Byron Terrett wins 2017 Carpet Fitter of the Year

We are pleased to announce that the winner of this year's Carpet Fitter of the Year competition is Byron Terrett from the Vale of Glamorgan.

The competition ran over two days and showcased the craftsmanship and skills of the six finalists who were required to carry out two very challenging practical tests - the platform test was a stretch fit carpet which had a pillar in the middle and the carpet had to be seamed either side of it, and an obstacle in the corner with a low overhang and acute angles to make cutting and tucking of the carpet very challenging.  The second test was a double-sided bullnose step to be handstitched.

There was a separate smaller element to the contest which was to construct a toolbag from carpet and this all had to be handmade prior to the finals in Harrogate and a separate prize was awarded for this task; this element was won by Dan Evans of Cambridgeshire.

The competition was a lot closer this year with a recount required.  Head judge Ian James stated "The competition seems to get more exciting every year and we hope that this continues for 2018. I am looking forward to doing it all again!"

The presentation ceremony took place on the afternoon of Monday 18 September and we would like to thank Wendy Adams, organiser of The Flooring Show, for agreeing to attend the ceremony and present the winner with his prizes and the finalists with their trophies.

The finalists for 2017 were Darren Ash from Worcestershire, Jason Draper from Northamptonshire, Dan Evans from Cambridgeshire, Rob Harper from Greater Manchester, John Wright of Bedfordshire and our eventual winner, Byron.

NICF would like to take this opportunity to thank the competition sponsors for their support in enabling the competition to run again this year and contributing to its success; it was noticed and commented on by a great many people that the sponsors were all major players in our industry.  The sponsors were:

ARDEX UK Ltd
Ball & Young Ltd
Bostik Ltd
Carpenter Ltd
Carpet & Flooring
CFJ
Cormar Carpets
F Ball & Co Ltd
FITA
Hanson Plywood Ltd
Interfloor Ltd
Lifestyle Floors (part of Headlam Group)
QEP Co UK Ltd (Roberts UK)
Spotnails Ltd
The Flooring Show
The Stocklists
Tramex Ltd
Uzin Ltd

Work is already well under way on organising the 2018 competition and so if there are any carpet fitters out there who think they have the knowledge and skills to be the next Carpet Fitter of the Year then please click here to pre-register your interest.

Many congratulations to Byron on winning the 2017 competition, we wish him every success for the future.

22nd September 2017