Articles by Date : September 12 1994 - September 18 1994

Amey profits up 7%
Amey has declared a 7% increase in profit in its first set of results as a publicly quoted company. Maiden figures for the roadbuilding to.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

BEC-FCEC crunch vote looms
Council members of the Building Employers Confederation and the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors will be asked to vote within the next.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

HOT LINE
Newcastle City Council and the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation are expected to draw up plans for a œ100m development which will.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Hilton hotel for Belfast district
Building work is expected to begin early next year on a œ17 million Hilton hotel in the Laganbank area of Belfast. The 187-room hotel is being.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Straws in the wind
Blackpool can be decidedly breezy at this time of year. And, despite declining numbers and passions at the TUC conference, there was no lack of.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Contractors' budget quiz
In the run up to the November budget 40,000 contractors are to be asked what measures they would take if they were Chancellor of the Exchequer. .... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

C&N Berlin development
Christiani and Nielsen has begun work on its 100ha Konigs Park project, near Berlin. The DM 800 million construction programme calls for a mixed.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

McLean wins Wirral waterside hotel
David McLean has won a œ4.5 million contract to build a waterside hotel on the Wirral in Merseyside. The hotel for Centre Island Hotel.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

SGB reaches to heaven
The oldest and most restored Anglican Cathedral in the world is being given yet another facelift with the help of a dramatic SGB scaffold system..... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Heathrow inquiry to start next year
The public inquiry into the proposed fifth terminal at Heathrow Airport will begin on 16 May 1995, according to Environment Secretary John Gummer..... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

œ9m block for Wimpey
Wimpey Construction is to build a œ9 million office block in central Manchester for BPH Developments. The new office will be built on York.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Amec refurb for Victoria tube toria
Amec is to carry out a œ9 million improvement to Victoria underground station in London. The aim of the two and a half year job is to relieve.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Builders fear sales dive
Housebuilders were bracing themselves this week for a possible dive in sales following Monday's surprise rise in base interest rates. Some.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Gammon wins Bangkok job
Gammon Construction, jointly owned by Trafalgar House and Jardine Pacific, has won a œ15.5 million project to construct a 22-storey office.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Inquest reveals training lapse
A scaffolder who died after being electrocuted by railway cables had been given no formal safety training by his employers, an inquest at St.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Medway Tunnel shape sinks in
The three 30,000-tonne reinforced concrete tube sections for the œ70 million immersed tube Medway Tunnel in Kent have now been floated out.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Clugston appoints Tilley md
Stewart Tilley has been appointed managing director of Clugston Construction. He has worked in the industry for 30 years, beginning his.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Unions offered Rail Link stake
An invitation to trade unions to take a stake in the privately financed and operated Channel Tunnel rail link may set the pattern for a variety of.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Project management NVQ set for launch
Construction's first level 5 NVQ qualification is to be launched later this year. It will cover project management and will build on the level 3.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Railtrack wants costs slashed
Railtrack expects the contractors bidding for work on the West Coast Main Line to cut œ45 million-a-year off the current maintenance bill of.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Blue Circle profits up 28%
Blue Circle increased operating profts in the first half by 28% to œ99.6 million, leaving pre-exceptional profits at œ88.4 million. .... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

[No headline.]
After some slightly confusing trial results at Longchamp over last weekend, White Muzzle has now firmed up as favourite for the Prix de l'Arc de.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Few hurt by Malaysia ban
The Malaysian trade ban, which has ended after seven months, claimed only one major victim, it emerged last week. Trafalgar House and Balfour.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Cost of building falling, says Rics
It is 30 per cent cheaper to build today than it was in the 1980s - and it will stay that way for the next two years, according to a survey.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Builders' margins collapse
Martin Laing has earned something of a reputation over the last 18 months for outspoken comments at his company results briefings. With his.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Curry unveils East Thames Corridor plans
A new planning framework for the regeneration of the East Thames Corridor has been unveiled by urban regeneration minister David Curry. The.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Builders? Who?
Latest news from Tarmac is that it seems to have got a bit bored with the whole construction business. When asked why it supported the planned.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Carlton Benbow survives with mbo
Specialist shopfitting firm Carlton Benbow has survived the collapse of its parent Melville thanks to a management buyout. Its new team of five.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Trafalgar closes Offshore facility
Trafalgar House Offshore Fabricators is closing one of its two fabrication facilities on the River Tees - the yard at Linthorpe Dinsdale will be.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

PULLING THE APRON STRINGS
Pioneering slipforming work is being undertaken by Fitzpatrick at Stansted. Fiona McWilliam reports more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

VOX POP
The publication last week of 'Swan', a 'novel' by supermodel Naomi Campbell, seems to prove the old adage that everyone has at least one book in.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

It went down a riot
Life can be a riot when you work for a contractor... well, at least when you work for Wimpey. Chief executive Joe Dwyer's revelation slipped out.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

A decision which should be challenged
Pigott Foundations Ltd v Shepherd Construction Ltd: the main contractor's reliance on Clause 13.4 of subcontract DOM/1 more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

HERCULES PINS IT DOWN
Hercules Piling was called in to ensure the Hamilton Oil Company's œ250 million oil and gas terminal at Point of Ayr resists any future.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

East London campus plan
A œ60 million university campus is being planned for the Royal Albert Docks in east London. The university would accommodate 5,000 students.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Conoco to invest œ400m
The offshore construction industry is set for a major boost following Conoco's announcement last week that it is to invest œ400 million-a-year.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Operator-friendly and responsive environments
A veteran of the access equipment hire scene, Roger Thorrington, former technical services director of GKN, was impressed from the outset with the.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

WHAT KIND OF MANAGER ARE YOU?
Everyone is a manager, says Rod Unger, who below explains his training technique - being used by Birse - which focuses on managing people the.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

A chill wind
Feeling low? feeling tired? Got the feeling the vultures are circling? Perhaps Costain would prefer not to be told about an intriguing call.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Job agencies crack plumbing closed shop
Labour agencies in the building services sector are claiming to have cracked a closed shop in the supply of self-employed plumbing operatives. .... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

BLUE BILLY GETS A WASH AND BRUSH UP
Amec is cleaning up the contaminated Bell Green Gasworks site in Sydenham more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Moves
At Amey Group, Mike Wrote is appointed managing director of Asfare, Amey's road planing subsidiary. He was formerly with Amey Construction Ltd. .... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Powerscreen makes 60 redundant
Powerscreen International - new owner of dumper manufacturer Benford - has made 60 staff redundant, including two longstanding directors. .... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Drypack buys JCB 411 shovel
Lancashire-based RMC Drypack is the first UK company to purchase a JCB 411 wheeled loading shovel. The machine, chosen to replace a seven year.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

New launch by Prolec
Poole-based Prolec, in pursuit of progress, has launched yet another product onto the UK market. Its LW-4 Digmaster with LW4-G graphic display.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Cable laying by Atlas breakers
Cable laying contractor Culdaff Construction has chosen Atlas Copco's TEX 180H hydraulic breakers for use with its JCB 2CX backhoe loaders. .... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

Moxy upgrades trucks
Moxy Trucks, in a move which will inevitably stir up the competition, has upgraded its MT27 and MT30 articulated dumptrucks. The changes, aimed at.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

BARFORD BACK ON COURSE
'Barford Site Dumpers aims to be Number One in the UK dumper sales league in 1996,' said md Conrad Wordsworth at the belated launch of the.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

UP AND OVER WITH STYLE
In this, the third of Contract Journal's popular First Impressions series for 1994, rough terrain access platforms come under the scrutiny of.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)

'The boom doesn't bounce around'
Tim Watson strode across to his first machine, the Snorkelift ATB60 from Access Sales. The two-wheel drive machine, which would have been a new.... more
(15 September 1994 00:00)