A focus on Midlands Flooring which has up to 32 subcontractors and a turnover of £3m per year.
IN April 2013, Midlands Flooring was founded by Dave Wilson. He was previously a sole trader where the company was getting bigger, to the point where his accountant advised him to become a limited company.
Dave’s previous company was known as DW Flooring but unfortunately had been taken when becoming limited. Midlands Flooring Limited was finally agreed. However, Dave regrets this as there are many companies with similar names, which can cause confusion.
The company installs all types of floorcoverings except resin. These include vinyl, timber, subfloor preparation, carpets and floor sanding and sealing. The sectors the company has specialised in over the past four years are care homes and care facilities as well as restaurants. On average, the company carries work out on six to seven brand newbuild care homes yearly, across the country.
The company has carried out full installations as well as repairs for Frankie and Benny’s, Chiquito and Domino’s pizza. The contractor also performs 10-20 domestic jobs a year which are requested through builders however this isn’t as dominant compared to the other sectors it works in.
The company carries work out nationwide, has seven office managers, estimators, and seven permanent floorlayers. At its busiest, Midlands Flooring has up to 32 subcontractors who work for it and the company has a turnover of £3m per year.
The USP of Midlands Flooring is the work ethic the company has as well as the systems it has in place to ensure projects are carried out smoothly and to the best of its ability, especially in the care home and restaurant sectors.
The skills and training the company has regarding its installation and estimating team are NVQ level 6 certifications in operations management. The company is also aiming to offer qualifications such as CSCS cards, health and safety training and IOSH as well as giving installers regular training in manual handling and first aid to ensure everyone has the updated relevant qualifications.
There are many installations the company is proud of but the ones that stand out are the full fit-out projects for the Domino Pizza branches. Two of the installers fit the whole restaurant in a matter of two days with no issues, which is impressive. Another installation Midlands is proud of is the installation at the West Midlands Pension Fund which won a CFJ Award.
Regarding sustainability, the company ensures where possible, materials are recycled and products used are from recycled materials. An example of this was a project where the contractor carried out an installation for a Jaguar Land Rover plant where a few thousand metres of waste went to Recofloor.
Another project the company carried out involved a job in Bristol, where water-based adhesives were used. All the waste vinyl also went to Recofloor, and the carpet tiles fitted were from Interface which were made from plastics and fishnets. The company also ensures it shares vehicles for employees where possible.
The challenges the company face over the next coming year is material increases which are affecting the industry because main contractors are looking to cut costs, ensuring bigger discounts and lower prices. Normally it receives quotes from its top three companies whether they’re flooring, joinery or plastering companies; however now they’re reaching out to nine or 10 in each field.
The companies being approached by the main contractor see this as a great opportunity to do business and give a quote that’s much cheaper, sometimes nearly at cost depending on how desperate they are, and especially if it’s a main contractor it’s been seeking to work with, which of course, causes the companies it normally works with to lose out or drive prices lower.
The other issue the industry faces is getting younger people into the industry as more people want to be less hands-on and more admin-based on a computer.
02476 675488
info@midlandsflooring.co.uk
www.midlandsflooring.co.uk