F Ball and Co celebrates 140 years

F BALL and Co is marking 140 years since it was founded, with plans to celebrate the milestone throughout 2026.

With a history stretching back to 1886, F Ball says it’s become the UK’s leading manufacturer of flooring adhesives and floor preparation products for the contract flooring industry and a British manufacturing success story.

The company initially produced adhesives for shoe repair, but it steadily increased its involvement in developing products for the commercial flooring sector from the ‘30s.

Since then, it’s been at the forefront of technological developments to help flooring professionals work to ever more exacting standards, including flooring adhesives with what it says have previously unseen combinations of properties and next generation high-performance smoothing compounds.

Product quality and innovation is backed by ‘industry-leading’ customer and technical support. The company’s technical service department provides advice on subfloor preparation and floorcovering installation over the phone or by email and online chat. Regional technical representatives conduct site visits, in person, to provide bespoke, on-the-ground advice for complex projects, ‘with coverage unmatched in the industry’.

Says the company: ‘We remain a privately owned, family business, meaning we can retain traditional values of fairness, responsibility and integrity, including having a beneficial role in the community in which we operate.

‘This includes efforts to manage our environmental impact by reducing our carbon footprint through investing in energy-efficient manufacturing equipment and generating our own electricity supply from renewable sources, as well as introducing recyclable packaging.’
The company also aims to give back to contractors through its Ball Rewards customer loyalty initiative, which is free to join and rewards members with cashback each time they purchase F Ball products, alongside other benefits.

Similarly, it provides free training courses at the F Ball Centre of Excellence at its Staffordshire headquarters. The ‘Floorsight’ apprenticeship programme, launched recently in partnership with the Flooring Industry Training Association (FITA) and WEBS training, provides career pathways in flooring to help tackle the skills gap.

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 industry.
‘To celebrate, we’re hosting a series of events throughout 2026, including community and employee days as a way of saying thank you to the people who make F Ball what it is and 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.’

01583 361633
www.f-ball.com