Articles by Date : February 10 2003 - February 16 2003

Pete the Plumber takes on Bob the Builder
The Plumbing and Heating Industry Alliance and the British Plumbing Employers Council have taken a leaf out of the success of Bob the Builder with.... more
(14 February 2003 12:34)

Pioneering payment system for £245m motorway contract
A pioneering payment system, developed by the Highways Agency, will be used on the £245m project to upgrade to motorway standard, operate and.... more
(14 February 2003 11:01)

Walter Lilly wins £14m worth of contracts
YJL subsidiary Walter Lilly has won a trio of contracts worth £14m in total. more
(14 February 2003 09:34)

HA confirms Carillion as A74 upgrade winner
The Highways Agency (HA) has confirmed Carillion as the winner of the £65m deal to upgrade the A74 dual carriageway between Carlisle and Guardsmill.... more
(14 February 2003 09:18)

Birse Logistics wins £9m design and construct deal in Barking
Birse Logistics has been awarded a £9m contract by ProLogis Developments for the design and construction of an industrial production unit in.... more
(13 February 2003 16:27)

Prescott to delay decision on Yorkshire airport plans
Deputy prime minister John Prescott has today (Thursday) asked for more information before he makes a decision on proposals for a new airport in.... more
(13 February 2003 14:29)

Ringway seals £55m in highways contracts
Ringway has today (Thursday) sealed a series of initiatives and extensions on its highways maintenance contracts across the West Country and East.... more
(13 February 2003 11:59)

On the right track
An isolated coastal quarry in the Scottish Highlands is the new home of a 115t Liebherr R 984C excavator and this piece of kit has its work cut out..... more
(13 February 2003 11:42)

Telematics tracking device
Wire free telemetry specialist Box Telematics has launched a solar powered tracking device designed to offer protection to trailers and other.... more
(13 February 2003 11:41)

Slow payment continues
Companies are no quicker at paying their bills now than they were five years ago, despite the introduction of laws to encourage prompt payment, a.... more
(13 February 2003 11:40)

WSP launches environmental risk solution
At first glance, it's almost like being on the surface of the moon. Great, undulating dunes of white sand stretch away as far as the eye can see,.... more
(13 February 2003 11:40)

China in your hand
At first glance, it's almost like being on the surface of the moon. Great, undulating dunes of white sand stretch away as far as the eye can see,.... more
(13 February 2003 11:39)

Hanson axes quarry jobs as Aggregates Levy bites
Hanson has blamed the Aggregates Levy for its decision to axe 25% of the workforce at a north Wales quarry. more
(13 February 2003 11:36)

Fiat Kobelco to appoint local dealers
Fiat Kobelco wants to appoint more dealers at a local level for its compact equipment line, in addition to three or four main dealers in the UK and.... more
(13 February 2003 11:36)

Construction fails to retain skilled workers
Further questions have been raised about the construction industry's ability to retain skilled plant operators after figures from the Construction.... more
(13 February 2003 11:35)

Tracker helps recover stolen mini digger
A £15,000 mini-digger stolen from Southern Electric's engineering depot in Lower Weybourne Lane in Farnham was recovered by the police thanks to.... more
(13 February 2003 11:34)

JCB's £1m deal with Tamdown
JCB has clocked up another £1m-plus deal to supply equipment to ground redemption, civil engineering and concrete structure specialist, the Tamdown.... more
(13 February 2003 11:22)

CJ Pryor picks up five Volvos
CJ Pryor of Harlow, Essex, has added five Volvo excavators and six A30D ADTs to its fleet. more
(13 February 2003 11:21)

Hewden Power acquires Andover platform trailers
Hewden Power has taken delivery of three tilting platform trailers from Andover Trailers that ease the loading and unloading of heavy wheeled items.... more
(13 February 2003 11:20)

Kobelco sees positive shift for crawler cranes
Over the past year, Kobelco has seen a resurgence in the sales of crawler cranes and believes it is increasing its share of the market. more
(13 February 2003 11:20)

Heart of glass
Britain's boozers could inadvertently be helping to fund the building of the nation's highways. Last Christmas, the UK threw away 490 million empty.... more
(13 February 2003 11:19)

CAMBBA trials kerbing system
A-Plant is supplying two Jumbo BV Kerb Lifters to CAMBBA, the consortium building the Birmingham Northern Relief Road, for trials. more
(13 February 2003 11:18)

£3-an-hour boost for M&E workers
Equal pay and conditions on major projects have finally been guaranteed for mechanical and electrical (M&E) workers following the signing of the.... more
(13 February 2003 11:18)

Rocky road ahead
The aggregates industry may still be grappling with the fall out from the Aggregates Levy, but it's soon going to have another, potentially far more.... more
(13 February 2003 11:16)

FMB joins SEC Group to combat retentions
Smaller firms in the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) have joined forces with the specialist engineering contractors of the SEC Group to form a.... more
(13 February 2003 11:15)

Lafarge buys Premier to boost concrete arm
Construction materials producer Lafarge Aggregates has acquired Staffordshire-based Premier Readymix Concrete for an undisclosed sum. more
(13 February 2003 11:15)

£55m Stonehenge visitor centre delayed
A £55m project to build a visitor centre and transit system at Stonehenge in Wiltshire is to go ahead despite an OJEC notice stating the project has.... more
(13 February 2003 11:14)

Web launch: aggregate info at your fingertips
A one-stop source of practical information for specifiers, purchasers and suppliers of recycled and secondary aggregates was launched in London last.... more
(13 February 2003 11:13)

Haymills trys new tactics
The management turn-round at Haymills, the £100m-a-year construction group, is now complete. Four of its six business leaders have now been replaced..... more
(13 February 2003 11:13)

Tax reform deadline nears
Industry stakeholders have just two weeks to submit their comments on the Inland Revenue's (IR) proposals for reforming construction's CIS tax.... more
(13 February 2003 11:12)

Birse already secures bulk of 2003 work
Birse Construction's average contract size has jumped by 30% to 40% as a result of winning "a lot of package work" and being offered two-stage bid.... more
(13 February 2003 11:11)

Big push to convert to two-stage tendering
Haymills is pushing hard to convert its construction workload into two-stage tendering, with around 70% of turnover now coming from this preferred.... more
(13 February 2003 11:10)

Four firms remain in £13m bypass battle
Only four firms are left in the hunt for a massively delayed £13.5m bypass in east Kent. more
(13 February 2003 11:10)

Cornish road job hit by cash crisis
Contractors hoping to prequalify for a major road scheme in Cornwall are sweating it out while the county council decides how to take the project.... more
(13 February 2003 11:09)

Heijmans makes move in to UK with Leadbitter purchase
Bob Rendell has sold his £100m-a-year construction group Leadbitter to Heijmans, the third-largest contractor in Holland, for an undisclosed.... more
(13 February 2003 11:08)

Reading housing down to two
An £18m private finance housing deal in Reading is finally moving towards a conclusion two years after firms were first shortlisted to pitch for the.... more
(13 February 2003 11:07)

Crystal Palace in trouble
The council and developer behind the controversial £75m Crystal Palace Park leisure development, which was scrapped two years ago, are in trouble.... more
(13 February 2003 11:07)

Tory planning proposals slated
The Construction Products Association (CPA) is lobbying the government to oppose an amendment being tabled to the Planning and Compulsory Purchase.... more
(13 February 2003 11:06)

McAleer & Rushe wins £22m Jurys Inn hotel at Heathrow
Northern Ireland contractor McAleer & Rushe has negotiated a £22m deal to build an eight-storey hotel at London's Heathrow Airport. more
(13 February 2003 11:06)

DfES set to implement standardised designs
The Department for Education & Skills (DfES) is calling for experienced PFI schools contractors and facilities management companies to help it put.... more
(13 February 2003 11:05)

Skanska's mobile unit to test 1,500 subbies for CSCS card
Skanska expects 1,500 of its sub-contractors to take the health and safety test required for a CSCS card in just two months after becoming the first.... more
(13 February 2003 11:04)

Tories promise to give us our minister back
Construction would have its own minister, Quality Mark would be a success and insurance premiums would be manageable if the Conservative party was in.... more
(13 February 2003 11:04)

Lib Dems call for land-hoarding tax
The government is facing calls to reform the tax system to allow the value of development land held by housebuilders to be taxed to discourage.... more
(13 February 2003 11:02)

Henry Boot looks to sell housebuilding division
Henry Boot is seeking expressions of interest in its housebuilding division. It has an annual turnover of £90m and last year generated half of the.... more
(13 February 2003 11:00)

CTRL swallows London gardens
Contractors working on Contract 240 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) are keeping tight-lipped following a landslip above the tunnel that.... more
(13 February 2003 10:55)

A bolt from the blue
Those people who believe the press has lately been a more effective opposition to the government than the Conservative Party will be heartened by the.... more
(13 February 2003 10:54)

Speculation over bid for WS Atkins confirmed
Weekend speculation that WS Atkins was on the point of being taken over resulted in the confirmation on Monday that a bid had been received for the.... more
(13 February 2003 10:54)

Future uncertain for PFI light rail projects
The future of privately financed light rail projects hangs in the balance this week following revelations that the Croydon Tramlink is in financial.... more
(13 February 2003 10:52)

Aggregates levy
Just 18 months ago, Mike Ogden was sat in his office in Australia overlooking Sydney Harbour. It must seem a very long way away today. The managing.... more
(13 February 2003 10:51)

The enforcement of adjudicators' decisions
In December of last year, I reported the case of Bovis Lend Lease -v- Triangle Developments. This was an important case, because it appeared to add.... more
(13 February 2003 10:49)