Articles by Date : July 10 2000 - July 16 2000
WSP engineers new acquisition
Multi-disciplinary consultant WSP has bought leading building
services engineer Flack & Kurtz for a maximum consideration of
$26.7m.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Price fixing 'to be rooted out'
by John d'Arcy
Price-fixing cartels are estimated to be adding 20% to the end cost
of goods and services to the consumer, according to.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Jail for tax dodgers - Cash in hand payments could end in seven years' jail, accountancy warns
Building workers who avoid tax and National Insurance contributions
by making or receiving payment in cash could face jail terms of up
to seven.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Birse sees profits soar - Chief executive celebrates end of first year with impressive annual results
by Kathy Watson
Peter Watson was a happy man last week. The Birse group chief
executive was celebrating the end of his first year in the.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Wescol blames problems on weak market
Steelwork fabricator Wescol has issued a profits warning, blaming a
weak market, intense competition and operational difficulties for
the fall.
.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
ASAfinds roof advert inaccurate
by Tim Wood
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint by
the Concrete Tile Manufacturers' Association (CTMA) against.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Scaffolding collapse draws guilty verdict - Two firms convicted for 'accident waiting to happen' in central London
Two firms face massive fines over the erection of scaffolding which
collapsd into a busy central London street.
City of London Magistrates.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
'Blacklist threat' over holiday pay - UCATT claims of intimidation and withdrawal noted by DTI tribunal
by John d'Arcy
Site operatives are being threatened with blacklisting unless they
withdraw Employment Tribunal claims for holiday pay, it.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Radiodrive means less climbing
The first Hiab crane with RadioDrive remote control has gone into
service with Midland haulier Alan Smith, on contract to Tarmac
Topblock.
.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Nationwide rebrands fleet
Nationwide Access is changing its image. The old Nationwide Access
logo is out and from now on all kit will bear a yellow 'Nationwide'
logo to.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Brown joins Ammann Equipment
Robert Brown, the former managing director of Benford, is the new
managing director of Ammann Equipment in the UK.
Gary Mold, the MD until.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Volvo goes for long-reach - Volvo's three new long-reach excavators launched at specialist drainage show
by Ian Brown
Volvo has introduced three new long-reach excavators designed for
tasks such as riverbank cleaning or watercourse.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
NEWSBRIEF
AIRPAC INVESTs IN NEW KIT
Vibroplant's Airpac division has invested £1.2m in new
equipment to broaden its range of kit for well test and.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
It's all inÉthe Wrekining
Wrekin Construction has exited the housing market and re-focused its business on design and build, utilities and facilities management. Now its.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
The week in quotes
"It is very difficult to explain why people are prepared to accept
high degrees of risk and high degrees of exposure."
Dr Simon Frain,.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
A perfect future for precast piling - Precast concrete pile construction hasn't changed for years - until now
by Ian Brown
I have seen the future of pre-cast concrete piling, and it is in
Balderton, Nottinghamshire. The future as seen by Aarsleff is.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Elephant & Castle team named
Southwark Land Regeneration, which won the competition to redevelop
Elephant & Castle, has named its design team for the £1bn
London.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Stemming the flood tide
The chance to create a new river doesn't come along too often, but the Environment Agency is doing just that in the shape of a new flood.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Back bites
He who pays the Piper
The name of Ric Piper will ring a bell with regular Backbites
readers. Officially he's WS Atkins' finance director, but.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Talking heads - Do you feel you are highly valued at work?
"I feel really valued at work because Redrow invests a lot of
resource into the training and development of their staff. I joined
Redrow in 1993 as.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Work winners this week
Who's winning the work?Contracts Hotline is your at-a-glance digest
of the latest contract awards around the UK.
Data supplied by ABI Building.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Hackney's housing showcase
by Kathy Watson
One of the biggest social housing refurbishment projects in the
local housing arena has won demonstration project status,.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Mowlem gets cracking on computer HQ
Mowlem has started work on a £42m office development for
Computer Sciences Corporation at the old royal pavilion site in
Aldershot.
.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Exterior integrated within ISG
Interior Services Group is to integrate its new build and
refurbishment subsidiary Exterior into the main group by acquiring
the 10% minority.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Defining your duty to care - Geoff Brewer of Brewer Consulting considers the role of project managers
The courts tend to regard the project manager as a professional
that does not possess a distinct professional body of knowledge
against which.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Scheme aims to curb designers - Five universities are hoping to make designers more responsible for costs
Exclusive by Kathy Watson
Bristol is leading a five-strong group of universities that plans
to curb the freedom of designers to make.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
NEWSBRIEF
ring road site set for renovation
A redevelopment and renovation of a seven-acre site at Stonebridge
Mills, Wortley, near Leeds, has been.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Briefs: Page 2
more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Office jobs will earn HBG £43m - Contracts include additional work on commended regeneration scheme
HBG Construction has been awarded four new office contracts
totalling £42.9m.
The awards include a new £17.5m mixed-use office.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Keeping a finger in every pie
Many contractors are seeking to re-focus their activities into defined business niches, or even shifting over to the services sector. But Kier.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Architect's role given guidelines
by Kathy Watson
The crucial role of the architects as design leader in the supply
chain has been spelled out for the first time in a revised.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Tate flood may delay opening
The Tate Britain's £32m Centenary Development project may open
late after a water main joint failed during the night of Saturday
22 April,.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Dutch merger is off - Boskalis and HBG drop plans to link up after failing to agree on German market
Failure to agree on the risks and opportunities in the German
construction market have brought plans for a Boskalis/ HBG merger
to an end.
.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
EU approves Fermec deal
The EU has ratified a deal for EarthForce Holdings NV to take over
Manchester-based Fermec from CNH Global. No financial details have
been.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Bridgeway failure sparks contract change
Exclusive by Kathy Watson
The Construction Industry Council is urgently investigating ways to
prevent amendments to its adjudication.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Government schemes will probe sustainability
Sustainable construction issues are to be included in the
assessment of Government projects, according to a new guidance
launched by construction.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Call to end transport policy chaos as investment of £50bn rumoured
Civil engineering contractors are calling on the Government to end
the chaos in transport planning by creating a single transport
policy for the UK.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Industry nears slowdown
by Glenda Thisdell
Quarterly new order figures from DETR point to a slowdown in work
flow for the industry, with falls of 8% from the previous.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Concrete efficiency drive to save £30m
The concrete frame industry could cut costs by up to £30m a
year if it follows a new structural concrete specification,
launched today.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Will the big transport spend materialise?
The word is Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is to announce a
£50bn spend when he unveils his 10-year plan for transport in
the UK later.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Ashtead's pre-tax profits up
by Ian Brown
Plant hirer Ashtead Group's results for the year ending 30 April
show pre-tax profits up by 13% to £48.5m.
.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Resignation letters released by Jarvis - Auditor's letters sent to shareholders, as Jarvis attempts to end speculation
by Carol Millett
Jarvis's former auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers claims it had
difficulty verifying Jarvis's proposed accounts, it was.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)
Shamed Balfour improves safety - HSE report blames organisational failures for airport tunnel disaster
by Glenda Thisdell
Balfour Beatty has stressed that it has done everything it can to
improve its safety performance since the collapse of the.... more
(12 July 2000 00:00)