FLOORING accessories and carpet underlay manufacturer Interfloor Limited was delighted to pick up the environment award.

The Haslingden company is the largest of its kind in Europe, producing millions of rolls of underlay every year.

It uses waste tyres and foam and recycles them, turning them into comfortable underlay for domestic and commercial uses.

The Broadway business, which was set up in 1992, uses around 3million waste tyres every year, around seven per cent of the UK total, and has recently invested £1.5million in a new PU foam production line.

Paul Marsh, marketing and services manager, said: “We have been working on trying to reduce our impact on the local environment and the national environment as well.

“We have made massive improvements like a £1million regenerative thermal oxidiser, which converts foams from oil-based products into better gasses to go out into the atmosphere.

“In 2008, 16 per cent of the products we sold were recycled, and now it is 65 per cent. And with the new PU line we can recycle waste foam and make it into underlay.

“We did not expect to win, we had some excellent competitors, so we are delighted for all the work the engineers and technicians have done. If it was not for them, we would have nothing. It has been a group effort.

“We are looking forward to developing and improving even more in the coming year.”

Steve Woodhead, marketing director, said: “Our green credentials are very important.

“We want to be seen as a responsible supplier and it is good business practice.

“Retailers like selling products that are environmentally friendly and we are responding to that demand.”

The Haslingden site is the head office and primary manufacturing site.

Interfloor also has two smaller manufacturing sites in Dumfries.