Mark Smurthwaite wins Carpet Fitter of the Year 2016

The flooring show at Harrogate was the venue for the much anticipated Carpet Fitter of the Year Grand Final, hosted by the NICF.

The finalists for the competition were Darren Ash from Worcestershire, Michael Atkinson from Cumbria, Paul Finch from Oxfordshire, Nick Hood from West Midlands, Mark Smurthwaite also from Cumbria and Byron Terrett from mid-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 - fitting a carpet with border on a dual stick system and incorporating in that a hand sewn bullnose step.

At the start of the final there were only 44 points between the first and sixth place contestants and throughout the two days of competition the lead constantly changed which proved a challenge for the judges Ian James, Jeff Hardy and Richard Renouf. At the end of the competition it was very clear to see that all six finalists were masters of their craft and all six of the finished platforms were of a very high standard.

The presentation ceremony took place on the afternoon of Monday 19 September and drew the biggest crowd over the two days of the event.  We would like to thank Anthea Turner for agreeing to attend the ceremony and present the winner with his prizes and the finalists with their trophies.

There could only be one winner and that was Mark Smurthwaite from Cumbria who just happened to be the youngest of our finalists aged only 31.

NICF would like to take this opportunity to thank the competition sponsors for their support in enabling the competition to return 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
CFJ
Cormar Carpets
F Ball & Co Ltd
Hanson Plywood Ltd
Interfloor Ltd
Lifestyle Floors (part of Headlam Group)
QEP Co UK Ltd (Roberts UK)
Spotnails Ltd
The Stocklists
Tramex Ltd
Which? Trusted Traders
Uzin Ltd

Work is already well under way on organising the 2017 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 Mark on winning the 2016 competition, we wish him every success for the future.

Thursday 29th September 2016