Articles by Date : August 16 2004 - August 22 2004

Caterpillar completes telehandler collection
Caterpillar has launched a new telehandler, completing its eight- model B-series line-up. more
(20 August 2004 16:40)

Connaught acquires foothold in Scotland
Connaught has paid £2.5m for Maginnis, which is the holding company of JCM, a maintenance services business with 162 employees serving customers in.... more
(20 August 2004 12:36)

Former Cleveland Bridge steel workers and welders in pay dispute
A dispute is on the cards over the terms and conditions Fast Track is offering the 250 welders and steel workers formerly employed by Cleveland.... more
(20 August 2004 10:41)

Near miss at Wembley as 30t girder crashes down
An horrific accident at the Wembley Stadium site was narrowly averted last week when a 30t steel beam crashed down on to the stadium roof. more
(20 August 2004 10:38)

T Clarke profits halved as margins tighten
T Clarke, the electrical contractor, has suffered a halving of profits as a result of tightening margins in its core markets of London and the south.... more
(20 August 2004 10:34)

ExcellCare signs £50m Leicester LIFT project
ExcellCare Ltd, a jv between Equion and the Bank of Scotland, has signed a £50m public private sector partnership contract with the Department of.... more
(20 August 2004 10:34)

Balfour subsidiary wins £30m highway contract
Balfour Beatty subsidiary, RCS (Raynesway Construction Southern Ltd), has been awarded a major new highway maintenance contract with a potential.... more
(19 August 2004 17:11)

HSE issues warning to trench workers
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has today (Thursday) reminded construction workers of the dangers they face when working in excavations.... more
(19 August 2004 12:07)

European division secures £28m for Bovis
Bovis Lend Lease’s (BLL) project and construction management division has notched up a profit of £28m in its European division in the latest.... more
(19 August 2004 11:00)

Multiplex denies blame for Cleveland's woes
Multiplex has denied responsibility for redundancies at Cleveland Bridge in its ongoing dispute with the firm. more
(19 August 2004 10:37)

Irish firms refuse to fund drink and drug tests
Plans to introduce random onsite drink and drugs tests for construction workers in the Republic of Ireland have run into trouble as parliament gets.... more
(19 August 2004 09:41)

Coventry Council slammed for asbestos exposure risk
Coventry City Council (CCC) has been given a roasting for exposing contractors to undetected asbestos during Butterley Construction's £7.5m.... more
(18 August 2004 17:55)

High Court blow to agency labour
A recent Court of Appeal decision is being described as a major threat to the economics of agency labour with huge implications for the construction.... more
(18 August 2004 17:54)

Jarvis loses £140m deal
Jarvis has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and lost Cheshire County Council's £140m seven-year highways maintenance deal to Edmund Nuttall. more
(18 August 2004 17:53)

Inland Revenue doubles its construction tax inspectors
The Inland Revenue (IR) is doubling the number of staff allocated to policing the correct employment status of construction operatives for tax and.... more
(18 August 2004 17:52)

The water margin
Last week, Ofwat sanctioned a £15.7bn spending programme for the water sector. But it's £163;6bn short of the total demanded, and with tough.... more
(18 August 2004 17:51)

Alfred McAlpine on track for 5% margin
Alfred McAlpine's ability to sustain a 5% margin in its Capital Projects division - which contains the former civil engineering and building.... more
(18 August 2004 17:50)

Wimpey improves competitiveness - hits 17% margin
Wimpey, one of the UK's leading housebuilders, has won its three-year battle to lift its operating margin to the same level as that of its.... more
(18 August 2004 17:49)

Cement set to be hit by EU chemicals directive
Contractors and cement producers could be the first to be hit by an EU chemicals overhaul, after a government report was published last week. more
(18 August 2004 17:48)

Finnpave adapts Bitelli road planer for GWJ Contractors
Finnpave, the specialist surfacing division of Finning UK, has delivered the UK's first Bitelli SF200 LE road planer to GWJ Contractors. more
(18 August 2004 17:48)

Mawsley's new Bomag roller is easy on the ear
Road repairs in heavily populated areas with large traffic flows are being made easier by a super-silenced roller from Mawsley Machinery. more
(18 August 2004 17:47)

Committee's doubts over offsite savings
An Office of the Deputy Prime Minister committee has criticised the use of offsite manufacturing to address the housing shortage. more
(18 August 2004 17:47)

Amey takes £300m highways deal
Amey has beaten Accord, Alfred McAlpine and Raynesway to Cumbria County Council's highways framework deal worth up to £300m. more
(18 August 2004 17:46)

Housing 21 seals £70m Oldham housing PFI
The saga of a £70m PFI social housing deal in Oldham has finally come to an end with the appointment of a preferred bidder. more
(18 August 2004 17:45)

FMB income tops £4m mark
The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) saw its total income rise by 12% last year to £4.1m. Its pre-tax trading surplus increased by more than.... more
(18 August 2004 17:44)

Banks pledge to support Jarvis until March 2005
The collapse of Jarvis has been averted, thanks to its banks agreeing to prop the group up until next spring - 25 March 2005 to be precise, writes.... more
(18 August 2004 17:44)

QS develops four-dimensional model to map whole-life costs
Whole-life costs on building projects could be slashed by millions of pounds with the launch of a new cost model developed by property and.... more
(18 August 2004 17:43)

CC members raise doubts over software
The Construction Confederation (CC) has launched an investigation into Ramesys construction software following a number of complaints from its.... more
(18 August 2004 17:43)

Tenacious tykes
Yorkshire-based Holroyd Construction Group has launched a four-year plan that aims to double its turnover to almost £30m. And even though.... more
(18 August 2004 17:42)

The Contracts Act 1999
In May 2000, the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 came into force. The Act brought to an end one of the basic principles of English law.... more
(18 August 2004 17:42)

Crisis looms on Tower Hamlets schools PFI
Tower Hamlets Council's £345m bundled schools PFI is in further trouble, with both the funder Abbey and FM contractor Rentokil Initial walking away.... more
(18 August 2004 17:41)

Treasury pledges schools funds
The Treasury is to pledge additional funds to help local education authorities meet the cost of new schools under the government's £5.1bn Building.... more
(18 August 2004 17:40)

Unions may take action against local authorities
Strikes could hit local authorities after unions representing around 45,000 building and civil engineering workers voiced anger at pay and.... more
(18 August 2004 17:40)

Chinese grey import plant heads to EU
Europe faces a potential influx of thousands of second-hand excavators as the Chinese government has imposed new regulations and restricted funding.... more
(18 August 2004 17:39)

Bowller opts for Manitou model
Roofing supplies specialist Bowller Group is the latest convert to the truck-mounted forklift, opting for a Manitou ManiTransit on its latest truck.... more
(18 August 2004 17:39)

Tool hire set to continue rising
The UK tool hire market has experienced a steady 4% year-on-year growth rate since 2000, with the trend expected to continue over the next four.... more
(18 August 2004 17:38)

MoD chooses six to bid for £10m RAF job
The Ministry of Defence has drafted in six firms to work up bids for a £10m deal at RAF Lakenheath. more
(18 August 2004 17:37)

Hanson endures tough first half
Hanson caught a cold in the UK in the first half year as a "subdued market" led to drops in both turnover and operating profit. more
(18 August 2004 17:36)

Jarvis suffers further PFI schools misery
For the second time in less than a month, troubled contractor Jarvis has taken a caning on a big-value PFI schools deal. more
(18 August 2004 17:36)

Ennstone eyes Johnstone bid
Ennstone Group plans to boost its sales in the Midlands with the £48.3m acquisition of Johnston Group. Ennstone will also refinance Johnston's debt,.... more
(18 August 2004 17:35)

Hubbway to sell backpack poker
Hubbway Equipment Sales of Cramlington in Northumberland has been appointed as UK distributor for a backpack portable vibrating poker. more
(18 August 2004 17:34)

Laing O'Rourke and Shepherd vie for £40m biomedical job
Imperial College has put two firms under the microscope in the final run-in for a £40m biomedical research complex in west London. more
(18 August 2004 17:33)

Cleveland Bridge to sue Multiplex for Wembley pay
Cleveland Bridge has issued a writ against Multiplex after a dispute over payment for work at Wembley Stadium. Cleveland has ceased work on the site.... more
(18 August 2004 17:26)

Ballard slams poor supply chain record
Construction Supply Chain Forum (CSCF) chairman Rick Ballard has slammed the construction industry for lagging behind other industries in its.... more
(18 August 2004 17:25)

Anxious Totty jilts Jarvis on PFI school
As the full extent of Jarvis's financial woes were revealed last week (see below), the beleaguered support services player was struggling to move two.... more
(18 August 2004 17:25)

Hope for Loweth staff and creditors
The staff and 750 trade creditors of Loweth Ltd, the Romford-based refurbishment and maintenance contractor that collapsed in May, could see some.... more
(18 August 2004 17:24)

SRL gets green light for new traffic signal system
A three-year legal battle finally came to an end last month when portable traffic-light maker SRL won Highways Agency (HA) approval for radio-linked.... more
(18 August 2004 17:24)

Persimmon accused of holiday blacklist
Persimmon Homes has strongly denied UCATT's claims that it is threatening to blacklist CIS 4 operatives who pursue claims for holiday pay under the.... more
(18 August 2004 17:23)

Powering the Irish PPP engine
As PPPs are still a fairly new concept in Ireland, a lot rests on the success of the PPP pilots the government has given the green light to - such as.... more
(18 August 2004 17:21)

Cherren fined £75k for London fatality
London developer Cherren III was fined £75,000 at Southwark Crown Court last week following an onsite fatality four years ago. more
(18 August 2004 17:20)