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CONTENTS
EDITOR’S COMMENT | JULY pexels.com 5 In People
Grasp the Our section focusing on the
industry’s personalities including:
AI nettle 44 • Helen Holland - managing
director, New Homes Flooring
• Ian Windsor - founder,
360 Degree Flooring
RTIFICIAL intelligence has been around in one
RTIFICIAL intelligence has been around in one
Aformat or another for many years but it’s only • Dave Caldwell - managing
really come to the party over the past few years director, OSS Commercial
(although, maybe that’s understating it – AI has Flooring
well and truly crashed the party rather than just • Steve Jones - creator, BillyBot
come to it). • Gary Scott - managing director,
The pace of change has been dizzying, Hanson Plywood
and lurking underneath it all is the real and
understandable fear that this enormous • Joe Norris - business
technological revolution will threaten not only development manager,
our jobs but – in the long-term – the very 62 Nationwide Flooring
existence of the human race. • Tommee O’Hara - managing
Less dramatically, AI creates the sense its director, Bridge Flooring
replacing of human creativity leaves humans
little to aspire to, at least in a creative sense. 29 Latest news
It helps sometimes, however, to reel in our
worst fears and focus instead on what AI can do 40 Manufacturers Q&A
for us, at least as things currently stand. After all, David Papworth -
it’s not going anywhere so we might as well learn general manager, Junckers
to make it work for us. 44 Exclusive interview
And that’s why my interview with Steve Jones, Kate Burnett - director of
founder of BillyBot, a software designed to make product and Strategy
life easier for flooring contractors, is essential 85
reading. Steve’s aim is to make BillyBot the Development, Milliken
AI operator for flooring businesses, handling 46 Training
everything around the job, so the only thing not
managed by AI is the actual installation. 52 Case
Steve takes the view that while AI has led to job
replacement in some sectors, it’s far more useful 56 New products
to think of it as a tool that can help contractors be
more efficient. And to save them time and money. 64 Advice
What’s more, Steve has a background in 71 Showcase interview
flooring and actually runs his own contract
flooring business in Yeovil. If he doesn’t Nicobond
understand the challenges of running a small 93 75 Sector focus
business, then nobody does.
Opinions expressed in CFJ are not necessarily those of the publisher. • Tools & workwear
David Editorial and advertising copy in this issue have been carefully checked and • Stone & ceramic flooring
Kick-Start Publishing cannot accept any responsibility for any errors.
Suppliers have paid for promotional images.
David Strydom, editor All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted • Flooring in education
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying,
ICK-START
07983 266683 recording or any information retrieval system without the prior written • Natural flooring
consent of the publisher. © Kick-Start Publishing Ltd.
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Print managed by Stephens & George Limited, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales 95 Flooring directory
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CFJMagazine EDITOR DESIGN & PRODUCTION Helen Bastin - Altro
cfj.contractflooringjournal David Strydom Nick Ellis Kenny Smith - MacGregor Flooring
www.contractflooringjournal.co.uk david@kick-startpublishing.co.uk nick@kick-startpublishing.co.uk Richard Renouf - Expertise with Integrity
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@CFJMagazine CFJ July 2026
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