Local tiler floored after landing huge contract at East Midlands Airport
A tiler from Derby has gone from revamping people’s bathrooms to re-flooring the departure lounge at East Midlands Airport after landing the biggest contract of his career.
Josh Slaney, who set up business in 2017, has started work on the project that will see more than 3,000sq metres of tiles laid throughout the airport’s departure lounge.
The 32-year-old, who lives in Stenson Fields, Derby, with his fiancée Terri and seven-year-old daughter Marnie, is more used to tiling domestic bathrooms and kitchens than an airport terminal. His JS Tiling Derby Ltd firm’s largest contract before this involved tiling 80 bathrooms at a Derby care home.
He has taken on six workers to complete the work which will take place in phases over forthcoming winter seasons when flight schedules are quieter. It is the latest improvement in a £120m investment programme which has transformed the customer experience.
The departure lounge floor was identified as an area for upgrading, with a variety of floor finishes throughout the area and increasing numbers of cracked tiles. Part of the reason for this has been uncovered by Josh and his team, who are removing four layers of tiles to lay the new tiling on the original terminal floor.
The company’s appointment as contractor through the Oliveti Group is an example of East Midlands Airport supporting local businesses in the supply chain.
Josh said: “It’s not often that small local firms get a chance like this, so I’m really happy the airport has taken us on. I’m not daunted by the scale of the job. At the end of the day, tiling is tiling, and if you are good at what you do, it is just another job.”
Director of Asset Development at East Midlands Airport, Brian McCoubrey, said: “As a very large site with extensive supply chain needs, we’re always pleased to award contracts to local firms. JS Tiling did a small repair job on some flooring for us earlier this year and off the back of that, we invited them to tender for this work.
“The section they have started on is already looking great, and you can see what a difference it will make to eventually have the whole departure lounge completed with the same new flooring throughout. It’s the cherry on top – or should that be underneath – all the other improvements we’ve carried out!”