TTA Awards 2010 - Winners

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Bob Howard has spent his entire working life in the tile industry, beginning as an old fashioned indented apprentice tile fixer learning his skills at Manchester College of Building. His early days were spent on the tools, but as his career developed not only was he fixing tiles, but with his passion for training already developed, he was teaching tile fixing at Manchester College.

He progressed up through the ranks to Contracts Manager and then moved down south, where he was employed by one of the larger London contractors. He progressed to Contracts Director whilst in his first stint at this business. He left that company but returned seven years later to take over as Managing Director.

He was the last Chairman of the National Master Tile Fixers Association and went on to chair The Tile Association for a two year period. He has chaired the Training Committee since TTA was launched, represents the industry on many committees involved in improving standards in training and he represents the UK on the European Fixers Association.

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Best Newcomer (Tile Fixing Trainee)

Winner - Niall Callaghan of Kemtile Limited

"Niall has shown a keen aptitude in all the different aspects of the work he has encountered and is maturing into a very good tradesman".

Highly Commended - Craig Biggins of P Plunket Tiling Contractors Ltd and Northumberland College.

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Best Individual Tile Fixer

Winner - Peter Breathwick of Wilson & Wylie Contacts Ltd

"Peter is one of only two tilers piloting the Master Craftsman scheme. "Peter is one of the best tilers that I have come across in 45 years."

Finalists are:
Jonathan Davies of J.D. Tiling.
Darrell Hawkins of Tilewell Ceramics
David Kletzien of Ron Oliver Wall & Floor Ltd

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Excellence in Independent Retailing

Winner - Natural Stone Emporium

An impressive selection of natural stone can be found in this recently opened showroom. Beautiful limestone, granite, slate, marble and travertine in a multitude of colours and finishes.

The finalists were Creative Stone & Tile, Tiles Ahead Cwmbran and TileStyle.

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Currency Matters

Excellence in Multiple Retailing

Winner - N&C TileStyle

The range attracts customers seeking products with design and flair at an affordable price. The N&C TileStyle 'buying experience' makes choosing wall or floor tiles easy and 'de-mystifies' tile buying.

The finalists were Armatile Ltd , Boyden & Co Ltd and Reed Harris

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Excellence in Distribution

Winner - Ultra Tile

Instarmac pride themselves on offering 'on time and uncompromised deliveries'. Their Ultra Tile delivery guarantee is within 48 hours to anywhere in England and Wales.

The finalists were Craven Dunnill & Co, Ltd, N&C Nicobond and Minoli

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Excellence in Tile Contracting

Winner - Mosaic Restoration Co Ltd

The successful restoration or conservation of an existing mosaic can be assured due to the company's thorough understanding of traditional fabrication, installation and maintenance techniques.

The finalists were Global Ceramic Tiling Ltd, Kemtile Limited and Wilson & Wylie Contracts Ltd

Best Initiative to Reduce Environmental Impact

Winner - Mapei (UK) Ltd for "Waste Management".

During 2009 Mapei UK has taken steps to significantly increase recycling and in turn dramatically reduce the amount of material submitted to landfill.

The finalists:
Arena Tiling Limited for Urban Planning Council Offices in Abu Dhabi
Instarmac Group plc/ULTRA TILE for "Continuing to raise the bar".
N&C Nicobond for N&C Ecoflex Carbon Neutral Adhesive

Excellence in Tile Industry Marketing

Winner - Minoli for "Delivering inspiration for 50 years"

Working closely with the Minoli team, "brand experience" agency LloydNorthover developed the new brand identity, visual language, brand signature "The Surface Within" and the message "Be Inspired".

The finalists:
Mapei (UK) Ltd for their "Integrated POS Campaign"
Mapei (UK) Ltd for "The Solution is MAPEI "
Reed Harris for "Launch of e-newsletter"

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YELL.COM

Best Website

Winner - www.britishceramictile.com

The website incorporates new branding and provides site visitors with a more intimate view of the business through both the written word, still and video imagery.

The finalists:
ULTRA TILE/Instarmac Group plc for www.ultratileadhesives.co.uk/ www.instarmac.co.uk,
Boyden Tiles for www.tileexperience.co.uk
Building Adhesives Ltd for www.tilerworld.com

Wall Tile of the Year

Winner - the Royale Range from N&C Nicobond
Royale has the opulence and beauty of natural stone with the benefits of ceramic; colour consistency, size regularity, ease of fixing and ease of maintenance.

Finalists:
The Chambray Range from British Ceramic Tile Limited
The Renaissance Range from British Ceramic Tile Limited
The Turin Range from British Ceramic Tile Limited

Floor Tile of the Year

Winner - Natural Slate from Unicom Starker, imported by British Overseas & Export Trading Ltd
This is an extraordinary product where digital ink jet technology has been utilised to reproduce a product that is visually undistinguishable from a natural slate tile.

The finalists:
Antica from Gres Breda S.A.
Ethno from N&C Nicobond
Burgundy Stone (Pietra di Borgogna) by Marazzi

Best Natural Product

Winner - Etna Lava from N&C Nicobond
This natural product is a unique fusion of glazes in their natural tracery of the lava, creating unique and unrepeatable glints, shadows and textures with no two pieces alike.

The finalists:
Artemis from Goss Marble Trading Limited
Eros from Goss Marble Trading Limited
Micro Mosaic from Pilkington's Tiles Group plc.

Best New Innovation

Winner - BAL Variset XP from Building Adhesives Ltd
Variset XP is the only adhesive to give the user the ability to precisely control the working and setting times in any temperature.

The finalists:
Total Wetroom Solutions from N&C Nicobond
Ultralite S1 Adhesive from Mapei
X-Cores from Rotozip

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Best Technical Use of Tile in a Construction Contract

The winner - NÖM Dairy, Telford, Phase 2 by Kemtile Limited.
The fully vitrified hexagonal tiles were laid straight onto prepared slabs using a thin bed epoxy resin. The tiles had to be laid to the same tight tolerances as a vibration fixed ceramic floor.

The finalists:
Charles II Street, Haymarket, London by Wilson & Wylie Contracts Ltd
Marianne North Gallery Refurbishment, Kew Gardens by Wilson & Wylie Contracts Ltd.
Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary by Mapei (UK) Ltd and P Plunkett Tiling Contractors.

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PCI part of BASF Group

Best Use of Tile in a Large Construction Contract

Winner - Union Square, Aberdeen by Mapei (UK) Ltd and A De Cecco Ltd.
Professional installation and project management ensured that the venture was not only completed on schedule but also to the high standard that this prestigious new build required.

The finalists:
Charles II Street, Haymarket, London, by Wilson & Wylie Contracts Ltd
Mansfield Traquair Centre, Edinburgh by Craven Dunnill & Co. Ltd
NÖM Dairy, Telford, Phase 2 by Kemtile Limited.

Best Use of Tile in a Housing Development

Winner - Studland Dene, Alum Chime, Dorset by Global Ceramic Tiling Ltd
This project showed the versatility of Global Ceramic Tiling Ltd with its varying sizes and types of tiles and their ability to complete on time, on budget and to the high standard required.

The finalists:
Brighouse Homes by Craven Dunnill & Co. Ltd
Corner Farm, Rolleston by Pilkington's Tiles Group plc
10 Weymouth Street, London by Wilson & Wylie Contracts Ltd

Best Technical Use of Tile in a Small Construction Contract

Winner - St Patrick's Church, Dungannon by Armatile Ltd
The Celtic weave design starts at the altar encompassing the Greek Alpha and Omega symbols it was laid out in the Armatile factory to ensure accuracy before delivery to site.

The finalists:
Keble College, Oxford by Craven Dunnill & Co. Ltd
Marianne North Gallery Refurbishment, Kew Gardens by Wilson & Wylie Contracts Ltd and Craven Dunnill & Co. Ltd
Staplemead Dairy, Frome by Kemtile Limited

Best Use of Tile within the Leisure Industry

Winner - Uxbridge Lido by Wilson & Wylie Contracts Ltd
Being the local tiling contractor, Wilson & Wylie have been involved with the Uxbridge Lido project for some considerable time, stretching back to the initial design and budgeting phase.

The finalists:
Orchard Leisure Centre, Armagh by Mapei (UK) Ltd and Armatile Ltd
Private house in South West London by Berry Tiles Ltd
Waves, Whitley Bay by P Plunket Tiling Contractors Ltd

Best Use of Tile in a Domestic Environment

Winner - Private house, Mapperley, Nottingham by East Midlands Ceramics
Ceramic tiles are at the heart of this grand design. In this five bedroom luxury home ceramic tiles are used throughout to create a wonderfully elegant interior.

The finalists:
Fitzpatrick House, Bramhall, Cheshire by Natural Stone Emporium.
Private house, Chandlers Ford by Global Ceramic Tiling Ltd.
Private house, South West London by Berry Tiles Ltd.

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Best Use of Tile by an Architect or Designer

Winner - St Patrick's Church, Dungannon designed by P&B Gregory Architects
The design detail involved in the overall renovation meant that the floor needed to be equally spectacular. All of the features were created using Armatile's water-jet technology.

The finalists:
Crimscote designed by Aztec Design
Pizza East London Project designed by Michaelis Boyd
Yas Hotel, Abu Dhabi designed by Jestico & Whiles