Contract Journal articles from April 2005

Contract Journal archives from April 2005

Bell loaders at Hillhead.(Deere & Co.)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... The deal ADT specialist Bell signed with US manufacturer John Deere during the recent Conexpo exhibition in Las Vegas, USA, will see the South African manufacturer building Deere-designed side shift backhoe loaders and wheel loaders for its...

M&A invests in Extec C12s.(M&A Demolition (UK) Ltd)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... M&A Demolition has added [pounds sterling]1.2m-worth of kit to its fleet, replacing its single crusher with a pair of Extec C12s fitted with the latest dust suppression equipment. The remaining money was spent on eight Hyundai excavators...

Analysis finds 265 hire firms are 'struggling'.(lease and rental services)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Plimsoll Publishings latest analysis highlights 477 cash-rich plant hire companies and 265 acquisition prospects. The cash-rich companies are making pre-tax profit margins of 4%, while the potential targets are making a 5.5% pre-tax loss....

Sandvik launches quality hole driller.(Sandvik Tamrock)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Sandviks new Tamrock top hammer drilling machine can be specified with a cab or without a cab as a remote-control unit. Both the cabbed Ranger unit and the cab-less Scout are tracked machines with a rotating top structure. A rear-mounted power...

Hours regs require 22,000 driving jobs.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... The new limits on working time for transport workers, which came into effect on 4 April, will result in 12,600 more vehicles and require an additional 21,900 drivers, according to the Freight Transport Association. Drivers subject to...

Report urges UK to opt out of 48-hour opt-out.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... A new Parliamentary report has urged the government to scrap its opt-out from the maximum 48-hour week under the European Working Time Regulations. The call comes from the House of Commons select committee on trade and industry. The MPs report...

Falls from height still biggest killer.
April 6, 2005... Fatalities by region Scotland13?London10?North West10?South East9?Wales7?East Midlands5?West Midlands5?South West4?North East3?Yorkshire & Humber3?East1?Source: HSE Fatalities 98/99 - 04/05 Fatalities by cause CauseNumber?Falls from height...

HSE steps up crackdown on handling.(Health & Safety Executive)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... An alarming one-in-five construction sites were served with enforcement notices last month as part of a healthy handling crackdown by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). Inspectors visited 1,170 construction projects of all sizes across the...

Four nominees for Harefield Academy.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Shortlisted candidates and a winner have emerged for two projects totalling more than [pounds sterling]46m under the governments academy schools programme. Four firms should know by the beginning of next month which of them has gained entry to...

Three share [pounds sterling]150m refurb in N London.(United House Group Ltd.)(Balfour Beatty PLC )(Apollo)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Three firms are to share out [pounds sterling]150m-worth of housing upgrade work in north London for Barnet Homes, the borough councils arms length management organisation. United House has scooped the lions share of the deal and will work on...

Hull's [pounds sterling]50m homes upgrade.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Hull City Council has lined up a total of 13 national and local contractors to carry out a programme of works intended to revamp deprived areas of the city and the East Riding of Yorkshire. The deal, worth [pounds sterling]50m depending on the...

Welsh rail scheme running a year late.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... A [pounds sterling]27m scheme in south Wales to turn a freight railway into a passenger line is running a year behind schedule. The six outfits shortlisted for the Ebbw Valley Railway project had expected to pick up the tender paperwork for...

RHS Northern's [pounds sterling]45m boost.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... RHS Northern, part of the Ringway Group, has been awarded two five-year partnering deals totalling [pounds sterling]45m under Rotherham Councils Streetpride initiative. The first covers highways, bridges and landscape works. The second...

Mowlem set for [pounds sterling]11m road scheme.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Mowlem looks set to win an [pounds sterling]11m improvement deal in Kent. Sources say the firm has driven off its five rivals and is in pole position for Bexley Councils A206 Thames Road improvement scheme at Crayford. Work on site is set to...

Eight bid for Sheffield's BSF scheme.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Eight bidders are in the running for Sheffields Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme. The longlist of contenders for the [pounds sterling]158m pathfinder project is: -.Inspirelearning (Amec). -.Transform Schools (Balfour Beatty). -...

Scottish police chief warns against hiring criminal security firms organised crime.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... A leading police chief has called on contractors in Scotland to otake the moral high groundo when hiring security firms by ensuring they are not linked to organised crime. Tom Buchan, president of the Association of Scottish Police...

...create a CV website.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... By Scott Beagrie You can get by with a static, paper-based CV, but increasingly, individuals are posting online versions to showcase their talents. A major advantage is that online CVs offer more scope and more space to sell yourself and are a...

DWPF buys its independence from Jarvis.(David Wylde Project Finance)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Jarviss withdrawal from PPP and PFI work has resulted in David Wylde Project Finance (DWPF) buying back the 51% shareholding that Jarvis held in it. DWPF will now operate as an independent business. oHaving Jarvis on board made it difficult...

Dispute settlement boosts Balfour profit by [pounds sterling]17m.
April 6, 2005... Balfour Beatty has announced a [pounds sterling]17m profit bonus thanks to the settlement of a long-running dispute between Barking Power and TXU Europe. Balfour has a 25.5% stake in Barking Power. It lodged a claim for damages for breach of...

Turnover up at Barhale.(Barhale Constructions )(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Barhale Constructions workload continues to rocket upwards and has now reached [pounds sterling]120m [degrees] a rapid transformation from a figure of [pounds sterling]22m just five years ago. The latest growth for the Walsall-based group, up...

Morrison workers escape redundancies at AWG.
April 6, 2005... None of the 300 redundancies announced by AWG, formerly known as Anglian Water, will be within Morrison, the construction division. While the water utilitys full financial results are due for release in early June, a trading statement issued...

New debt pushes Jarvis to brink.
April 6, 2005... Jarvis shares plunged even lower [degrees] down by a third [degrees] after the announcement that it had been forced to borrow a further [pounds sterling]17m to fund ogreater than anticipated working capital requirementso. The troubled support...

Multibuild profits from hotel bookings.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Multibuild, the Stockport-based construction group, has reported that a ofantastico hotel sector has helped it to treble its annual profit. oMultibuild has been doing more budget hotel work than anyone else,o said Mike Peden, managing director,...

An exceptional year (but not for the right reasons).(construction industry)
April 6, 2005... Can you believe anyones figures any more? Contractors have hit a credibility problem as many of the once-healthy profits of the past have had to be rewritten. And the red pen takes them all in the same direction [degrees] downwards. What the...

< Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's third-quarter planning applications statistics.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... The good news revealed in the Office of the Deputy Prime Ministers planning statistics for the third quarter of 2004 is: more decisions were made throughout the country than in Q3 2003; and those decisions were reached faster. However, the...

Bovis wins [pounds sterling]150m Madrid hospital PFI.(Bovis Lend Lease Proprietary Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Bovis Lend Lease has won its first PFI project in Spain: a [pounds sterling]150m contract to build and manage a hospital in Majadahonda, Madrid. This is the first Spanish healthcare PFI deal. Client Comunidad de Madrid, the citys regional...

All change at Cleveland Bridge following board shake-up.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... The management of Cleveland Bridge has been restructured. Roddy Grant will relinquish his role as chief executive of the Cleveland Bridge Group and will take up a new position as special advisor to the shareholders. With immediate effect, Jon...

Rage Interiors and Benson.(Correction Notice)
April 6, 2005... In the 23 February edition of Contract Journal it was suggested that Rage Interiors was owed [pounds sterling]243,072.66 by Benson. We can confirm that the figure was in fact significantly less than this amount. We regret any embarrassment...

Lee Parkinson Mary Nettleship Paul Velluet Keith Harries Leon Atkins.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Wates Lee Parkinson has been promoted to become head of supply chain management at Wates. Morgan Sindall Mary Nettleship has joined Morgan Sindall as general counsel and company secretary. Howard Holdings Howard Holdings has taken on Martin...

Bamford named richest builder.(Sir Anthony Bamford and family )
April 6, 2005... Sir Anthony Bamford and family were the highest placed construction industry players in The Sunday Times Rich List 2005, finishing joint 65th with [pounds sterling]700m. Moving up from last years list, Keith Miller and family were the...

Taywood to take 30 students.(Taylor Woodrow PLC)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Taylor Woodrow will offer 30 students placements in its sponsored student programme this year. Taywood is already sponsoring 60 students at 22 universities in disciplines ranging from construction management to quantity surveying. As well as a...

Northerntrack is a success Forshaw.(Walter Forshaw )(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... A 4t Northerntrack concrete processor enabled contractor Walter Forshaw to demolish a bridge overnight and minimise disruption on the busy A1 trunk road. The FR35 attachment has a 1m jaw opening and was attached to a Komatsu PC340 excavator for...

Powered access training essential to improve safety.
April 6, 2005... Access equipment hirers said the new Work at Height Regulations, which comes into force today (6 April), wont have the desired impact on safety standards unless all operators are trained to a recognised level. According to Harry Waters, sales...

Framework bidders kept on hold by BT.(British Telecommunications PLC)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Bidders are concerned that BT is getting cold feet over the award of its [pounds sterling]250m 21st Century Network infrastructure framework contracts. The two-year contracts, which will provide telecoms infrastructure for BTs internet protocol...

New roads association.(Highways Term Maint-enance Association )(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... A new industry body to represent the term maintenance community is to be launched next Friday. The Highways Term Maint-enance Association (HTMA) will aim to foster and develop standards, share best practice and knowledge and provide a forum for...

Contractors await power plant boom.(Nuclear Decommissioning Authority )
April 6, 2005... Civils contractors are gearing up to bid for multi-million pound frameworks as part of the [pounds sterling]50bn nuclear power plant decommissioning programme now being rolled out across the UK. Last week, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority...

Aggregates sector claims green funding shortfall.
April 6, 2005... The government has shortchanged the aggregates sector on cash for environmental projects, despite opening up funding for local authorities, the industry claims. The Department for Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) last week provided...

Government flood support.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... The construction products sector will benefit from the governments strategy on flooding. Environment minister Elliot Morley said last week the government will support materials that provide flood resilience to homes. He said these can include...

Water firms rethinking plastic sewer pipe ban.
April 6, 2005... Water companies are considering a turnaround on a long-standing ban on plastic sewer pipes following a development by manufacturer Uponor. The company also hopes to compete with concrete and clay on structured wall applications. Uponor has...

Knauf plans to manage waste.(Knauf Drywall)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2005... Knauf Drywall is planning to work alongside a waste management company ahead of a ban on traditional landfilling later this year. From May, the company will recycle plasterboard alongside Canada-based New West Gypsum Recycling. Knauf Drywall...

Industry sceptical over [pounds sterling]60,000 house target.
April 6, 2005... The housebuilding industry has given a cautious welcome to the Office of the Deputy Prime Ministers (ODPM) [pounds sterling]60,000 home competition. The ODPM last week gave companies the go-ahead to bid to construct approximately 470 homes on...

The removal men.(Asbestos Removal Contractors Association )
April 6, 2005... The Asbestos Removal Contractors Association (ARCA) has come a long way in its 25-year history. When it was born, on 1 July 1980, there were just six founder members. That the organisation now boasts a membership of 280 is a reflection of both...

Doing it on the quiet.
April 6, 2005... Cheshire Innovation Park is a major research and development centre operated by energy giant Shell. Over 60 years, Shell has constructed a range of research and experimental facilities at the 26ha Ellesmere Port site to support its changing...

The UK's first urban quarry.
April 6, 2005... The British are not often associated with being either good Europeans or at the vanguard of environmentally-friendly policies. Yet, when it comes to the use of recycled aggregates they are doing rather well. Nearly 60 million tonnes of the...

Piecing it together.
April 6, 2005... You wouldnt put Roger Vaughan down as a jigsaw type, but his latest job [degrees] dismantling a redundant fatty alcohol plant in Cumbria [degrees] sees him working on the mother of all puzzles. Only instead of putting the pieces together to...

Cuddy steels a march.(Cuddy Group Ltd.)
April 6, 2005... Its the biggest demolition job ever undertaken in Wales. A year ago, The Cuddy Group was selected to carry out the demolition and dismantling of the giant Llanwern steelworks at Cwmbran. The 18-month job involves taking down some 80,000t of...

'We have become far too insular'.(National Federation of Demolition Contractors)
April 6, 2005... If the contents of a persons office could be taken as an indication of their personality, then newly-elected National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC) president David Clarke, and managing director of CDC Demolition, is a man of...

What goes up, ?must come down.
April 6, 2005... The demolition sector has often been seen as a bellwether for the impending fortunes of the wider construction industry. When the demolition market is healthy, its a fair indication of plenty of construction work around the corner. When...

Screen test.
April 6, 2005... Recycling is big business, and its going to get bigger. Increasing pressure from the government is forcing construction and demolition companies, along with local authorities, to look at ways of increasing the reuse of building materials and...

Traction buys first Mini CXs.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... The first JCB Mini CXs in the UK have been supplied to Staffordshire-based plant hirer Traction Equipment. Tractions managing director Tim Bloomer saw JCBs baby backhoe at the Hire Show in London in January and said: oThe Mini CX is an...

Information and consultation regs launched.(law for construction workers)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... New legislation requiring firms employing 150 or more staff to consult with and inform their workers on a range of issues came into effect last week. Welcoming the Information and Consultation Regulations, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber...

Health scheme funds hit [pounds sterling]1m.
April 13, 2005... Funding for the industrys new occupational health scheme is nearing [pounds sterling]1m, according to George Brumwell, chairman of the schemes management board. oSo far we have attracted about [pounds sterling]850,000 to [pounds...

75% of companies support CITB levy.(Construction Industry Training Board )(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... One-in-five contractors still believe the statutory training levy should be scrapped, according to the latest employer tracking survey carried out for the CITB-ConstructionSkills. But the good news for the CITB is that support for the...

Tunnel protesters bailed.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Four men accused of disrupting construction work at the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) site at Kings Cross St Pancras last November have been remanded on unconditional bail until 27 June. The accused [degrees] Guiseppe Giradi, of Finsbury...

Americium eyes PFI contractors.(Private Finance Initiative )(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... A new consortium appearing on ever-increasing numbers of Scottish PFI schools deals is eyeing up local contractors to join the team. Comprehensive Estates Services (CES), which includes Edinburgh firm Americium and Singapore-based CPG...

Berkeley wins housing deal.(Berkeley First builds houses for Thames Valley University)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Berkeley First has the key to a [pounds sterling]70m construction management deal for Londons biggest affordable homes-led development. The scheme, known as Paragon, will be built in Brentford for Thames Valley University. It will comprise: 221...

Centrica invites bids for Plymouth power station.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... UK gas giant Centrica is planning to send out the tender paperwork this week for a [pounds sterling]400m deal to build a power station at Langage, near Plymouth. It is understood that the bid list for the scheme boasts an international line-up...

Laing O'Rourke swoops on [pounds sterling]225m Merseytram project.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... A consortium headed by Laing ORourke has jumped on board for the rebid first phase of the [pounds sterling]225m Merseytram project. The group, called M-Pact, features Grant Rail and replaces the Mersey Express Tramway (MET) group as...

North Midland wins [pounds sterling]7m contract.(North Midland Construction PLC)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... North Midland Construction, in a joint venture with Barhale, has negotiated the second [pounds sterling]7m phase of a [pounds sterling]12m upgrading contract for Severn Trent Water. The flood alleviation scheme at Kenilworth, Warwickshire,...

Contractors wanted for Suffolk resort.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... The developer behind a [pounds sterling]350m leisure scheme planned for Suffolk is expected to ask contractors to pitch for elements of the massive project in the autumn. Developer Onslow Suffolk expects to get the all-clear from planners later...

Launch of [pounds sterling]280m N Irish PFI in May.(Private Finance Initiative )(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... A [pounds sterling]280m PFI contract to refurbish, maintain and manage Northern Irelands civil service estates for 20 years will be launched in May. Known as Workplace 2010, the contract will involve a five- to seven-year refurbishment...

Lewisham PFI deal faces further delays.(Private Finance Initiative )
April 13, 2005... The [pounds sterling]70m Downham Lifestyles PFI leisure project for Lewisham Council has hit further delays this month, despite pointed criticism of the preferred bidders performance last month by Lewishams mayor Steve Bullock. At a council...

NI looks at BSF for schools upgrade.(Northern Ireland)(Building Schools for the Future )
April 13, 2005... Northern Ireland is to launch a [pounds sterling]3.6bn, 10-year programme to upgrade its entire schools estate, using a form of procurement similar to the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative. A report commissioned by the Strategic...

Henry Boot kick-starts profit after reshuffle.(Henry Boot and Sons PLC)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Henry Boot, the Sheffield-based construction and development group, made a pre-tax profit of [pounds sterling]16m last year, on turnover of [pounds sterling]84m. The return (12 months to 31 December 2004) represents a margin of 19%. The Boot...

Breyer refurb division brings home the bacon.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Breyers building refurbishment division [degrees] formed only four years ago [degrees] now accounts for 50% of the Romford-based construction groups turnover. Formed in 1963, Breyer used to operate only as a roofing contractor. Its latest...

Cowlin unmasks plans for regional expansion.(Cowlin Construction)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Cowlin has revealed plans to expand its regional presence with two new offices one in Hampshire to the east, and the other in Cornwall in a push further west. Cowlin has five existing centres based in Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Plymouth and...

Wells transforms Rand fortunes.(Jonathan Wells)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Rand Group has enjoyed an upward bound in pre-tax profit to [pounds sterling]1.5m ([pounds sterling]300,000 in 2003), thanks to the transformation initiated by Jonathan Wells, managing director. Wells arrived as part of a BIMBO (buy-in,...

Cleveland support for another year.(Al Rushaid Investment Co. and Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Middle East Private Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Al Rushaid, the Saudi Arabian investment corporation, said it has no intention of dropping its support for Cleveland Bridge, despite the announcement of further losses. After pumping [pounds sterling]13m into Cleveland Bridge, Al Rushaid has...

Crest shareholders wary as Heron moves in.(Crest Nicholson PLC appoints Herons Gerald Ronson)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Crest Nicholson shareholders are unsure why Herons Gerald Ronson wants to get his hands on the successful urban regeneration group, valued at [pounds sterling]480m. The view at last weeks AGM was that Heron had been amateurish in its approach...

Severfield-Rowen aims to build on 6% margin.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Severfield-Rowen, the structural steel group, has lifted its margin to 6%. Financial figures for 2004 show a record pre-tax profit of [pounds sterling]12m. Chairman Peter Levine said: oThe current year has started well and is already ahead of...

Sean Millichamp S Eglizeaud Sean Lockie Anthony Rogers Chris Roberts.(Sandrine Eglizeaud promoted at Flowcrete)(Faithful & Gould appoints four persons)(Jim Roddis appointed at David McLean Developments)
April 13, 2005... Linford Group Linford Group has appointed Sean Millichamp business development director. He was previously with Birse Build in Northampton, where he was estimating manager for four years. Flowcrete Sandrine Eglizeaud has taken on the role of...

'Enough is enough' Bath tells Mowlem.
April 13, 2005... Mowlem should be off the troubled Bath Spa site by the end of this week. Last Friday morning, Bath & North East Somerset Council (BANES) delivered a shock ultimatum, asking the contractor to yield possession of the site, declaring: oEnough is...

< Other public ordersNew construction orders to February< New orders< Private commercial orders< Infrastructure orders< Private industrial orders.
April 13, 2005... February was another good month for other public orders. All the major subsectors increased in both the three months and the year to February with the exception of health, which was down 41% in the three months, but up 6% in the year. The...

Welwyn trials new contract.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... A partnering contract for building maintenance has been launched. TPC2005 was drafted by City law firm and partnering adviser Trowers & Hamlins. Contract authors David Mosey and Andrew Vickery have established direct links between the...

Contract Journal adds to online courses.
April 13, 2005... Contract Journals online continuous professional development service, CPD Construction, has added seven new courses. Project management: West Bay Harbour [degrees] a partnering project. Construction law: possession and contributory...

Put party leaders on the spot.
April 13, 2005... Want to put Tony Blair on the spot about road spending? Got some tough questions for Michael Howard on PFI? Want to know Charles Kennedys views on the future of ProCure 21? Then heres your opportunity: CJ wants to know the questions you would...

Trade bodies launch election wishlists.(trade associations)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... The industrys leading trade associations have launched their election campaigns following the announcement of 5 May as the date for the general election. The Construction Confedera-tion has outlined four questions that should be asked of all...

HSE urges firms to test tool vibration on the shopfloor.(Health & Safety Executive)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has called on manufacturers of hand-held tools to test their products under workplace conditions and not just in laboratories, in time for the forthcoming proposed Control of Vibration at Work Regulations. ...

Cat's S300 B-series is ready for a scrap.(Caterpillar)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Caterpillar Works Tools has launched a new mobile scrap and demolition shear range suitable for hydraulic excavators. The S300 B-series is said to be equipped with field-proven 360[degrees] rotators, which ensure a quick and precise placement...

Silence is golden.
April 13, 2005... A major issue facing the piling industry in the past 10 years or so has been noise and vibration pollution [degrees] or more to the point, how to keep it to a minimum. Traditional piling techniques and methods, whether pneumatic, hydraulic or...

UK Diggers spends [pounds sterling]400k on Bobcats.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Derbyshire-based firm UK Diggers has taken delivery of the UKs first Bobcat T3571 telehandlers as part of an equipment order worth more than [pounds sterling]400,000. Supplied by local dealer Butler Reynolds, the deal also included a number of...

Drillers to join CSCS scheme.(construction skills certification scheme)(British Drilling Association )(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... The British Drilling Association (BDA) is looking to adopt CSCS cards across the 5,000 workers employed by its member firms. CSCS chairman George Brumwell told CJ he is to make a presentation at a BDA event on 18 May in the East Midlands...

Contractors question prison work viability.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Contractors on the Prison Services multi-million pound refurbishment frameworks have voiced their concerns over the lack of work coming their way. The 10-year frameworks, which form part of the Prison Services [pounds sterling]3bn, 137-prison...

Highways contractors face huge training bill for roads.
April 13, 2005... Highways contractors will be expected to foot costly training bills to win future roads contracts under new competency guidelines set to be enforced by local authorities and the Highways Agency (HA) this summer. The Sector Scheme 12D document...