Page 53 - History-of-flooringLR

Coinciding with the start of the company’s 125th anniversary year
in 2010, a new £8 million powder plant at F Ball’s UK
manufacturing facility was officially opened by His Royal
Highness The Duke of Kent.

The company also invested £1 million in a dedicated training
centre, which provides free training in subfloor preparation and
floorcovering installation for flooring industry professionals.

A further multi-million pound upgrade to the powder
manufacturing plant was added in 2018, along with additional
offsite warehousing facilities to enhance the company’s logistics
and distribution capabilities.

Towards the future
Fast-forward and F Ball has relaunched its purpose-built training
centre following an extensive renovation, with the state-of-the-art
facility being rebranded as the ‘F Ball Centre of Excellence’ to
reflect its aim of inspiring the highest levels of professional
To continue to meet increasing product demand, the decision was attainment.
made to expand the Leek site through the acquisition of an
adjoining administration and warehouse facility in the 1970s. F Ball also continues to invest significantly in research and
However, even with the additional buildings, the company’s rapid development, which is managed by a committee of specialists
expansion meant that a larger manufacturing facility was from sales, marketing and technical departments, supported by
eventually needed. dedicated on-site laboratories and testing facilities.

In 1989, after a thorough search of the surrounding area, an The company’s international reputation has continued to flourish,
8½-acre site was found 2½ miles away in Cheddleton, which and it now exports increasing amounts of its products worldwide,
remains the location of the company today. The new site offered a to over 60 countries and to every continent except Antarctica.
massive increase in distribution and warehousing capacity.
After 136 years, F Ball is still a family business under the current
Continued expansion ownership of Mr Geoffrey W. Ball, the great grandson of the
This extra capacity would be vital as F Ball began to export its founder, and the company remains firmly committed to continual
products, beginning in 1996 with European and Middle Eastern investment in research and development to create the next
countries, including the Netherlands and Israel, which continue generation of products to help reach new heights of flooring
to be important markets for the company today. installation standards.

Following its relocation, F Ball continued to invest in upgrading 01538 361633
its manufacturing facilities to maintain its ability to produce mail@f-ball.co.uk
world-leading products and satisfy ever-growing demand. www.f-ball.com

The History of Flooring 53