Articles by Date : May 05 1997 - May 11 1997

Electrical contracts hold key to the future
Eve Claydon is currently bidding for two term contracts that represent 75 per cent of its œ20 million-a-year annual turnover. "We're.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Profit proportional
Despite gap's successes, continued pressure on margins is affecting profits, especially in Scotland, where the effects of local authority.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

On track for big investments
Railtrack, the privatised rail infrastructure company is one of construction's major clients. Slammed in January for snail's pace investment,.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Widening the profit Gap
Steve McCormack meets a Scottish plant hirer determined to gain UK leadership more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Who carries the JCT risk?
Geoff Brewer of Brewer Consulting discusses the insurance arrangements under the JCT Forms more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

NEWSBRIEF
Productivity blow M&E site productivity in a typical project is as much as 66 per cent lower than observed best practice in Sweden, USA and.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

OUTLOOK - Pressure building for tender price increases
Contractors tell us that they are moving out of net or nominal tender margins to more positive levels only to find that someone else is not. The.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

PLANTBRIEF
Universal coupler from Miller Miller Welding has introduced a quick coupler which allows any excavator to which it is fitted to use any bucket..... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

FACTFILE - Railtrack
Chairman: Sir Robert Horton. History: 1 April 1994: Railtrack took over ownership of Britain's national rail network as a public sector.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Primavera's new Expedition
Primavera Systems has launched a new version of Expedition that schedules submittals and progress payment requisitions. Version 5.1 tightens.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Bentley moulds tool
Bentley has developed Molddesign, a desktop tool which automates the process of designing plastic and high-pressure aluminium injection moulds from.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Laing signs new PC support deal
Kalamazoo gets œ210,000 from contractor for national network support package more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Fire chiefs urge Chunnel review
Fire safety specialists are to demand a review of the Channel Tunnel by the new Labour Government. The Association for Specialist Fire.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Welcome to a new era for Contract Journal
The editorial team of Contract Journal is delighted to welcome readers to a new look CJ from this issue. The newspaper has been redesigned to.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Prescott ponders roads rethink
Labour has denied speculation that it will halt the roads programme. A spokeswoman said just before the Election that proposals for.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

l Complete Latham revolution l Delay Scheme for Contracts l Review BREprivatisation - What construction wants
The construction industry issued an immediate three point call on the new Government. The Construction Industry Council is calling on the.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Industry learns to live with Labour
Labour's landslide victory in last week's election has prompted a number of calls from the industry as to what the party's priorities for the.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

New government clashes with Scottish Office over road upgrade - Labour's M80 shock
The new Labour Government is set to risk its green credentials - only days after being elected by overturning a sensitive planning decision. .... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

NEWSBRIEF
tsing ma sabotage developments Police are questioning 11 workmen after Hong Kong's Tsing Ma bridge was vandalised one week before it was due to.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Bovis bags œ21m job
Bovis has won the construction management contract for the œ21 million Manchester City Art Gallery project. Schal was runner-up for the.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Bad feedback to blame for defects - Study estimates that 15 per cent of costs come from reworking mistakes
Poor communication is to blame for defects that increase construction costs by nearly one fifth, according to research findings. "Lack of.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

NEWBIDS
Data supplied by ABI Building Data A taster of the service provided to CJ readers in Business Alert The hottest new tenders this week more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

TML "vindicated" as experts throw out claims on rolling stock and revenue - œ1bn Eurotunnel claim thrown out
Anglo-French construction consortium TransManche Link hailed a victory this week after 95 per cent of Eurotunnel's œ1 billion claim against it.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Six for Shieldhall
West of Scotland Water Authority has prequalified six consortia for its œ35 million Shieldhall sludge treatment works project. The.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Kvaerner toughs it out
Kvaerner has toughened its stance over the employees it sacked last month for taking a 10-minute teabreak on the troubled œ50 million M5.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Land grab as market grows
Both Barratt and Westbury have been on the land purchase trail - a sure sign that the housing market is continuing to grow. Westbury is set to.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Costain to go private?
Costain may be planning to abandon its stock market status and become a private company once again, according to City analysts. Speculation.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

œ10,000 fines over JLE fall
Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering and Amec Civil Engineering were fined œ5,000 each last week over an accident during the construction of a.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

The defects are in the culture - EDITORIAL COMMENT
Defects on construction projects are adding at least 15 per cent to building costs, according to Taywood Engineering's new report Towards A Zero.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Thwaites dumps Richardson after product row
Less than six months after his appointment chartered engineer Andrew Richardson, has resigned as managing director of dumper manufacturer Thwaites..... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Detailed plans for new LIFFE
Detailed plans for the new œ50 million trading centre for the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) have been.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Birse to build Reading stadium
Birse is to construct the œ37 million Madejski Stadium - the new home of Reading Football Club. The final agreement for the 25,000-seater.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Amec wins œ85m HK runway job
Amec has won an œ85 million contract to build the second runway at Hong Kong's new airport. The contract forms part of a Sino-European.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Brick slide continues
During the first quarter of 1997, brick production and deliveries in Great Britain totalled 701 million - one and a half per cent lower than in the.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

œ1.1 billion Macau to Hong Kong bridge plan unveiled
Plans have been submitted to the Chinese government for a new 37.9 km long road bridge to link the Portuguese enclave of Macau with Hong Kong at a.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Dwyer buoyant as Wimpey makes McLean profit
Wimpey said on Thursday that UK profit margins from Wimpey and McLean homes were "significantly" ahead of last year. "This augurs well for a.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

NCP collapse advice issued
Wolverhampton accident provokes joint action check list with the HSE more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Medium firms lead the recovery
Barclays Bank's latest mid-corporate bulletin for the construction industry shows a strong revival in fortunes for all businesses in this sector..... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Report says recovery is set to shoot
The green shoots of economic recovery should show through next month in the US construction market, according to a survey of 200 US construction.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Allied Images in bid to improve mapping
Allied Images has announced the launch of Autocad Map, which has been built primarily for the engineering market to enhance mapping capability. .... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Boost for cost cutting initiative - 50 per cent rise in membership puts CITE close to achieving its target
Membership of the Construction Industry Trading Electronically (CITE) initiative is up 50 per cent on last year and well on the way to achieving.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Buyers' index soars but NHBC remains cautious
Sales of new homes were up by 15 per cent in the first quarter of this year, according to statistics released by the National House-Building.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Set for recovery
Specialist concrete contractors had a hard time coming out of recession. Now workload is up they are hungry for increased margins, reports James.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

BONDING WITHLABOUR - New government, new PFI - new kinds of finance?
As Labour gets to grips with PFI, Patrick Reynolds talked to Tim Pearson of Innisfree Management about the quest for new types of private.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Big three quit œ3.2 billion high speed train line scheme
German contractors Hochtief, Philipp Holzmann and Bilfinger & Berger have quit the œ3.2 billion project to build the first high speed.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Multi storey steel
The construction industry must come up with ways to capitalise on out-of-date property stock to help business, says the British Constructional.... more
(07 May 1997 00:00)

Crisis over says Eve
Turnover rises to œ20m as cable specialist starts to pay its way more
(07 May 1997 00:00)