Articles by Date : May 26 2003 - June 01 2003

Tenders returned by three of four bidders for MoD prime contract
Defence Estates has received tender returns from three of the four bidders for its £700m-plus South West prime contract. more
(30 May 2003 17:14)

Total Bitumen and Road Maintenance Services form partnership
Total Bitumen and Road Maintenance Services have today (Friday) announced the formation of a partnership agreement between the two companies. more
(30 May 2003 15:52)

Mentoring programme for women gets off ground
ICEFLOE, the Institution of Civil Engineers' (ICE) Equal Opportunities forum, in conjunction with JIVE Partners, has now launched its mentoring.... more
(30 May 2003 12:49)

OGC to be investigated over best value performance
The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is to come under scrutiny by the National Audit Office to determine whether it is delivering best value. more
(30 May 2003 12:32)

CJDirectory.com now live
The task of finding the right supplier for the job has now become much easier thanks to a unique new service from Contract Journal. We’ve linked up.... more
(30 May 2003 11:40)

Modest profit climb for Montpellier as acquisitions bed in
Montpellier Group has spent the last six months bedding down recent acquisitions and as a result its interim turnover stays at £210m, little changed.... more
(30 May 2003 10:35)

Lend Lease chairman steps down
Lend Lease Corporation has announced today (Friday) that Jill Ker Conway has stepped down as chairman and director of Lend Lease, and non-executive.... more
(30 May 2003 10:07)

Skanska use Combisafe net on Swiss Re Building
Combisafe’s Safety Net Fan has been used during the construction of 30 St Mary Axe for the reinsurance company Swiss Re in London. more
(30 May 2003 10:04)

Bets are off on gaming bill
Contractors that hedged their bets on the government reforming UK gaming laws allowing the construction of Las Vegas-style casino resorts have been.... more
(30 May 2003 09:47)

Lawrence secures Wessex Water deal
Lawrence has been appointed as an alliance contractor by Wessex Water. The two-year framework is worth £6m a year. more
(30 May 2003 09:20)

Victory for CPA over IR's capital allowances
The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has claimed victory in its campaign to persuade the Inland Revenue (IR) to allow plant hirers to.... more
(29 May 2003 17:24)

Flat results on the cards despite Caterpillar's good first quarter
While Caterpillar's full-year figures showed a 1% drop in revenues and profit almost flat, first quarter 2003 returns were up by 9% and 61%.... more
(29 May 2003 17:24)

Don't panic over dirty plant
The Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate has distanced itself from reports that fleets of imported plant will automatically be sent back if machines.... more
(29 May 2003 17:23)

Contractors urged to bid more seriously and stop budget cuts
Contractors are not taking bidding seriously and are increasingly squeezing procurement teams' budgets. more
(29 May 2003 17:23)

Site death inquest finds 'systematic failures in safety'
An Indian-born labourer who fell more than 10m through a glass roof died after "systematic failures" in safety working practices, an inquest at.... more
(29 May 2003 17:23)

Contractors blamed for rising cost of PFI at preferred bidder stage
Contractors need to radically rethink their position at the preferred bidder stage of PFI contracts if they are to address the rising concerns over.... more
(29 May 2003 17:22)

In brief
Wates wins £5m NetPark contract Wates is to construct Durham University office and laboratory research facilities worth £5m at NetPark, a new.... more
(29 May 2003 17:22)

Amec M&E staff in walkout threat at T5
Electricians at the £5bn Heathrow Terminal Five site are threatening to walk off site if a dispute with Amec over travel allowances is not resolved..... more
(29 May 2003 17:22)

In brief
Hitachis for GSE Plant HM Plant has struck a deal for the sale of 15 Hitachi excavators to plant hire firm GSE Plant. The deal is for a ZX210LC, two.... more
(29 May 2003 17:21)

In brief
Four share £140m bonanza on Teesside Stockton Council, via its stock transfer arm Tristart Homes, has chosen Connaught, Dunelm, Mears and Frank.... more
(29 May 2003 17:20)

In brief
Deadline set for batched PFI hospitals The NHS's first batched PFI hospital scheme has been officially advertised in the OJEC. The contract combines.... more
(29 May 2003 17:19)

Jomaro set to launch kitchen fitter training
Kitchen installation firm Jomaro has set up a new company to develop an industry first - a recognised qualification for kitchen installation. more
(29 May 2003 17:15)

CPA urges return of road survey
The Construction Products Association (CPA) is urging transport minister John Spellar to review the Highways Agency's (HA) decision to stop producing.... more
(29 May 2003 17:14)

London employment scheme
The Building London: Creating Futures (BLCF) employment scheme, which aims to create a cross-London network capable of transferring skilled people.... more
(29 May 2003 17:14)

Manufacturers failing to display noise levels
As many as one in five manufacturers exhibiting at this year's SED were not displaying the appropriate labels to demonstrate compliance with the EU.... more
(29 May 2003 17:13)

Cox expansion on right track
Cox Plant Hire has taken another step in its strategy to rejuvenate and expand the brand following its recent purchase of Llewellyn Plant from Rok.... more
(29 May 2003 17:12)

JCB goes for growth via dealer network
JCB chairman and managing director Sir Anthony Bamford reaffirmed that the company would not move into plant hire, which he sees as competing with.... more
(29 May 2003 17:12)

Terex looks to 5,000 units
Production of the Terex Fermec backhoe loader could reach 5,000 units a year at the new factory in Coventry, said chairman and chief executive Ronald.... more
(29 May 2003 17:11)

Utilities pay dividends at Wrekin
Wrekin has bounced back into profit at the same time as turnover broke through the £100m-a-year barrier. Chief executive John Evans said he was.... more
(29 May 2003 17:11)

Civils stays in the frame with highways clients
Turnover in the civils division has moved ahead to £53m, helping Wrekin battle to stay ahead of clients' ever-rising interest threshold. More than.... more
(29 May 2003 17:10)

Scaffolders want training re-think
The Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) is calling for the scaffolding industry to give consideration to alternative training systems with a.... more
(29 May 2003 17:10)

Social housing partnerships boost Connaught's turnover
Connaught has announced an interim turnover of £77m (£54m) in the six months to the end of February, while the property services provider's forward.... more
(29 May 2003 17:08)

Warings wins £17m MoD deals
Warings has launched a successful assault on two Ministry of Defence (MoD) deals totalling £17m. more
(29 May 2003 17:07)

Union safety reps 'a vital link'
A climate of fear on site and a lack of faith in the workforce are combining to hinder progress towards improving the construction industry's safety.... more
(29 May 2003 17:07)

Off-site construction displays its wares
Last week saw the UK's first major exhibition for off-site construction take place at the Building Research Establishment near Watford. Principal.... more
(29 May 2003 17:06)

Bouygues bags £35m PFI London school job
Bouygues has moved to the top of the class for a £35m private finance schools project in east London. more
(29 May 2003 17:06)

Wates sees profit climb
Wates has improved the operating margin in its construction business to 2.3% (1.9%). As a result the Wates Group's pre-tax profit figure for 2002.... more
(29 May 2003 17:05)

Rooker affirms commitment to offsite manufacturing
Housing and planning minister Lord Rooker told delegates at the BRE's Offsite03 exhibition that the timing had "never been better" for offsite.... more
(29 May 2003 17:05)

Jarvis gears up for roads boost
Jarvis Highways is planning to steal a march on its rivals on local authority strategic alliances by becoming a one-stop-shop contractor for clients.... more
(29 May 2003 17:04)

HBG's £12m Liverpool office win
HBG has got the seal of approval for a £12m commercial sector deal in Liverpool. more
(29 May 2003 17:04)

World's largest construction law practice created
Law firms Masons and US-based Thelen Reid & Priestto have formed a joint venture (jv) to create the world's largest construction, engineering and.... more
(29 May 2003 17:03)

Jarvis set for £90m Norfolk schools deal
Jarvis is on course to clinch a £90m-plus schools deal in East Anglia that managed to attract only two bidders. more
(29 May 2003 17:03)

McNicholas directors share £10m
The directors of McNicholas Construction Company shared a £10m divi-dend pay-out last year despite the fact that the family-owned parent company,.... more
(29 May 2003 17:02)

Olympic bid 'dependent on Crossrail'
London's public transport network would not be able to cope with passenger numbers during the 2012 Olympics unless the multi-billion-pound Crossrail.... more
(29 May 2003 16:55)

Joint effort to cut Irish death toll
The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) Ireland have joined forces in an attempt to.... more
(29 May 2003 16:54)

McAlpine in row over 'unqualified' Africans
Alfred McAlpine Utility Services is at the centre of a legal row in the Irish Republic over the sacking of 20 power workers recruited from South.... more
(29 May 2003 16:51)

Rail contractors face huge renewal target
Rail contractors face their biggest resource challenge ever after track renewal targets were increased six-fold by Network Rail. more
(29 May 2003 16:50)

Amey buyout will go ahead 'with or without TubeLines'
Ferrovial's £81m bid for Amey, the UK services group, is not dependent on Amey shareholders signing up in time for the Spanish construction group to.... more
(29 May 2003 16:49)

WTD behind schedule
The timetable for publishing details of the working time directive (WTD) for the road transport sector has slipped back to mid-June at the earliest,.... more
(29 May 2003 16:49)

Former PFI contractor leads schools rebuilding
The government's £5.1bn programme to rebuild the nation's school stock is being led by former PFI contractor Robert Osborne. more
(29 May 2003 16:45)