This month we profile Biswell Flooring, an expert in the full range of soft flooring including carpets, natural floorcoverings, vinyl, linoleum, timber, laminate and entrance matting.
FLOORING contractor Biswell Flooring started life as Biswell & Leggate in the ‘70s with two eponymous carpet fitters and a van. Over the subsequent decades the company has reportedly grown into a well-established and reputable contractor.
Despite the founders having retired, the original ethos of quality and attention to detail at a fair price remain at the core of the business’s values, says the company.
The company’s work is focused in London and around the southeast, although the team travels further afield when a project requires its specialist skills.
Biswell Flooring’s team is described by the company as experts in the full range of soft flooring including carpets, natural floorcoverings, vinyl, linoleum, timber, laminate and entrance matting.
‘The company’s fitters are highly skilled in Axminster installations and are confident to tackle any project.’
Its sectors of expertise include hotels, healthcare, education, newbuild residential properties and communal area refurbishments. It also works closely with several interior designers on bespoke residential projects.
Biswell Flooring has a team of full-time fitters and many subcontracted partners whom it calls on as project demands dictate. Also, there are three improvers who are making progress on the path to becoming senior fitters.
The company says its long-standing reputation for quality and institutional knowledge marks it out from its competition. This is reflected in the repeat business the company secures from its key customer list and its ability to win new contracts each year. Moreover, it’s focused on ensuring it gives its customers best advice.
Although on occasion this can raise issues for project timelines, its confident attention to detail – be it on subfloor preparation or finishing techniques, is the best for its customers. The company also has strong relationships with the major floor manufacturers and suppliers. This ensures it’s always up to date with industry developments, especially regarding preparation and installation techniques.
Biswell’s fitting team carries CSCS cards, with senior fitters holding level 2 or above NVQs. One of its improvers has just completed an apprenticeship; the others are working toward their own NVQs. The contract management and estimating team, as well as decades of experience, holds an NVQ Level 6, with the managing director being a member of the Chartered Institute of Building.
Recent successful projects include a particularly challenging installation at a school boarding house in Kent. Owing to upstream issues with other trades there was an extremely narrow critical path to completion.
Moreover, the architect’s specifications and design details were very exacting, including integrated contrasting nosing stripes in the runner pattern. Despite these demands, the Biswell team worked tirelessly, including over Easter weekend, to hand over the project and achieve PC in time for the start of term.
The whole Biswell Flooring team is reportedly focused on reducing waste and increasing recycling quantities. The vinyl offcuts are returned through Recofloor, and last year the company installed a carpet baler in its Croydon warehouse. This allowed the contactor to partner with an underlay manufacturer and significantly reduce the amount of product that’s sent to landfill.
Concludes the company, ‘Biswell Flooring’s management team is committed to delivering high quality floor installations. The contractor’s main concerns for the future of the industry include ensuring it trains enough young fitters to become the workforce of the future and maintaining the key role specialist subcontractors play in the construction industry. The main contractors need the skills and knowledge to fulfil the huge demand for construction that’s forecast over the next 30 years.’
020 8947 4815
enquiries@biswellflooring.com
www.biswellflooring.com
