Bonar Floors has acquired fusion bonded carpet tile maker, Westbond, in a move that will broaden its range of carpet tile products and strengthen its presence in Europe
Bonar Floors, which is part of Low & Bonar and manufactures interior flooring products, has acquired Westbond, a manufacturer of high value fusion bonded carpet tiles. The Westbond brand will sit comfortably alongside Bonar’s Tessera tufted carpet tile products. The company expects the combination of the two products to create a very strong player in the growing European contract tile market.
Bonar Floors’ divisional managing director, Mark Sefton said: “This is a substantial and logical acquisition for Bonar Floors. Through until the end of April 2008 Westbond Limited will continue as a separate business within the floors division, under the continued leadership of Jorgen Hansen and his management team and I will take up a position as chairman of Westbond. It is anticipated that Jorgen will step down from his full time role with the business at the end of July 2008. Current sales teams for both Westbond and Tessera will continue as before.
“This is a very exciting development for Bonar Floors which can only strengthen our position in the market place, by broadening our range of quality carpet tile products. We have ambitions to significantly grow our UK and European market share over the next few years and this is a positive step towards achieving this.”
Established more than 30 years ago in Derbyshire, Bonar Floors operates primarily in the contract flooring sector working in partnership with architects, contractors, distributors and end users. Its brands – Flotex, Chocflex, Coral, Nuway and Tessera – are manufactured from Ripley, Telford and Preston in the UK, and from sites in France and Holland.
Westbond, which manufactures from a site at Cortonwood near Barnsley, Yorkshire, will bring to the company its unique fusion bonded technology, developed by the founder and current managing director, Jorgen Hansen in the late 1980s in Denmark. This technology, and its application to both nylon and wool based products are thought to be a key competitive differentiator. Production was transferred from Denmark to the UK during 2000.
