Cook. Floorcoverings installed included Milliken...

Gym offers workout on computer games.(Sports: News file)(Omnisport Pro )(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... TARKETT MARLEY FLOORS was involved with the UK's first interactive gym opened recently by football legend and Portsmouth FC manager, Harry Redknapp. Based at Horndean Technology College, Hampshire, the gym is designed for young people to...

Website launched to boost Golf Classic.(News file)
January 1, 2007... THE construction industry's largest golf tournament now has its own website. CFJ is among the sponsors of this most prestigious event in the national calendar. The new website features all the details on how to enter plus an entry. form...

Top football venues host flooring series.(News file)(Karndean International)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... LEADING football grounds around the UK have been chosen as venues for a series of open evenings held by KARNDEAN. A total of over 150 contractors and retailers have so far attended the events, designed to offer support to customers'...

Kubota fined 175,000 [pounds sterling].(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Kubota UK has been fined 175,000 [pounds sterling] and ordered to pay 21,000 [pounds sterling] in costs after an worker was seriously injured on a Kubota GCD360 grass collector. An investigation found that the machines were not safe and did not...

Appeal to women.(Products in brief)
January 1, 2007... A slice of 10m [pounds sterling] of government funding will help to encourage more women into construction jobs. ConstructionSkilts will run projects to provide women with the skills and confidence to succeed in the industry. It reckons that...

Instarmac well handled.(Products in brief)
January 1, 2007... Instarmac has commissioned a handling system from Mass Measuring, including silos, screw and pneumatic conveyors, batch weighers, mixers, IBC filling systems and process control. The system is designed to increase throughput and production...

Multi-lingual guidance.(Products in brief)
January 1, 2007... The Revenue has published fact sheets on the CIS reforms in a dozen languages, including Czech, Latvian, Russia, Turkish, Hungarian Romanian and Polish. www.hmrc.gov.uk/cis T: 0845 366 7899

Health merger plan.(Products in brief)
January 1, 2007... The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has launched a public consultation on merging HSC and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into a single health and safety authority, allowing for a stronger voice. www.hse.gov.uk

DTI 'slashes staff'.(Products in brief)
January 1, 2007... Half the staff in the DTI's construction sector unit are reported to have lost their jobs following a departmental review prompted by the Treasury.

Low moisture carpet cleaning in action at a recent 'hands-on' workshop organised by the National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA).(News file)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Low moisture carpet cleaning in action at a recent 'bends-on' workshop organised by the National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA). A full programme of workshops (as distinct from training courses) is...

Skills academy puts training on the move.(News file)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A NEW employer-led and site-based approach to construction training has started with the establishment of the National Skills Academy for Construction. Over the next five years more than 30 National Skills Academy for Construction...

Building Adhesives.(appointment of Debi Bailey and Alex Underwood)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Building Adhesives has promoted DEBI BAILEY and ALEX UNDERWOOD to senior product manager for BAL and product manager for Dunlop Adhesives, respectively. Debi, previously a product manager for both BAL and Dunlop Adhesives has over six years...

Ryalux.(appointment of Christa Zieizmann and Dave Evans)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Ryalux has two new employees in its production planning department. CHRISTA ZIEIZMANN has been recruited as production planner responsible for continuity of stock, particularly loop pile products within the naturals ranges. Originally from...

Sunny Patel.(PEOPLE)
January 1, 2007... SUNNY PATEL is the new sales manager on both London Floor Show and National Floor Show, taking over from the recently departed Nicky Shrigley. Sunny has been with CMPi for two years, primarily working as sponsorship manager across the Interiors...

Wools of New Zealand.(PEOPLE)
January 1, 2007... STEVEN PARSONS has joined Wools of New Zealand as international product development manager. He comes from Feltex Carpets in New Zealand where he spent 12 years.

Jonathon Taylor.(PEOPLE)
January 1, 2007... JONATHON TAYLOR, who has more than 30 years experience in the carpet trade, has joined Bond Worth as Midlands sales rep.

Bronte Carpets.(PEOPLE)
January 1, 2007... STEWART BURTON is Bronte Carpets' new agent in Scotland.

Interfaceflor.(PEOPLE)
January 1, 2007... AMANDA HALL has been appointed by Interfaceflor as marketing manager for the UK, Ireland, Middle East and Africa, working alongside marketing director Karen Warner.

Farewell Liz.(retirement of Liz Ambler)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... LIZ AMBLER, press and pr manager with the British Wool Marketing Board retired last month after 19 years in the job. Liz, has enjoyed a long and successful career in the media having started her career with the BBC in London, before going on to...

Carpet workers backed.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... The Furnishing Trades Benevolent Association (FTBA) has given 500 [pounds sterling] to Mary, a former carpet industry administrative worker, to help pay for surgery in the US to remove a brain tumour. It also awarded 554 [pounds sterling] to...

Recruitment site.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... Totaljobs has launched a recruitment website aimed at professionals working in the construction industry across the design, building and civil engineering functions. www.CareerStructure.com

Customers for cleaners.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... A new dot-corn service has been launched to put cleaners in touch with residential and commercial customers in their local areas. Registration is free. www.whoocan.com

Hardwood listing.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... The name of Flooringsupplies.co.uk was incorrectly abbreviated in the hardwood flooring survey last month. www.flooringsuppliestrade.co.uk T: 0871 250 1066

New CFA members.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... Recently approved new contractor members of the CFA include J Bullman and Sons (Contracts), Full Bore Industries and S B Interiors.

Polluting firms targeted.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... From April 30 companies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that threaten or cause environmental damage will be held strictly liable for fixing the damage at their own expense under the new Environmental Liability Directive.

Wharncliffe backs hospice.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... The carpet and floorcoverings IT specialist Wharncliffe recently raised 1,255 [pounds sterling] for Barnsley Hospice via a UK-wide email raffle among its clients, suppliers and IT users. It was part of Wharncliffe's 25th anniversary...

Packexe supports charity.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... Packexe, which manufactures floor protection products, has become a patron for CRASH, the charity for the homeless created by the construction and property sector. www.crash.org.uk

Pownall Scotchgarded.(Industry in brief)
January 1, 2007... Pownall Carpets is now offering Scotchgard protection against accidental spillages across the majority of its product ranges. T: 01706 716068

Knees up for CFA.(Events in brief)
January 1, 2007... The annual CFA dinner dance is at the Thistle Hotel, Cheltenham, on Saturday June 23. For tickets and further information, contact the CFA office. T: 0115 941 1126

Parador presents.(Events in brief)
January 1, 2007... Wood and laminate producer Parador will host 3,000 customers at its headquarters at Coesfeld in Germany from January 6-14 for Paravision when its latest products will be introduced in its redesigned TrendCentre. www.parador.de

Free registration.(Events in brief)
January 1, 2007... Free tickets for Design Interiors (January 21-24 at the NEC are now available on the show website. www.designinteriorsuk.co.uk T: 0870 429 4640

Crystal ball gazing.(Events in brief)
January 1, 2007... The Forecasting for Construction Conference in London on January 24 will hear expert forecasts on how the UK's economy may impact on construction in the next three years, www.cnforecasting.co.uk

Brintons takes a cruise.(Events in brief)
January 1, 2007... Brintons will exhibit in the new interiors pavilion at Cruise + Ferry (ExCel, April 25-26), the passenger shipping exhibition and conference. www.cruiseferryex.com