Articles by Date : March 20 2006 - March 26 2006

Gleeson's rail business sold to Morgan Sindall for £23m
Gleeson has parted with a second chunk of its empire, selling its rail engineering business Gleeson MCL to Morgan Sindall for £23m. more
(24 March 2006 15:00)

Local road budgets fall way behind demand
The shortfall in local road maintenance budgets has increased a shocking 74% across England (excluding London) and 32% in Wales over the last year,.... more
(24 March 2006 08:00)

Budget 2006: Grant Thornton's analysis
Grant Thornton has analysed yesterday's Budget to determine whether the industry wins or loses from the new measures announced by the Chancellor. more
(23 March 2006 10:30)

Budget 2006: no relief for products firms
The Construction Products Association has slammed yesterday’s budget, claiming it will damage UK competitiveness. more
(23 March 2006 10:00)

Hyder pays £2.6m for Bettridge
Hyder Consulting, the design and management consultancy, has paid £2.6m for Livic, the owner of Bettridge Turner & Partners. There will.... more
(23 March 2006 10:00)

Vinci/St Modwen win Project MoDEL
A Vinci/St Modwen Properties consortium has been named preferred bidder for Defence Estates' Project MoDEL. more
(23 March 2006 10:00)

BRE buys Building Performance Group
The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has acquired Building Performance Group (BPG) for an undisclosed sum. more
(23 March 2006 09:00)

Accord/Mouchel wins Area 1 MAC
The AccordMP, a new company equally owned by Accord and Mouchel Parkman, has secured the Highways Agency's Area 1 Managing Agent Contractor (MAC).... more
(23 March 2006 08:00)

Contractors warned to check the grade of scaffold boards
contractjournal.com newsletter feature: 23/03/2006 Later this year the British Standards Institute will publish a draft revision of its standard.... more
(22 March 2006 18:04)

Editor's comment: Rolling the dice on holiday pay
Rolled-up holiday pay has never been an easy issue to get to grips with. And this week, it seems that even after a European Court of Justice (ECJ).... more
(22 March 2006 17:43)

Budget 2006: good news for plant
The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has welcomed the Chancellor's decision to allow the use of red diesel on the road. more
(22 March 2006 17:00)

Energy prices to impact on cement
Rising energy costs will push up cement prices, despite increasing demand for the product, a report predicted last week. more
(22 March 2006 16:00)

More steel price hikes, predicts Corus
Steel prices will continue to rise this year, claimed Corus as it announced a second consecutive year of profit. more
(22 March 2006 15:00)

Budget 2006: industry reaction
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) was the first industry association to react the Budget. more
(22 March 2006 15:00)

£23.5m Selby Hospital PFI takes a tumble
All hope has now gone for contractors hoping to make the cut for a delayed £23.5m PFI hospital deal in Yorkshire. more
(22 March 2006 15:00)

Two booked in for Tyneside library PFI
Only two groups now have any chance of being awarded a re-bid and scaled-down £40m PFI library scheme on Tyneside. more
(22 March 2006 14:00)

Stone importers must be ethical
Specifiers need to address ethical issues when buying imported stone, contractors and suppliers told delegates at this year’s Natural Stone Show. more
(22 March 2006 14:00)

McAlpine hits record-breaking £1bn mark
Alfred McAlpine achieved a margin of 3.6% last year as turnover broke through the £1bn barrier for the first time. more
(22 March 2006 14:00)

Twelfth year of profit for Miller
Miller, the housebuilding and construction group, has unveiled its twelfth successive year of increased profit. more
(22 March 2006 14:00)

Ennstone posts annual pre-tax profit of £13m
Ennstone, the aggregates group, has reported “excellent operating profit” both in the UK and US. more
(22 March 2006 14:00)

Partnering: only a buzz word
Partnering has simply become a buzz word and a marketing tool – and is delivering little against expectation. more
(22 March 2006 14:00)

Budget 2006: schools and sport take priority
The key points of interest for the construction industry in Gordon Brown's 10th consecutive Budget were few, and as ever, lacking in detail, but.... more
(22 March 2006 13:45)

New projects boost Amec’s PPP portfolio
The value of Amec’s PPP portfolio rose by more than 40%, from the £77m figure at the end of 2004, to a current value of £110m. more
(22 March 2006 13:00)

Costain sets sights on No.1 spot
Costain’s new strategy of ‘Being Number One’ will result in a cut-back in the number of sectors the group works in from 15, the current position, to.... more
(22 March 2006 13:00)

Ford revamps Ranger
Ford has revamped its Ranger pick-ups with a new interior, more power and a higher towing capacity. more
(22 March 2006 13:00)

Hire expectations in US as Ashtead eyes growth
There is still considerable growth potential for plant hire in America, according to George Burnett, chief executive of Ashtead, the parent company.... more
(22 March 2006 13:00)

JCB’s 444 engine reaches 100-unit milestone
Production of JCB’s 444 engine has now passed the 100 units per day mark. more
(22 March 2006 13:00)

Conservative admin would offer smaller schemes
Rail contractors would be offered immediate, smaller schemes rather than “grand projects” under a Conservative administration, according to shadow.... more
(22 March 2006 13:00)

Eight split £79m housing projects
Eight contractors are to share £79m worth of housing upgrade work in west London. more
(22 March 2006 13:00)

2005 produces healthy £52m profit for Amey
Amey enjoyed a climb in profit to £52m last year, representing a margin of 4.3%. more
(22 March 2006 13:00)

Council workers set strike date
Local authority building workers have fixed next Tuesday, 28 March, for a national one-day strike over pension entitlements. more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

Site ops in the dark on risks of vibration
Two-thirds of site operatives are not aware of the new Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005; 50% of them don’t see hand-arm-vibration (HAV).... more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

CITB chief executive receives 8% pay rise
Peter Lobban, chief executive of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), received a pay increase of more than 8% last year, according to the.... more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

Deals done
Access hirer Nationwide has completed the £1m purchase of 23 new truck-mounted access platforms from Italian manufacturer CTE. The deal includes two.... more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

DPF regs face further delays
The proposal to fit diesel particulate filters (DPF) to plant working on certain sites in London is facing delays again. more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

In brief
A Bilfinger Berger BOT-led consortium has been chosen as preferred bidder for Scottish Borders Council’s £50m schools PPP. Also in the team are John.... more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

London’s schemes take centre stage at Mipim
While a number of regional capitals unveiled new city centre developments, the centre of attention was London. more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

Engineers gain N/SVQ-mapped training scheme
The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) will launch a new route to skills and training on 1 April. more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

Pellikaan hit with fine for site safety lapse
Pellikaan (Construction) was fined £45,000 at Stevenage Magistrates Court last week after an incident two years ago in which a labourer was buried.... more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

Tall buildings debate raises roof in Cannes
Future developments in major UK cities will be taller, higher density, greener, and – in the short-term anyway – more expensive to build. more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

Kier pledges £35m to stem shortfall in its pension fund
Kier has shown the priority it gives to the future of its staff by promising £35m-worth of ‘special contributions’ over the next few months to tackle.... more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

Cost of Holyrood strut failure near the £200k mark
Costs for the inconvenience caused by the closure of the debating chamber of the £431m Holyrood Parliament building are nearing £200,000. more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

Phoenix Interiors sold by IMI
Phoenix Interiors, the £9m-a-year turnover fit-out specialist, has been bought from its parent management company IMI. more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

In brief
Kingspan has awarded a £7m logistics contract to TM Logistics (TML) as it anticipates demand to grow for greener building products. Kingspan said it.... more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

Work begins on Shrewsbury FC stadium
Co Durham firm Hall Construction in association with Jennings Investments LLP has netted a £14m contract to build a new stadium for Shrewsbury Town.... more
(22 March 2006 12:00)

OPERC data goes online
Independent plant research organisation Off Highway Equipment Research Centre (OPERC) has started populating its website with hand-arm vibration data.... more
(22 March 2006 11:00)

Ausa set to unveil 3t dumper at SED 2006
Ausa is to launch a 3t articulated site dumper, the D300AMG, at this year’s SED. It has also announced plans to add a 9t model to its range by the.... more
(22 March 2006 11:00)

Fighting fit
In a cut-throat fit-out market that has produced several casualties in recent years, IDM seems an oasis of calm. Its bright, modern offices are off a.... more
(22 March 2006 11:00)

In brief
Barr has abandoned all thoughts of selling itself after being “underwhelmed” by bids. The Scottish contractor expects to make a pre-tax profit of.... more
(22 March 2006 11:00)

Ausa set to unveil 3t dumper at SED 2006
Ausa is to launch a 3t articulated site dumper, the D300AMG, at this year’s SED. It has also announced plans to add a 9t model to its range by the.... more
(22 March 2006 11:00)