THIS month marks 140 years since F Ball and Co was founded. To celebrate the occasion, we take a look back at more than 14 decades of British manufacturing history and ahead to how this heritage is shaping the future of the industry.
F Ball is described as the UK’s leading manufacturer of subfloor preparation products and adhesives for floorcoverings and, with a history stretching back to 1886, the one with the greatest heritage.
Few iconic British brands can trace their roots back more than a century. Fewer still remain family-owned businesses after all this time.
F Ball says it’s unique among subfloor preparation and floorcovering adhesives manufacturers in holding both of these distinctions.
History
‘F. Ball & Co’ was established on 8 October 1886 when Francis Ball entered into a partnership with William Henry Cowburn, an ink manufacturer. The company occupied premises in Lower Kennington Lane, south east London, where a range of products for the shoe and leather trade were developed.
The partnership with William Cowburn was later dissolved, and a new one was formed with William Collis, an accountant, in 1898.
After Francis Ball died, in 1904, there was a growing emphasis on the development of adhesives, including products for footwear repair. The company’s first venture into the flooring trade came in 1936 with the introduction of Stycco Latex, which was used to join widths of carpet together.
During World War 2, the business was transferred from London to Leek, in Staffordshire, and the next 20 years saw a steady shift from manufacturing products for the shoe industry to increased involvement in the commercial flooring trade.
Continued expansion
The introduction of cement-based ‘floor levelling’ products in the early ‘60s was followed by the launch of Stycco (later Styccobond) F3 in the middle of the decade. Over 60 years since the launch of its original formulation, it’s still the most widely used adhesive for the bonding of textile contract floorcoverings.
To continue to meet increasing product demand, the decision was made to expand the Leek site in the ‘70s. However, the company’s rapid expansion meant an even larger manufacturing facility was eventually needed.
In 1989, an 8½-acre site was found 2½ miles away, in Cheddleton, which remains the company’s location today. This extra capacity would be vital as F Ball began to export its products in 1996, starting with European and Middle Eastern countries.
Ongoing innovation
F Ball has a long track record of innovation focused on creating high-performance products with specialist features to help flooring professionals meet ever higher customer expectations surrounding speed of installation and finished appearance.
For example, advancements in hybrid polymer adhesives enabled F Ball to create Styccobond F49 Hybrid PS, the first in a generation of high-performance vinyl adhesives that combines true pressure-sensitive and temperature-tolerant characteristics.
In recent years, F Ball has also used the latest cement technology to create a new generation of water-mix smoothing compounds, including Stopgap 1500, which can be applied over old adhesive residues, and Stopgap 1600, a fibre-reinforced smoothing compound that’s formulated especially for use over underfloor heating systems.
Technical expertise
Research and development is managed by a committee of specialists from sales, marketing and technical departments and supported by dedicated on-site laboratories and testing facilities at the company’s Staffordshire headquarters.
This research and steadfast commitment to quality means flooring contractors can rely on the F Ball Guarantee, which states that its products will perform for the entire lifetime of floorcoverings, as long as advised subfloor preparation and installation processes are followed.
Another goal of research and development is to ensure compatibility of adhesives and floorcoverings, new versions of which are constantly entering the market.
For this purpose, F Ball produces its industry-leading Recommended Adhesives Guide (RAG), which lists adhesives recommended for use with over 6,000 floorcoverings produced by over 200 manufacturers.
Each year since 1973, F Ball has published an update to what has evolved into the industry’s leading guide to floorcovering-adhesive compatibility, with an interactive online version which is constantly updated throughout the year.
Recommendations are included in the guide only after the completion of a rigorous 56-day testing programme at F Ball’s state-of-the-art testing facilities and subject to endorsement by the relevant floorcovering manufacturer.
Customer focus
Advanced technology is backed up by industry-leading customer service in order to get the most out of F Ball products. Support is provided by a team of regional technical representatives and dedicated retail support staff, while the company’s head office-based technical service department is on hand to answer questions about subfloor preparation and floorcovering installation.
The service allows industry professionals to obtain expert advice on the best course of action for a particular flooring project when using F Ball products.
For more than 15 years, F Ball has also sought to support the flooring industry through its Ball Rewards customer loyalty initiative, which offers financial benefits for membership.
The scheme is free to join and rewards members with cashback each time they purchase F Ball products. They also gain access to a wide range of exclusive benefits, including advanced previews of new products, the opportunity to enter monthly competitions to win exclusive prizes, extra cashback on promotional products, and access to F Ball’s e-newsletter, F-Talk.
Since its original launch, F Ball’s customer rewards programme has returned more than £9.5m to flooring contractors and retailers.
No-cost training
F Ball is also committed to helping flooring professionals acquire the skills needed to achieve the highest standards of floorcovering installation by providing free training courses at the purpose-built F Ball Centre of Excellence facility at its Cheddleton headquarters.
Training programmes, which run year-round, are led by experts from within the company, cover subfloor preparation, moisture management, and adhesive selection, and offer an opportunity to use a range of F Ball products.
They include specialist courses for flooring retailers and a three-day course on achieving optimum results when installing LVTs.
Family values
F Ball has remained a market-leader in the flooring installation industry in part by attracting and retaining the best people throughout the business.
The manufacturer is also committed to inspiring the next generation of flooring industry talent. F Ball often creates new apprenticeship opportunities across its engineering, technical services, marketing, operations, business administration and safety, health, environment and quality (SHEQ) departments at the company’s headquarters.
F Ball has partnered with the Flooring Industry Training Association (FITA) and WEBS training to launch its own apprenticeship programme, called Floorsight, with support from the Contract Flooring Association (CFA), to provide career pathways in flooring aimed at ensuring the future of the industry.
The programme was founded in part to tackle the persistent skills gap in the contract flooring industry and encourage younger people to consider careers in the flooring industry.
All members of the first cohort of Floorsight apprentices have successfully progressed to the second year, and a second intake of apprentices enrolled in September 2026.
Community concerns
F Ball’s values include playing a beneficial role in the community in which it operates, including managing its environmental impact.
Apart from introducing recyclable packaging for several products, with much of the new packaging itself manufactured from recycled materials, the company launched the F Ball Recycling Scheme, which provides locations where contractors can deposit empty F Ball buckets and bottles for recycling, for free. This has been steadily expanded in response to a positive reception from the industry.
The installation of over 1,700 solar panels has gone a long way towards making F. Ball self-sufficient in terms of energy supply. It has installed 17 electric vehicle charging points on-site for company vehicles, and factories benefit from state-of-the-art equipment to minimise energy consumption.
Community consciousness increasingly extends to supporting local sports teams, including being the main sponsor of Leek Town FC, as well as charity initiatives.
Towards the future
F Ball has continued to invest in upgrading its manufacturing facilities to maintain its ability to produce world-leading products and satisfy ever-growing demand. 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.
The company’s international reputation has continued to flourish, and it now exports increasing amounts of its products worldwide, to over 60 countries and to every continent except Antarctica.
After more than 140 years, F. Ball remains a family business under the current ownership of Geoffrey W Ball, the great-grandson of the founder. This year, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to manufacturing, the flooring industry and to the local community in Staffordshire. In 2025, he was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the UK flooring industry at the CFJ Awards.
The company remains firmly committed to continual investment to create the next generation of products to help reach new heights of flooring installation standards.
Commenting on the anniversary, F Ball’s managing director, Darren Kenyon, said: ‘Reaching 140 years is a significant milestone and testament to steadfast values and commitment to customers and quality. This makes us one of the longest-established companies in the flooring industry.
‘It’s also appropriate to recognise and say thank you to the people who make F Ball what it is, including customers and colleagues, as well as the community in which we operate. While we celebrate our past, we remain focused on the future, continuing to innovate and invest in the next generation of flooring professionals.’
www.f-ball.co.uk
