Articles by Date : September 27 2004 - October 03 2004

Fatal court case delayed until November
Two companies being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a man fell to his death three years ago have seen their case delayed.... more
(01 October 2004 16:39)

Balfour Beatty Rail fined £150k for rail fatality
Balfour Beatty Rail Infrastructure Services (BBRIS) and McGinley Recruitment Services were fined a total of £325,000 in the Central Criminal Court,.... more
(01 October 2004 16:11)

Construction workers yearn to be more productive
More than half (59%) of construction industry workers want to be more productive but feel they get too bogged down in dealing with day-to-day detail.... more
(01 October 2004 15:31)

Brandon snaps up three more plant and tool depots
Brandon Hire has bought three more plant and tool depots, bringing the total number of acquisitions this year to 11. more
(01 October 2004 12:53)

Drummond new chief executive at BDP
Building Design Partnership (BDP) has chosen Peter Drummond as its next chief executive. more
(01 October 2004 12:38)

Worker dies three weeks after car pit fall
A 48-year-old man who fell down a car pit after installing industrial equipment died yesterday (Wednesday) after three weeks in hospital. more
(30 September 2004 15:34)

Higgins Construction wins £14m refurbishment contract
Higgins Construction has won a £14m contract to refurbish six housing blocks on the South Acton estate in west London. more
(30 September 2004 14:58)

Jarvis removed from Kirklees schools PFI
Kirklees Metropolitan Council (KMC) is in negotiations with Wates after ditching Jarvis as preferred bidder for its £25m schools PFI deal. more
(30 September 2004 11:10)

Fatality case referred to Crown Court for higher fine
Krypton Health Construction and Controlled Flame Boilers have been referred to the Crown Court for sentencing after a heating engineer fell 9m to his.... more
(30 September 2004 11:09)

Cut the cost and hassle of CPD
CPD Construction, the innovative new service provided by www.contractjournal.com in association with Einstein Network, the UK’s leading provider of.... more
(30 September 2004 10:52)

BEAR does best to beat default fines
The Scottish Executive issued 24 default notices to the two contractors working on its £350m five-year trunk roads contracts during 2003/04 - eight.... more
(30 September 2004 10:07)

Funding gap causes schools rethink
Fewer new schools will be built in the first wave of the government's £5.1bn Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, following a shortfall.... more
(30 September 2004 10:06)

ProCure 21 is prepared for privatisation
Transferring ProCure 21 to the private sector is one of a number of options being considered following the abolition of NHS Estates. more
(30 September 2004 10:06)

Morgan Est wins £340m utilities work
Morgan Est has picked up utilities contracts worth approximately £340m with Severn Trent Water and National Grid Transco (NGT). more
(30 September 2004 08:47)

Griffiths-McGee wins Ascot race
Griffiths-McGee has won the contract for the demolition of the old grandstand at Ascot racecourse. more
(29 September 2004 17:15)

Auditors' warning to BIW
BIW Technologies, the IT group that offers internet project collaboration software, has announced more losses and its auditor PKF has issued a.... more
(29 September 2004 17:14)

Bucknall makes year one profit
Consultancy Bucknall Austin's first set of results following a management buy-out (MBO) led by David Bucknall, show a pre-tax profit of £440,000 on a.... more
(29 September 2004 17:13)

Cemex bids £2.3bn for RMC
Cemex, the world's third largest cement producer, has launched a £2.3bn takeover bid for RMC. more
(29 September 2004 17:13)

Success for Barratt apprentice scheme
Housebuilder Barratt has expanded its training programme and now has a total of 530 apprentices. It also has 55 young graduates on fast-track career.... more
(29 September 2004 17:12)

UK focus works for Ashtead's profit
Ashtead Group has reported a pre-tax profit of £3.5m for the three-month period up to 31 July, compared to an £8m loss for the same period last year..... more
(29 September 2004 17:12)

JLG extends with 38m boom lift
JLG, which claims leadership in the UK powered access market with a share of more than 30%, has launched a 38m platform height articulating.... more
(29 September 2004 17:11)

Fourth PM system for Wright
Wright Minimix has added a fourth PM on-board weighing system to its seven-strong fleet of Hymix concrete mixer bodied 6x2 Iveco rigids. more
(29 September 2004 17:10)

Small and speedy Toro debut
The Toro 60 is the latest addition to the Sandvik subsidiary's underground dump truck range. Measuring only 3.2m high by 10.6m long, the rigid dump.... more
(29 September 2004 17:10)

Volvo increases global share
Volvo has increased its share of the world construction equipment market and is introducing a range of machines that will see its sales increase.... more
(29 September 2004 17:09)

Retirement for Scanlan's veteran
Nantwich-based plant hire operator Scanlan is pensioning off its oldest Cementech volumetric concrete mixer after 16 years' service and trading it in.... more
(29 September 2004 17:00)

Paving the way with vacuum
Landmac has started to market a Dutch vacuum kerb lifting attachment mounted on a Skidster machine. more
(29 September 2004 17:00)

Norwest withdraws from bidding for MoD Oxford scheme
Norwest Holst has made a tactical withdrawal from bidding for a £4m-plus Ministry of Defence (MoD) deal in Oxfordshire. more
(29 September 2004 16:59)

Costain favourite to win St Martin-in-the-Fields
Costain's prayers look to have been answered, with the contractor understood to be favourite to win a £23m revamp of a famous landmark church in.... more
(29 September 2004 16:59)

Problems remain for Suffolk road deal
Shadows still hang over a £30m-plus Suffolk County Council road deal, although one of the major obstacles has been removed. more
(29 September 2004 16:58)

Six prepare for take-off on RAF technical projects
Six firms are in formation for a deal involving the technical inspection of buildings and facilities at seven RAF bases in England and Scotland. more
(29 September 2004 16:57)

Counting on computing
The resolution of disputes on large construction and engineering contracts increasingly involves the use of computer-based delay analysis techniques.... more
(29 September 2004 16:57)

Wrekin is chuffed at rail deal
Wrekin has beaten three contenders to bag a £20m design and construct deal from Network Rail. more
(29 September 2004 16:56)

Insurance market stabilising
The UK demolition industry is "in fairly good shape," according to Dan Doyle, president of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors.... more
(29 September 2004 16:56)

EU accession benefits east European firms
The accession of east European countries to the European Union (EU) is proving good news for their construction industries, with mini building booms.... more
(29 September 2004 16:55)

Government behind on construction targets
The government is failing to meet targets for public buildings and infrastructure, according to a Construction Products Association report. more
(29 September 2004 16:54)

Green light for Sunderland carriageway
A start on site early next year is on the cards for the £18m City of Sunderland's Southern Radial Route now the client has finally got government.... more
(29 September 2004 16:54)

Hanson signs £10m Wessex Water deal
Hanson Aggregates has signed a two-year deal to supply materials to Wessex Water. The company said the deal is worth up to £10m. more
(29 September 2004 16:53)

Home production set to hit 20,000 by 2010
Barratt has confirmed its ambition to increase production to 20,000 homes a year by 2010. more
(29 September 2004 16:52)

WTD adds £500k to winter roads gritting
The implementation of the Working Time Directive (WTD) could cost highways contractors an estimated £500,000 extra each year to carry out winter.... more
(29 September 2004 16:51)

Jarvis facing £500k bill for fire station delays
Tyne & Wear Fire Authority will seek up to £500,000 in compensation from Jarvis for the three-month delay to its £30m fire station PFI contract. more
(29 September 2004 16:50)

Latham takes helm of NFB CAPS scheme
Sir Michael Latham is to become president of the National Federation of Builders' (NFB) Construction Accredited Performance Standard (CAPS) scheme. more
(29 September 2004 16:49)

Marine Bill gets go ahead
The Prime Minister has given approval for the Marine Bill, which will put sand and gravel extraction under scrutiny. more
(29 September 2004 16:48)

Tordoff takes Metals Forum post
British Constructional Steelwork Association director general Derek Tordoff is the new chairman of the Metals Forum, which represents ferrous and.... more
(29 September 2004 16:47)

Pochin's latest results reveal mixed fortunes
While the profitability of Pochin's contracting division doubled last year, the group's construction services business dived into the red. more
(29 September 2004 16:47)

Robertson happy with £2.2m profit
Robertson Group has confirmed the restoration of its good fortunes with a pre-tax profit in the 12 months to 30 November 2003 of £2.2m, a rise of 9%.... more
(29 September 2004 16:45)

European Commission calls for 65-hour maximum week for all
The European Commission has adopted proposals to update the Working Time Directive. more
(29 September 2004 16:44)

McTay workers threaten overtime ban at T5 site
Industrial unrest has rekindled at the Heathrow T5 tank farm, with workers employed by Mowlem subsidiary McTay threatening another overtime ban. more
(29 September 2004 16:44)

New-look Henry Boot unveils 'robust' interim performance
The new look Henry Boot - radically transformed after hiving off several of its former operating divisions - has unveiled its latest interim.... more
(29 September 2004 16:43)

Plasterboard demand boosts BPB
BPB, the world leader in plasterboard and gypsum plasters, has said that turnover in the six months to 30 September will be 5% higher at £1.1bn as a.... more
(29 September 2004 16:43)

Prison workers' pay battle
Building workers in the Prison Service are heading for a fresh confrontation over pay following indications from the employers that they will be.... more
(29 September 2004 16:42)