Articles by Date : April 04 2005 - April 10 2005

Suppliers must prove products' safety
All suppliers should be forced to prove their products' safety to contractors when amendments to the General Product Safety Directive are made. more
(07 April 2005 16:13)

Four fined after pedestrian killed on the A20
A contractor, surfacing firm and local authority have been fined a total of £90,000 following the death of a female driver four years ago. more
(07 April 2005 15:45)

Lib Dems urge for homes on stilts in the Thames Gateway
The Liberal Democrat's London Assembly environment spokesman has called for some of the new homes and businesses in the area to be built on stilts to.... more
(07 April 2005 12:09)

February construction orders fall 13%
New construction orders in February were down 13% in total, according to the latest data from the Department of Trade & Industry. However, this has.... more
(07 April 2005 11:15)

Crossrail decision to be frozen until summer
The £10bn Crossrail project will be fighting for its survival today (Thursday) in parliament as the House of Commons winds down for the election. more
(07 April 2005 11:07)

Amec buys French nuclear business
Amec has acquired the French nuclear engineering company Game Nucleaire SAS and its subsidiaries for £14.3m. more
(07 April 2005 10:34)

CJ's Question Time puts MPs on the spot
Want to put Tony Blair on the spot about road spending? Got some tough questions for Michael Howard on PFI? Want to know Charles Kennedy’s views on.... more
(07 April 2005 10:32)

Waterman makes Welsh acquisition
Waterman Group, the engineering and environmental consultancy, has acquired Quadrant Consulting for a maximum sum of £340,000. more
(07 April 2005 09:11)

All change as Tarmac splits business in two
Tarmac will appoint new directors to its contracting business within the next few weeks as part of a company reshuffle. more
(06 April 2005 17:05)

Best practice seminar taking place
Early involvement of product manufacturers, making adequate time for design work and integrated teamwork will be proved to reduce costs and improve.... more
(06 April 2005 17:04)

Amec and 4Projects sign software deal
Amec is the latest contractor to sign up with 4Projects, the IT group offering project collaboration software via extranet. more
(06 April 2005 17:04)

CNH sees profit rocket to £103m
CNH has reported a profit of £103m for 2004, up from £16m for the previous 12 months. Profit for the fourth quarter also rose, with the company.... more
(06 April 2005 17:03)

LDV's Maxus range hits the road
LDV has launched Maxus, its long-awaited new van range. The vans span the 2.8t to 3.5t weight range and will be offered in two wheelbases and three.... more
(06 April 2005 17:02)

A14 Suffolk deal down to two
The fight for a £28m Highways Agency (HA) deal in Suffolk looks to have narrowed to two contenders. more
(06 April 2005 17:02)

Morrison wins Anglian work
Morrison Utilities has won deals in the water and electricity sectors totalling more than £80m. more
(06 April 2005 17:01)

Wimpey to redevelop former RAF housing
George Wimpey has unlocked a housing deal in Berkshire worth around £80m. more
(06 April 2005 17:00)

Crack movements add to Bath Spa project's woes
Mowlem's £35m Bath Spa project has hit further problems as crack movements in the attraction's main pool flooring could indicate structural problems.... more
(06 April 2005 16:59)

Doors close at Premier as costs take their toll
Doors and windows manufacturer Premier Profiles is considering closing its business after raw materials costs, energy costs and litigation.... more
(06 April 2005 16:59)

Gama fights exploitation claim
An investigation has been ordered into the pay and conditions of migrant workers employed by Gama Construction on projects in the Republic of.... more
(06 April 2005 16:58)

Griffiths was a "bull in a china shop"
Bath Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster has branded construction minister Nigel Griffiths a "bull in a china shop" for his criticism of Bath & North East.... more
(06 April 2005 16:57)

JCB's JZ140 excavator ready to take centre stage at Conexpo
JCB will unveil a 14t zero tailswing excavator and a host of improvements to its 4CX and 3CX backhoe loaders at Conexpo. more
(06 April 2005 16:56)

'No compromise' over the Construction Act
Specialist engineering contractors are seeking an urgent meeting with construction minister Nigel Griffiths to discuss the pending review of the.... more
(06 April 2005 16:56)

Liverpool Council facing contracts award probe
Contract awards made to Enterprise and Mansell by Liverpool City Council (LCC) are to be investigated following claims that they may have been.... more
(06 April 2005 16:55)

Merseyside pair fined for scaffold collapse
Two Merseyside businesses - J and P King, trading as Kings Scaffolding, and Thomas Underpinning and Building Contractors - were fined a total of.... more
(06 April 2005 16:54)

UCATT anger at Asian workers' treatment
UCATT representatives have lashed out at the treatment of Asian workers following a threatened walkout at a Vinci site and the deportation of workers.... more
(06 April 2005 16:54)

Recall threat to suppliers following safety rethink
Local authorities could have the power to recall construction products after changes in safety regulations due later this year. more
(06 April 2005 16:53)

Consideration essential to scheme
All the firms working on West Lothian are contractually obligated to observe the council's considerate contractor scheme. more
(06 April 2005 16:53)

T5 strike likely to go to ballot
Last ditch attempts to avert strike action by M&E operatives at Heathrow T5 seem set to fail if union claims are to be believed. more
(06 April 2005 16:52)

Remoteness of damages
The 1854 case of Hadley -v- Baxendale identified certain time-honoured rules for testing the remoteness of damages flowing from a breach of contract..... more
(06 April 2005 16:51)

Plymouth road worker killed
A road maintenance worker was killed on the A38 Plymouth Parkway last Thursday after being hit by a BMW. more
(06 April 2005 16:46)

Sheffield BSF attracts interest
Sheffield's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme attracted record numbers of potential bidders to its open day last week. More than 230 firms.... more
(06 April 2005 16:46)

Vinci denies dismissals
Vinci has denied allegations of constructive dismissal after employees said they were forced out of the company. more
(06 April 2005 16:45)

HEMS is tooled up and ready for action
Heavy Equipment Maintenance Solutions (HEMS) has begun trading and will distribute a range of tooling and equipment for servicing and testing heavy.... more
(06 April 2005 16:44)

Construction orders reach record £38.9bn
The total value of new construction orders reached a record £38.9bn last year, up 15% on 2003's figure of £33.9bn, according to the latest data from.... more
(06 April 2005 16:44)

Trio on register for Peterborough PFI
Three groups have registered for a £64m PFI schools deal in Peterborough. more
(06 April 2005 16:43)

Crane crash could have killed more
The crane collapse at a West Sussex site that left two Willmott Dixon site workers dead and another seriously injured could easily have claimed far.... more
(06 April 2005 16:42)

Greens join industry on emissions compliance
Green groups have joined industry in calling for an end to UK emissions trading agreements as the government finally plans to allocate carbon.... more
(06 April 2005 16:42)

Marine aggregates firms look to future business
The marine aggregates industry may have to pin its hopes on London's Olympic bid or large-scale south-east England developments to see rises in.... more
(06 April 2005 16:41)

Mivan Depa jv aims for £30m turnover target
Mivan Depa, a specialist themed interiors joint venture company, has been launched. Already actively bidding for projects in the Middle East, it.... more
(06 April 2005 16:40)

Lothian: may the best firm win
Contractors working for West Lothian Council will face a number of incentives and penalties while carrying out the client's innovative £81.5m capital.... more
(06 April 2005 16:39)

Public sector work boosts Bovis profit
Bovis Lend Lease's operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) have made a profit after tax of £16m in the six months to December 2004 -.... more
(06 April 2005 16:39)

Briggs posts record profit
A healthy operating margin of 4.5% has helped Briggs & Forrester, the M&E specialist contractor, to a record £4m pre-tax profit. more
(06 April 2005 16:38)

Three's company for EP scheme
English Partnerships (EP) wants all three consortia on the shortlist for the multi-million-pound London-Wide Initiative to be involved in the.... more
(06 April 2005 16:33)

Dover Harbour to investigate unusable berths
Dover Harbour Board is to investigate why two berths on Edmund Nuttall's £27m design and build contract for the Kent ferry port are "not up to.... more
(06 April 2005 16:33)

Unic to display the 'world's smallest crane' at SED 2005
The new A094CR from Unic Cranes Europe, said to be the world's smallest crane, will be displayed in the UK for the first time at SED 2005. more
(06 April 2005 16:32)

Kubota adds mini excavators to range
Kubota has upgraded its KX-3 mini excavator range with the addition of the KX61-3 and the KX71-3. These machines replace the series-2 units and have.... more
(06 April 2005 16:31)

Transco picks main men for gas job
National Grid Transco (NGT) has confirmed the winning four groups for its gas mains renewals programme - the largest ever to be rolled out in the.... more
(06 April 2005 16:31)

Laing consortium wins Line 1 of Merseytram
A consortium called M-Pact, which comprises Laing O’Rourke and Grant Rail, has been chosen by Merseytravel as the preferred bidder for Line 1 of.... more
(06 April 2005 16:27)

Osborne scoops London housing deal
Geoffrey Osborne has beaten off pitches from two rivals to unlock a £25.7m housing deal in south London. more
(06 April 2005 16:15)

Morrison ahead in Perth and Kinross PPP race
Morrison has emerged as the front runner in the two-horse race for a £100m public private partnership schools deal in Scotland. more
(06 April 2005 16:14)