Construction & Civil Engineering Issue 159 January 2019

www.ccemagazine.com ISSUE 159 JANUARY

Cementing its leadership Cementir has built a unique offering around white cement, a product which is regarded as the DNA of the company

See page 39

Beautiful bridge

Jotun’s protective solutions used on the longest suspension bridge in the Arctic circle

Dublin project

â‚Ź10 million, 112-bed student accommodation contract awarded to Balfour Beatty

Safety systems Technology from Brigade can prevent workers being struck by moving vehicles

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04/01/2019 13:05

contents Chairman Andrew Schofield Editor Libbie Hammond

libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Assistant Editor Will Daynes Art Editor Fleur Daniels Staff Writer Vladi Nikolov Advertising Design Fiona Jolliffe Operations Director Philip Monument Operations Manager Natalie Griffiths Editorial Researchers Adam Blanch Mark Cowles Alasdair Gamble Jeff Goldenberg Tarjinder Kaur D’Silva Managing Director Joe Woolsgrove Sales Joe Balfour Natalie Brett Mark Cawston Theresa McDonald Gary Silk Web Sales Tim Eakins Exclusive Features Darren Jolliffe

FEATURES 2 Energy efficiency

Stephen Hill of Arup believes that a lack of an operational energy performance metric in the UK is a missed opportunity

6 Lone workers

Lone workers still need to be fully integrated and engaged to meet their needs and uphold an employer’s duty of care

exclusive features 18 brandon hire station 20 pics 22 janser uk 24 i-theses

8 Brexit

Has the Government provided clarity for construction and EU procurement in the event of a No Deal Brexit?

10 Housing

David Lett gives his opinion on why the housing crisis needs more attention – people need not just shelter but a Home

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12 Blockchain

It is early days but blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionise business processes across the construction industry

14 News

Updates and information from the construction and civil engineering market

16 Exhibition preview – UK CONCRETE Show 2019

Built on successful past shows, the UK CONCRETE Show 2019 is promising to be even bigger and better than ever before

26 Exhibition preview – Futurebuild 2019

The biggest brands from across the industry will be showcasing their latest technologies and innovations across this Exhibition and Conference

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Independent Sales Dave King

20 company profiles 28 Bourne parking 32 macbryde homes

Production/ Office Manager Tracy Chynoweth

36 tsl contractors 39 cementir 42 Ridgepoint homes

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Please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, and correct at time of writing, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

1

Energy efficiency

Driving

transformation

White Collar Factory, London © Tim Soar

Could the Better Buildings Partnership’s emerging Design for Performance rating be the answer to the energy performance gap in commercial property? Stephen Hill thinks so

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t’s no secret that there is a significant ‘Performance Gap’

in the UK commercial market – a gap between buildings’ intended and actual energy performance. However, there is evidence of a gradual move

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Stephen Hill

towards more market recognition of the importance of operational performance. The WELL standard includes a requirement for ongoing environmental monitoring, and BREEAM 2018 took a step in this direction with an optional

Verification Stage. I and others have long argued that the lack of an operational energy performance metric in the UK represents a big missed opportunity in terms of delivering energy efficient buildings. Finally, with the proposed

Design for Performance rating, we may be about to grasp that opportunity.

The UK government’s 2017 Clean Growth Strategy commits to ‘Develop a package of measures to support businesses to improve

their energy productivity, by at least 20 per cent by 2030’. This is part of the Government’s overall strategy to achieve its legally binding targets to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions, which in turn is part of the UK’s commitment to

the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21). Improving the energy efficiency of commercial property clearly has an important role to play in delivering on this commitment. In the Clean Growth Strategy, the Government

3

Energy efficiency

52 Lime Street - The Scalpel © Paul Carstairs, Arup

cites both ‘voluntary building standards’ and ‘requirements for businesses to measure and report on energy use’ as potential delivery mechanisms. The Design for Performance project aims to tackle both these opportunities, by creating an operational energy performance rating scheme for the UK commercial property sector.

Taking inspiration from the NABERS scheme The Design for Performance rating is based closely on the successful Australian NABERS

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scheme (National Australian Buildings Energy Rating Scheme).

The principle behind the NABERS scheme is simple – early in the design stage for a new building, an energy performance target is agreed. This is converted to a star rating on a one to six scale, the rating corresponding directly to energy intensity. The target is subject to a binding ‘commitment agreement’ between the client, design team and contractor. The target rating is validated around two years after the building has been completed, by comparing the target energy intensity with

actual performance. This is then the basis of the building’s actual star rating.

The interesting aspect of the NABERS rating is the impact on property value. The NABERS rating was first introduced as a voluntary scheme, which was then adopted as a requirement for Government property, and finally became mandatory for all commercial property. What has caught the eye of people in the UK and around the world are several studies that have demonstrated a clear correlation between a building’s NABERS rating and property value. One study, in 2014, by the Investment Property Databank demonstrated a 21 per cent increase in a property’s asset value associated with a high NABERS rating.

Probably the most startling fact is that the vast majority of commercial property in Australia currently has a NABERS four-star rating or better. This indicates that commercial property is now nearly twice as energy efficient on average as it was when the NABERS scheme was first introduced. In the UK, over roughly the same period, energy labelling has driven a similar transformation in the white goods market (when did you last see a B rated washing machine?) But the energy efficiency of commercial property has remained largely static.

Responding to energy performance demands The big question for the UK is whether the Design for Performance rating scheme will be able to drive the same kind of transformation that NABERS has achieved in Australia. There is a feeling among advocates of building performance that the UK is crying out for a rating scheme that reflects a building’s true energy efficiency, with the tantalising prospect of creating a market demand for energy

Sky Central, BSkyB Phase 2, Osterley, Hounslow, London © HuftonCrow

efficient property. The reality is likely to be more challenging – the market for sustainability ratings is more mature than in Australia, and there are a number of new ratings schemes jostling for position around the dominant BREEAM. However, there are some positive signs, not least the seven leading commercial developers that have signed up as ‘Developer Pioneers’ for the transition phase of the Design for Performance project.

The Design for Performance project has been running since 2015, led by the Better Buildings Partnership and supported by a range of industry stakeholders.

At Arup, we have acted as technical advisors and supported The Crown Estate in delivering one of the pilot projects. The results of the pilot phase were published in October 2018, and clearly demonstrated the need for, and potential transformative effect of an operational energy rating scheme. The Transition Stage of the project, launched in October 2018, aims to develop a fully functional voluntary rating

scheme for the UK commercial property sector.

At Arup, we have signed up as a ‘Pioneer Delivery Partner’ for the Transition Stage of the Design for Performance project.

Arup’s commitment is to work with our clients to embed Design for Performance into our commercial projects, as well as working with the Better Buildings Partnership and other partners in the development of the rating scheme. Arup has long been committed to designing buildings that perform and by supporting Design for Performance we hope to demonstrate to our clients that the process is deliverable, whilst also encouraging others to participate.

A change in mind-set As well as designers and contractors, it is important that this process embraces facilities managers and maintenance contractors, who have a critical role to play in delivering operational performance outcomes. Throughout the

property supply chain from design right through to operation, a change in mind-set is needed to deliver the operational energy performance outcomes on which the Design for Performance rating is based. Whilst there is plenty we can learn from the Australian experience, there is much we will need to learn for ourselves before we can really claim to have closed the Performance Gap.

Stephen Hill is an Associate Building Performance Consultant at Arup. Arup is the creative force at the heart of many of the world’s most prominent projects in the built environment and across industry. Working in over 140 countries Arup has more than 14,000 planners, designers, engineers and consultants delivering innovative projects across the world with creativity and passion.

www.arup.com More information on the Design for Performance project can be found here:

www.betterbuildingspartnership. co.uk/our-priorities/measuringreporting/design-performance

5

Lone workers

The hidden workforce Nick Whiteley discusses how lone workers, while often not seen, still need to be fully integrated and engaged to meet both their needs and an employer’s duty of care

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here are over six million lone workers in the UK which represents some 20 per cent of the workforce. Together they make up the ‘hidden’ workforce that are under-represented in an office that they rarely frequent.

Lone workers can be found in most, if not all, organisations across industry, performing a varied set of functions for the business. These lone workers present significant challenges that are often underestimated by senior management and misunderstood by managers.

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This can manifest itself as a culture where lone workers are seen as a ‘nuisance’ or ‘heavy maintenance’ because systems, processes and procedures are designed around the majority (80 per cent) of office based staff. For example, on-boarding processes and procedures for office based staff are generally well understood; desk, chair, space, landline, laptop, all of which can be allocated and deployed without issue. Mobile or home workers have differing requirements and these can easily be interpreted as staff being ‘awkward’ or a ‘nuisance’

rather than simply having a different set of requirements to office-based workers. This can create resentment from both management and the lone workers themselves.

Maintaining a coherent company culture that is cultivated informally within an office environment (the socalled ‘water cooler’ chats) are weakened through remote and lone workers. More proactive and organised interactions and events are required to ensure company values are shared and embodied equally among staff.

As important is the need to

ensure positive relationships across the organisation.

Whilst hierarchical structures might appear to be the main mechanism in order to execute strategy, the reality is that at ground level, it is positive relationships which are responsible for getting the job done. Anyone not in the office regularly will have less interaction and therefore the potential for less positive relationships exist and this can negatively affect productivity within and across teams.

The issue of duty of care also becomes more complicated when staff are not office based and must, therefore, be dealt with thoroughly. The law requires employers to consider carefully, and then to address any health and safety risks for people working alone (Health and Safety at Work Act 1974; The management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999).

There is no magic process for this given that lone workers work in a variety of settings and environments, from working in a petrol station, working at home or in a care setting visiting patients. Each scenario is different and requires a detailed analysis of risks along with a mitigation plan.

The very nature of lone working means that neither colleagues or management are ‘by the side’ to help advise, assist, support the lone worker in case of an adverse event. They are at greater risk than office-based workers and need additional support. As many as 150 lone workers are either physically or verbally attacked every day (British Crime Survey).

This should provide a stark reminder to those responsible for risk assessment and mitigation that such risks should not be treated as a theoretical tick-box exercise but a reality that needs to be addressed.

Risk assessment and mitigation needs to take account of the environment that the lone worker is subject to, the tasks the lone worker is expected to carry out, the associated risks with both environment and activities as well as compiling a list of potential scenarios and how they could be addressed. This should include procedures training, tools, technology and equipment that either prevent, mitigate or provide for the ability to escape harm and/or rapid response.

Here is a (non-exhaustive) list of areas that organisations should consider: Conflict management training: The ability to de-escalate a situation before it becomes physical/violent.

Real-time risk assessment and awareness training: There are many situations that cannot be foreseen or turned into a process/procedure so the ability for the lone worker to make this assessment and take appropriate action is critical when unable to contact their manager.

The provision of protective equipment and medical kit: Where appropriate and specific to their task these can be essential.

Technology, mobile tracking and alerting: There are solutions that enable lone workers to be – by consent – tracked during their working time so that management can exercise their duty of care. Some systems also have a panic button on the mobile device that can alert staff and/or alert staff when they have not received a GPS position after a certain amount of time or indeed haven’t changed position after a set amount of time.

Culture and relationships: It is important for the organisation to create opportunities to build relationships with both office-based and lone worker staffing groups recognising that this doesn’t happen naturally.

Examples of this could be company days, office days, or events held off-site and bring staff together in a neutral environment.

This also creates opportunities to reinforce company culture and values within and between teams. Part of this is not just recognising there are different staffing groups but also explaining these differences and communicating the value each bring to the organisation. The value of doing this should not be underestimated or disregarded as a ‘warm and fuzzy’ initiative but key to ensuring that part of your workforce isn’t unseen and undervalued.

In conclusion, whilst lone workers are rarely seen in the office, it is imperative that they do not become your ‘hidden’ workforce. Their voice, their views, their requirements must be heard in equal proportion to the workers you meet every day. Only by ensuring they are fully integrated, engaged and considered will you be able to ensure not just their needs and safety are met but also maintain and improve productivity levels across the whole of the organisation.

Nick Whiteley is CEO of HFX. HFX cloud suite includes Imperago™ Time and Attendance, Access Control, Workforce Design, Annualised Hours and EveryOneCloud Attendance Monitoring/Location Management. HFX Imperago solutions provide seamless integration with major HR and payroll systems.

Highly customisable, HFX Imperago solutions can be configured to meet exact requirements and can support unlimited numbers of work patterns.

For more information, please see

www.hfx.co.uk

7

Brexit

Guidance

required O

Construction and EU Procurement in No-Deal Brexit – has the government provided clarity? By Kathrine Eddon and Michelle Essen

n 29 March 2019 at 11pm UK-time the UK is expected to leave the EU. The construction industry has been feeling the impact of Brexit for some time now, and still has ongoing concerns about, amongst other things, skill and labour shortages, the increasing price of materials, and potential import and export tariffs.

Another area of concern for the construction industry has been how the system of advertising UK contracts for works, goods and services to EU companies would work post-Brexit and how businesses in the UK construction industry would be able to continue to bid for work,

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Kathrine Eddon

goods and services in Europe.

This is important because many UK construction and consultancy businesses benefit and need to continue to benefit from smooth and open working relationships with EU businesses.

The government’s position

Michelle Essen

As part of the government’s contingency planning for a ‘no-deal Brexit’, the UK Cabinet Office released guidance entitled ‘Accessing public sector contracts if there’s no Brexit deal’, which sets out how works, goods and services can continue to be accessed across the UK and EU in the event of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement in place.

The Government has followed

this by laying before Parliament on 13 December a draft set of Regulations to cover changes which will need to be made to the existing procurement Regulations (Public Contracts Regulations 2015, as well as those on utilities and concession contracts) on exit day in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The effect of the draft Regulations would be in essence to maintain the status quo in terms in the UK procurement regime, with some ‘tidying-up’ to reflect the exit from the EU. For example, the Cabinet Office would set the financial thresholds for the Regulations to apply, not the Commission. Provisions relating to State aid and e-Certis have also been removed.

The current system At the moment, UK public bodies and authorities can procure certain works, goods and services for construction projects, including from EU businesses, by advertising them on the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) via Tenders Electronic Daily (TED). Equally, UK contractors, consultants, manufacturers and other construction businesses can bid to provide works, goods and services to EU public bodies through OJEU via TED. This means that, for example, a UK public authority procuring specialist offshore trenching and vessel services for a governmentfunded offshore renewables project can receive tenders from specialist construction companies throughout the EU. It also means that UK companies, for example a UK architectural business, can tender for a commission to design a high profile development project in Spain on the same basis as companies based in other EU member states.

But post-Brexit, without a deal, this position would change.

The government’s plans if there’s a no-deal Brexit The government’s guidance and the draft Regulations, along with the draft explanatory memorandum on those Regulations, show that there will be a number of changes to the procurement regime in the UK if there’s a no deal Brexit: First, the UK is aiming to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA).

The GPA is an international trade deal that the UK currently participates in by virtue of its EU membership, but in a NoDeal Brexit world the UK will need to become a member itself.

The draft Regulations would give suppliers from countries party to the WTO Government

Procurement Agreement on exit day (and so including EU member states) the right to access the UK market for an eight month period, before the UK is anticipated to join the GPA in its own right.

Second, the UK is developing a UK e-notification service to replace OJEU / TED. From exit day all new contract notices will be posted on there which it refers to as ‘a replacement UKspecific e-notification service’.

The guidance states that the requirement to advertise, and ability to access, other current UK domestic systems will remain e.g. Contracts Finder, MOD Defence Contracts Online, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI.

So, has the government provided clarity?

In part, yes. The government has set out in the draft Regulations as to what changes it sees as necessary to the procurement regime if there’s a no-deal Brexit.

However, there is still a number of gaps. The explanatory memorandum says there are some ‘deficiencies’ in the draft Regulations still to be fixed (without stating what those are) which need further review and discussion. There’s also no certainty as to whether the draft Regulations will ever come into force, if the UK leaves with a deal, or what further changes may be made to the final version.

UK public authorities, construction companies, construction industry professionals and other construction industry businesses may also be concerned that, during a period in which they dealing with other challenges that may arise for their businesses due to Brexit (such as skill and labour shortages) they will potentially also have to familiarise themselves with a new UK e-notification service in a very short space of time.

One thing is clear though, with no Withdrawal Agreement (yet) in place and with the Brexit date looming in a matter of weeks, UK public authorities and the construction industry will need as much guidance and certainty as possible before exit day on 29 March.

Kathrine Eddon is Head of Public Procurement and Michelle Essen is Managing Associate in Construction at Womble Bond Dickinson. Womble Bond Dickinson is a transatlantic law firm with more than 1000 lawyers based in 27 UK and US office locations. The firm has a particular focus on 11 key sectors: Energy & Natural Resources, Financial Institutions, Healthcare, Insurance, Manufacturing, Real Estate, Retail & Consumer, Transport, Logistics & Infrastructure, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences, Technology and Private Wealth.

For more information, please see

www.womblebonddickinson.com/uk

9

Housing

No place like home David Lett explains why the housing crisis needs more attention

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helter is considered one of three basic physiological needs of any human along with food and clothing. For much of our evolution we sought out any shelter we could find to meet our need for feeling protected and safe. The quality of the shelter we acquired directly impacted how long we might live.

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David Lett

At some point in our history we decided to use the term Home to describe this shelter and to shape varied and multi-layered meanings for what a Home meant to us. The meaning of the term Home became richer in its human definition and beyond simply being a place that protects us from the elements, other animals or humans. It came to reflect the

type of person we are, the place we hold within a community (or society), our wealth, our tastes, our interests, and/or our hobbies.

What a Home means to each of us is diverse and matters greatly.

As humans, we seek meaningful life experiences and many of these are centred on and influenced by where we live or the Home we live in. In more recent times, a

new meaning has emerged – the belief that our Home is also an investment asset, one that grows in value over time and one that we can realise personal wealth through.

It could be argued that our pursuit for wealth through our Home combined with a house building programme that produces too few houses each year has fuelled a housing crisis.

However, both of these elements (an investment focus and too few houses being built) is also fuelling a more serious crisis and one that I term the ‘lack of a meaningful Home crisis’. This is not a crisis because people do not have a house that affords them protection from the elements (although many still do) but because people lack a Home they can invest in through the personal experiences they shape in their Home.

Imagine for a moment if a newly built house could think for itself. Perhaps it might wonder ‘who will come to claim me and shape me into a Home?’ A newly built house is in effect a Home in waiting, a place that people can live in and shape meaningful life experiences through. A house is a functional place, a Home has a far richer set of meanings and if we find ourselves living in what we perceive is simply a house, then that richness of meaning is lost to us while we live there. For example, if we are a family of five crammed into two rooms of a large house then we are practically provided for, but are we psychologically and philosophically provided for?

One of the research pioneers into how humans find and shape personal meaning was an Austrian Psychiatrist and Neurologist: Viktor Frankl. Based on his direct experiences in the concentration camps of World War II, Frankl concluded that humans reach out into the world, actively engaging with it, searching for learning and

meaning. He believed that we seek meaningful life experiences and define this meaning in three ways: practically (through the facts), psychologically (through beliefs we shape) and philosophically (through what we feel).

Powerful impact When we walk into a house for the first time (as a potential buyer) we assess that house in terms of how we find it practically (including how close it is to schools, work, etc), whether we believe (think) it would suit us in terms of its layout, cost of upkeep, etc and how we feel about it. Our first impressions (feelings) stay with us and many people decide within a few minutes whether it stays a house or feels like a home to be shaped further by them.

The Housing Crisis needs more attention because the very wellbeing of thousands of people is being impacted by where they live and the fact they are only having their practical needs met. Their psychological and philosophical needs are far from being met and this limits the richness of their lives – it restricts the meaningful experiences they could have if they were in a Home.

In my experience, Homes can have a powerful impact on how we find and shape meaningful lives. They are a catalyst that helps us define who we are. If we just live in a house then this meaning is diluted and reduced.

Homes help us form relationships, they are places we can be proud of, we seek to raise strong families in them and we form a strong connection to them. Strong families are building blocks of strong communities and strong communities bundle together to shape strong and progressive societies. Homes have a direct role in shaping strong families, communities and societies – they are meaning creation tools.

Yet the financial crisis of 2007/8 had its routes in a core principle

that a home is first and foremost a wealth creation asset. This was a practical (and analytical) focus that became such a distraction that we lost sight of the richer meanings that we can shape with our Homes.

For one last time, imagine you are now 100 years old and perhaps you know your life is coming to an end. You are sitting in your favourite seat overlooking your garden and the back of your Home where you have lived for the last 30 years. You reflect on all the experiences that have been shaped in that very back garden, the grandchildren who have played in it, the family events, the friends you have entertained, the nourishment and love you poured into the plants, the books you have read, the tears you shed during quiet moments of sorrow.

Your memories are of people you loved, the hobbies you nurtured and you hope deep down in your heart that the next people who move in see it for what it is – a lovely Home that has been cherished and will continue to cherish.

The housing crisis needs attention not because people need shelter but because people need a place they can call Home.

David Lett is Co-Founder of New Meaning - ToolShed. ToolShed opened in June 2015 and has enabled more than 80 young people to start a career in construction. Over 85 per cent of graduates have progressed into work and/or further training. From many and varied challenging backgrounds, they had all left school with few or no qualifications.

ToolShed Construction has been under development over the past 12 months and on 10th September 2018, started to build its first zero energy passive house. This will be the first of many house building programmes in partnership with Beattie Passive; enabling it to offer more unpaid and paid work placement opportunities.

For more information, please see

www.toolshedbucks.co.uk

11

Blockchain

Pushing the

boundaries

Blockchain: Disruption is the name of the game in the construction industry.

By Sajal Karanwal and Muneeb I Shah

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or industries like engineering, construction management and real estate, collaboration and complexity are core aspects of their practice. Those involved in these sectors are often juggling multiple contracts, with varying deadlines. With so much money at stake in these interconnected processes, industries are perpetually prone to disputes and challenges surrounding cost, trust, data efficiency, payment terms, confidentiality, material tracking and traceability, multi-party aggregation, and adequacy of automation processes.

The high-risk environment of the construction industry partly contributes to stakeholders being overly cautious about sharing information. The sheer mass of documentation generated by construction projects means that even when digitised, accessing this documentation is challenging and can be time consuming, which results in higher costs.

Although in recent years, we have seen substantial technological innovation in the construction industry

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Sajal Karanwal

Muneeb l Shah

with systems such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Energy Asset Management (EAM) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in asset tracking, there have, so far, been limited advancements to assist and streamline transactions, but blockchain is fast becoming a change agent for this.

Blockchain acts as a decentralised data management and transaction system, existing between all the parties involved in a project. It allows a variety of groups to work more easily together using shared business processes that are encoded within a common platform. This means that blockchain can offer a solution to many of the challenges faced by the construction industry, as well as to the real estate and engineering industries by extension, by ensuring transactions are more secure and transparent. It can also ensure that investments are safer and faster for stakeholders.

Blockchain 101 Blockchain is a distributed and decentralised public ledger database that records every

transaction. Data is created by each and every transaction made, with details of the purchaser, seller, date, time and purchase amount being recorded. This data is bundled as a ‘block’ and the blocks are chained sequentially using transactional generated algorithms. With the increasing use of smart contracts (a computerised protocol that negotiates, verifies and automates the performance of a contract) the integrity of the transactions are maintained, making it virtually impossible to manipulate or alter data.

Moreover, since each user is working from an identical record – the public ledger – there is no need for reconciliation. This means costs are reduced and fulfilment is accelerated.

Blockchain technology can aid the construction industry in a number of ways. Chief among them, blockchain will allow companies to save substantial sums of money, by removing the cost of intermediaries involved in contract processing and payment.

Less documentation equals fewer fees. Music to the ears of all businesses!

Secondly, blockchain enables project delivery to be streamlined and payments to be simplified.

incorruptible source, by means of the smart contract.

Supply chain transparency Registering records Construction projects, even in their earliest stages, require a vast array of expertise from a number of sources and companies – from builders and site managers, to structural engineers, architects, suppliers/manufacturers and lawyers. As a matter of course, this involves multiple complex contracts, mountains of paperwork and a lot of lost time through changing drafts and new iterations.

Blockchain, in this case, plays a pivotal role in allowing all records to be stored digitally. When utilising blockchain and smart contracts, a centralised tracking system is created in which the parties involved define the rules and penalties around the project.

Blockchain can then automatically enforce those obligations as the project progresses, resulting in more efficient project management, along with a permanent, shared record of every transaction associated with a project and all the assets involved.

Everything is traceable This auditable record of transactions and certifications of events in the life cycle of the building, results in increasing connections between the client, right down to the individuals carrying out the design, monitoring, trade staff and the manufacturers of products. In construction projects, having a shared record of every transaction within a project creates an unbroken chain of trust between all key stakeholders. Everything is out in the open.

Furthermore, this provides the teams investigating and facilitating payment and cash flow activities such as auditors, banks and financial institutions all the required information from a single

Construction is a regulation-laden industry. The quality requirements are increasing, and the industry is looking towards ways it can ensure the sustainability of supply chain materials. Traceability and communication through the supply chain is growing in importance and this is another area where blockchain technology can offer support.

In the construction industry, blockchain can also help to remove third parties. For example, blockchain could replace the traceability certification body, PEFC, as a digital certification body, giving suppliers the opportunity to know exactly where their materials come from, rather than simply accepting that it is PEFC certified.

Additionally, with the simplicity of the smart contract, it becomes easier to track the entire process and identify areas of improvement or concern. For an ever more environmentally conscious world, blockchain can enable interested parties to monitor a project’s environmental footprint, by tracing the chemicals and substances that have been used throughout the supply chain, making it possible to activate change in the way materials are handled in future.

Using the blockchain’s permanent record, along with RFID, will allow materials to be traced to where they originate.

This results in easier inventory management, the ability to receive goods only as they are needed and a high degree of accuracy, which all leads to increased productivity and a reduction in cost.

Smarter energy infrastructure When it comes to creating an energy efficient infrastructure,

blockchain technology can support distributed electrical grids, where energy efficient buildings of all sizes, from small households to large airports, can become producers and sellers of energy with a high degree of autonomy. As energy efficient construction projects grow in popularity, off the back of global pressure to reduce harmful emissions, blockchain can be a foundation on which interconnected communities work efficiently and securely, without huge cost implications.

The revolution is coming…

Blockchain technology promises to revolutionise business processes across the construction industry. So far, the use of blockchain has been limited, but by using it along with other disruptive technologies, there is an opportunity to reduce costs, increase trust and transparency and ramp up productivity across projects. In order to achieve its full benefits, firms seeking industry leading status must continue to push the boundaries of blockchain and experiment with its potential uses, to really reap the benefits of this challenging technology.

Sajal Karanwal is Managing Consultant – Digital Solutions, and Muneeb I Shah, is Blockchain Partner, Blockchain Consulting & Advisory, Service Transformation, at Wipro Limited.

Wipro Limited is a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. It harnesses the power of cognitive computing, hyper-automation, robotics, cloud, analytics and emerging technologies to help clients adapt to the digital world and make them successful. A company recognised globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, Wipro has over 160,000 dedicated employees serving clients across six continents.

For more information, please see

www.wipro.com

13

news

n10 million Dublin development

The most beautiful bridge in the world Early December 2018 saw the opening of the Hålogaland bridge in Narvik, Norway - the longest suspension bridge within the Arctic Circle. The construction has been coated with Jotun Protective solutions to ensure long-lasting anti-corrosive performance in temperatures that can fluctuate by 40 degrees throughout the year, with winds in excess of 80 miles per hour.

Spanning 1533m across the Romsbak Fjord, the bridge cost NOK 3.5 billion and took five years to build.

Hege Karset Bjorgum, Global Concept Director Infrastructure, Jotun, gave more details of Jotun’s contribution to the project: “Working in close collaboration with China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group, a specialist in the construction of world class bridges, Jotun delivered and applied its high quality protective coatings to all 30 sections, over a ten month period. Its unique Jotamastic steel coating will enable this landmark project to endure the very harshest natural environments, linking communities, improving communications, and delivering lasting benefits for the local economies.

“Jotun also undertook a thorough training programme with the main contractors and oversaw the quality control of all surface application and finishing. This involved stringent technical inspections in China, as well as delivering on-site expertise during the actual installation process in Narvik.”

State-of-the-art offices GRAHAM has been appointed as contractor on the new eye-catching office development, i9, set in the heart of the City of Wolverhampton Interchange. i9 emerged as a scheme following the success of the award-winning i10 complex on the opposite side of the road and will provide 50,000 sq ft of stunning Grade A office space when completed in 2020.

Glenn Howells Architects’ design for i9 was the winner from a strong field of ten UK leading architects and urban design practices in a national design competition.

Steve Parry, managing director of Ion, commented: “The appointment of GRAHAM offers the next step towards this much anticipated office building for Wolverhampton.

The i10 development has already proven that new occupiers are attracted to the location.”

John Maguire, Regional Business Development Director for GRAHAM’s Birmingham office, added: “We are pleased to have been appointed as the main contractor on the i9 – a significant new headquarters building that benefits from a prime location and highspec office facilities.”

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Balfour Beatty has been appointed by Global Student Accommodation to deliver the construction of a 112-bed student accommodation development and its associated facilities, spanning across seven floors.

Works have commenced on the new €10 million Gloucester Place Student Accommodation site in Dublin, Ireland, with completion expected in Spring 2020, ahead of the new academic term. At construction peak, Balfour Beatty will employ a direct workforce of 100 people.

As part of its commitment to reducing onsite construction by 25 per cent by 2025, the company will use high-quality modular bathroom units to increase efficiencies and drive forward delivery of the scheme.

Alan Garvin, Managing Director of Balfour Beatty’s regional construction business in Ireland, said: “This is another great win for our business in Ireland.

We are delighted to play our part in providing students in Dublin with a modern and stimulating building.

“We have worked closely with Global Student Accommodation since June 2018. Early engagement has enabled us to play an instrumental role in the design, methodology and logistics of the scheme and we look forward to building on this relationship as the project progresses.” Balfour Beatty has been operating in Ireland for over ten years, supported by long-term collaborative relationships.

Accident prevention technology In the UK, just over 2.73 million people are employed in construction sector jobs.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, there were 196 fatalities in the construction industry in Great Britain in the five years to 2017. Of these, ten per cent were workers being struck by a moving vehicle.

A range of safety systems is available to assist construction companies in keeping their staff safe. On-board camera systems can help to alert drivers to possible dangers, while reversing and warning alarms alert workers

when a vehicle is manoeuvring near them.

Brigade’s reversing alarms harness high-spec broadband sound frequency, emitting a wide range of white sound frequencies.

These enable workers to locate the direction of the sounds instantly. Rather than the old style ‘beep beep’, Brigade’s bbs-tek® White Sound® reversing alarms create a ‘ssh-ssh’ sound, which dissipates quickly. This means the alarm can only be heard in the danger zone, so there is more chance of alarmweary workers paying attention.

The broadband frequency

also gives workers wearing ear protection devices a better chance of hearing the alarm.

Radar systems, such as Brigade’s latest Backsense® Radar sensor system (BS-8000), alert the operator to potential risks.

Backsense® works by emitting a continuous-wave radar that is faster than pulsed-radar products.

As technology moves forward, systems are being developed to address the need for multiple sensors, which have the ability to cover large, complex blind spot areas.

Inspiring students and staff Construction has started on two new Quad buildings for Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) which form the next exciting phase of the award-winning masterplan for the Grangegorman project. Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBStudios) and AHR were appointed by the Eriugena consortium to design the Central and East Quads respectively for the new Grangegorman Campus. The c.€200m quads will deliver over 50,000m2 of academic space and will act as landmarks at the heart of the campus.

Central quad, designed by FCBStudios, is a contemporary and dynamic interpretation of the collegiate quad model.

It will house shared teaching and learning facilities for the university and create an open and welcoming space to foster and encourage collaboration.

East quad, designed by AHR, will provide a centre of excellence for creative and performing arts and media at DIT and features a series of dramatic atria spaces to provide a focus and identity for each of the schools, within a publicly accessible environment, which will host concerts and exhibitions throughout the year.

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Exhibition preview - UK CONCRETE Show 2019

UK CONCRETE SHOW 2019 A must visit show for any company that supplies products or services to the Concrete Industry, The UK CONCRETE Show 2019 is set to be bigger and better than ever before

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ith just three months or so until the doors open (20th - 21st March, NEC, Birmingham) the show - the biggest stand alone concrete show in Europe - is now rapidly filling up. Lots of exhibitors are returning from the last event, plus new attendees are signing up alongside those returning after taking a break.

Now in its 9th consecutive year, the show organisers expect over 200 exhibitors representing 200 product groups, highlighting everything from cement and precast manufacturing products, to pumps, admixtures, reinforcement, testing and repair. Alongside the comprehensive exhibition, there

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is also a combination of industryspecific seminars and workshop sessions. The final program will be announced in early January so don’t forget to check on the website www.concreteshow. co.uk for all our latest news and initiatives.

Come along to the Show and see the fantastic group of exhibitors - the latest companies to book their stands include ScanMaskin, Cubic3, Hendriks, My Wood, Bay-Lynx, Liebherr, PICS, Janser, Curetec, Camfaud, Bibko, Guard Industry, Columbia Machinery, Towergate Insurance, Francis Flower, McPhee Mixers, Leada Acrow, Blastrac, Adomast, Hanson ……. and many more.

Thanks to this mix of exhibition and conference, the show is a magnet for senior specifying

and purchasing personnel who appreciate the chance to both maintain and expand their supply chains in the off-season at one convenient and comfortable venue.

The Show is now a month or so later in the calendar from its traditional February slot. Industry feedback indicates that this move was a fantastic idea and that the Show is now perfectly timed for the UK buyer, a great opportunity for companies to launch new products and offer some really hot show deals.

The UK CONCRETE Show takes place in halls 17 & 18 at the NEC, Birmingham. Covering 12,000 sq metres of hall space, halls 17 & 18 are also more convenient for visitors, as the car parks will only be a short walk away

20th-21st March 2019 / NEC, Birmingham, UK Exhibitors include :

and there will also be a limited outdoor demo arena, perfect for companies to demonstrate their products.

The UK CONCRETE Show 2019 will build on it successful past and will repeat the exciting new features that were so well received at the last event including a live BIM for concrete demo and interactive visitor experience, a technical advice clinic and of course lots of live demos.

But the show can still offer even more and there are some fantastic

new initiatives planned for the 2019.

With over 85 per cent of available space already sold or allocated, the UK CONCRETE Show 2019 is predicted to be a bumper event. In fact, there is no other exhibition and conference that comes close to The UK CONCRETE Show in delivering the ROI for specialist industry suppliers – unlike general, broader based construction shows, everyone in the hall has one thing in common – concrete!

ACTIVE MOULDS ADDEX GROUP ADOMAST MANUFACTURING AGG SMART AMICUS INSURANCE SOLUTIONS APILON ARMCON CEMENTECH ASSYX B & B ATTACHMENTS BARON UK BARTELL GLOBAL - SPE BAY- LYNX MANUFACTURING INC BETON MACHINERY BIANCHI BIBKO GMBH BLASTRAC UK BMS BETON MAKINE SERVIS BRANDON HIRE CAMFAUD CONCRETE PUMPS CANTECH CDS CURING CEMEN TECH UK CMT EQUIPMENT COLUMBIA MACHINE INC. COMMAND ALKON CON FORMS EUROPE CONCRETE SERVICES & SUPPLIES CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY CONPLEX BV CONSPARE CONSTRUX CONTEC GmbH / PWM SALES COOPER RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY COOTE ENGINEERING CUBIC3 DIRECT ® CUNNINGHAM COVERS CureTec Energietechnik GmbH & Co. KG DANFORDS DE BUF EKC SYSTEMS ELEMATIC OY AB ELKEM ELKON ELEVATOR KONVEYOR MAKINA SANAYI TICARET A.S. EURO-ACCESSORIES EUROBEND GmbH FAST-FORM SYSTEMS FLS FLOOR LEVELLING SYSTEMS FMC FLEETTRAK FOREST PRESS HYDRAULICS FRANCIS FLOWER (NORTHERN) GUARD INDUSTRY HAARUP HANSON HAWKEYE PEDERSHAAB HENDRIKS PRECON BV HERBST MANUFACTURING HTC FLOOR SYSTEMS HYDRONIX

HYMIX INSUL HUB i-THESES JANSER UK JET MATERIALS JONESCO KELLY TANKS KME STEELWORKS KVM INTERNATIONAL A/S LEADA ACROW LEGOBETON BV LIEBHERR MARCANTONINI CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY MAKINEX UK MARTEK INDUSTRIES MASA MCPHEE MIXERS MESTO Spritzenfabrik Ernst Stockburger GmbH MINDER SOFTWARE MULTIQUIP (UK) MY WOOD NATIONAL FLOORING EQUIPMENT NORDIMPIANTI OMAG SERVICES GMBH ORTHOS + EIRICH OSCRETE CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS PATTERN IMPRINTED CONCRETE SUPPLIES PENTA PNEUTROL INTERNATIONAL PRECAST CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY PREMIER MBP PREPTEC EQUIPMENT SERVICES PRESSVESS PROBST HANDLING EQUIPMENT PROCEQ UK PROCTER JOHNSON (T/A PJ COLOURS) PROGRESS GROUP AG PUK SERVICES PUTZMEISTER QUADRA RAWLPLUG EIBENSTOCK-REFINA ROADMASTER CONCRETE MIXERS EUROPE ROTHO SCANMASKIN SWEDEN AB SICOMA - OMG GROUP SILTBUSTER SKAKO CONCRETE A/S SOMERO SPS CN HARDWARE INDUSTRY STUART CANVAS GROUP THE UTRANAZZ GROUP TOMTOM TELEMATICS TOPWERK GROUP TOWERGATE INSURANCE WIL EL MIL ENGINEERING WILCOX COMMERCIAL VEHICLES YOUNG BLACK

For further information visit:

www.concreteshow.co.uk Tel: +44(0) 203 086 9296

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Power in unity The acquisition of Brandon Hire has enabled Hire Station to extend its geographic presence around the UK, as the tool and equipment hire specialist continues to refine its customer service offering

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he tool hire sector, especially in its core tools segment, is known to be an extremely competitive marketplace whose homogeneous product range makes it a game of tight margins for equipment hire companies. In such conditions, what remains to be done by providers is to develop and maintain the highest level of customer service that will lift them above the competition. One company that has made a name for itself as a trustworthy and customer-friendly business, which can always supply its customers with whatever they are looking for, is Hire Station. Part of the Vp plc group – a specialist asset management organisation, Vp plc has been trading for over 60 years, the last ten of which the company has dedicated to becoming an unrivalled expert in equipment rental.

“For us, to be successful in a business sphere like ours, it meant that we had to rely extensively on the quality of service we wanted to deliver, as well as to ensure the availability of key and most sought-after equipment at all times,” begins Brandon Hire Station’s Head of marketing and ecommerce, Mark Moody. “We have focused on guaranteeing

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that all of our top hired products are always available in any of our branches around the country.

The goal is to have them ready for same day collection and next day delivery, although in some cases, we can also provide same day delivery. Needless to say, we are also extremely careful in processing customer orders, making sure that we get all the information correct and act upon it in a timely fashion.”

Strong brand presence Vp plc acquired a number of large regional businesses that were then amalgamated into Hire Station. In the latest, and yet most significant, acquisition to date, Brandon Hire was made part of the group, its name being added to Hire Station

to form an even stronger brand of two well-known specialist companies whose complementing strengths are supposed to increase Vp plc’s footprint in the plant hire area. Having acquired Brandon, we have grown our sites from 57 to 200, which has inevitably allowed us to establish a very strong brand presence in the region. Without a doubt, we are now a national business with far better distribution than the one we had only two years ago. All this means we can serve our local customers a lot more effectively, which will remain a continuous requirement for future success,” Mark explains.

As a result of the combination of Hire Station and Brandon Hire, a rebrand followed to incorporate the best of both worlds and to inform the customers of the two entities about the increased number of opportunities they can make the most of from now on. “With Hire Station being synonymous with aspects such as asset management, strong fleet, and guaranteed availability of products, and Brandon Hire being a familiar name in the SME market, in particular, where it has formed valuable business relationships, we thought it would be beneficial to demonstrate,

BRANDON Hire Station

through our new name, that we have got something new to offer to existing and prospective clients alike. For example, immediately after the acquisition, we went on to purchase new equipment which we have started to disseminate through the Brandon business, and so we would like its customers to know that an investment in the fleet has been made and they could take advantage of the business’ improved proposal.

Similarly, Hire Station customers should now be aware that we have grown the number of our outlets and expanded to new geographic areas,” Mark discusses.

Bigger and better Presenting itself under its new name with the aim of further popularising the Brandon Hire Station brand, is also one of the main reasons why the company is taking a stand at this year’s UK Concrete Show, which will be held in Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC) on the 20th and 21st March. Billed as Europe’s number one specialist concrete event, the show provides the ideal platform for the tool and equipment hire specialist to claim its ambition of strengthening its position in the concrete sector. Mark adds: “We are hoping to grow in this niche and, therefore, we would like to let people know that we have more and newer concrete equipment available in a greater number of locations that can help them in the processes of mixing, finishing, and polishing, to mention but a few. As Vp plc has always been all about servicing specialists, each of its divisions being a market leader in its respective sector, it makes good sense to move into concrete, because there is a host of specialist businesses we can support with our services. It is a sector that fits with our DNA and ethos and the recent investments we have made are a positive message to send to the market that in the future we want to be

recognised as a leading brand in this particular area.”

Going on to comment on the benefits for Brandon Hire Station of being part of Vp plc, Mark highlights the flexibility the various entities are given in their operations. “It is good to see that each of the businesses is free to work as a specialist in its sector and that the group does not force collaboration if it is not required.

This is not to say that we do not transfer ideas and best practices between companies. While we operate in very different markets, occasionally there is an overlap on customers and when this happens, usually on some significant contracts, we work very closely with our sister companies.”

For Brandon Hire Station, the better part of 2018 was dedicated to, as Mark says, ‘making plans and putting the building blocks in place for the full-on integration of Brandon Hire and Hire Station.’

“We have been upping our investment and driving the process of consolidating suppliers, as the big goal of 2019 will be to bring the two brands together, as a bigger and better business,” he sums up.

Brandon Hire Station www.brandonhirestation.co.uk Services: Tool and equipment hire

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Photo credit: Jeremy Phillips

Set in concrete

For almost three decades, PICS has been supporting the pattern imprinted and decorative concrete industry, growing from strength-to-strength and further expanding with its acquisition of the Hatcrete colour division of Roy Hatfield Ltd in 2016, which has made PICS a major coloured concrete products player in the Industrial Flooring, Pre-cast and Readymix sectors

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hen visitors to The UK CONCRETE Show 2019 arrive at Birmingham’s NEC on 20th and 21st March, they will be greeted by a veritable smorgasbord of companies exhibiting their products and services at what is the biggest stand-alone concrete show in Europe. Now in its ninth year, of the more than 200 exhibitors expected to appear there will be the usual mix of seasoned participants and firsttimers, and among the latter contingent will be PICS, which before now has been a frequent visitor to the event, using it as the ideal platform to meet with its customers and peers within the wider concrete market.

PICS itself is far from a newcomer to the concrete industry, having supported the pattern imprinted concrete sector since 1992 with decorative concrete products that are either manufactured at its stateof-the-art production facility, Toll Blended for other clients,

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designed in-house or sourced from specialist suppliers. Built upon a network of concrete paving systems that have been proven to produce consistent reliability and offer long term durability and low life time costs, PICS supplies products to paving installers, main contractors and commercial clients and homeowners, whilst providing design and specification services for architects, surveyors and specifiers from design stage through to installation.

Committed to supporting the growth and development of its customers’ businesses, PICS also provides a range of support services including technical support, training and marketing.

So, what makes March 2019 the right time for PICS to make its first appearance as an exhibitor at The UK CONCRETE Show?

As National Sales Manager John Grant explains, it has much to do with the company’s well publicised acquisition of the Hatcrete colour division of Roy Hatfield Ltd in June 2016.

“Prior to the acquisition, we

were already experienced in manufacturing certain products for Roy Hatfield Ltd, and also being based near to its depot operation in Sheffield, made PICS the perfect fit when it became clear that the company was looking to sell its decorative concrete business. In taking on the product range of Hatcrete, we have also seen an increase in our production levels, which has resulted in new people being brought into the business, bringing the total number of employees up to over 40.”

In the time since the acquisition, PICS successfully integrated manufacturing plant previously operated by Hatfield’s and has invested considerable capital in its machinery and equipment, and integrated its product range into its existing portfolio. “Since this purchase was completed, it has greatly increased our customer base, particularly in the industrial flooring and readymix markets where we are now able to offer a range of specialist products including Hatcrete Colourmix, Adcolour, water and solvent-

PICS

based Cure & Seal sealant products, and industrial quartz colour hardener solutions,” he details. “Our increased integral colour product range has also helped to open more doors into the Pre-cast concrete products sector.”

What this means is that, while PICS retains an extremely healthy position within its primary area of business, which is the serving of pattern imprinted concrete installers looking to install new driveways or patios to domestic properties, it has also become increasingly involved in major projects for all manner of clients.

This includes selling patterned or coloured concrete products for use on the London Underground, on Blackpool Seafront, at various theme parks and zoos, and across a wide number of Drive-Thru’ restaurants including McDonalds, KFC and Starbucks.

Product showcase As we speak to John in the weeks leading up to the company taking a stand at The UK CONCRETE Show 2019, he has a good idea of the sort of message he hopes to convey to those visiting over the two days. “One of the key messages that I want to get across, is the wide range of applications where our printed, coloured and decorative concrete can and has been used,” he details. “I hope that by showcasing how decorative concrete has touched everything from the walkways of Legoland or Blackpool Seafront, to numerous motorway bridge projects throughout Scotland for Scottish Highways, we can create greater awareness of the flexibility of our products, on top of the known qualities of strength and durability that concrete has long been recognised with.

“Additionally, we want to use our presence at The UK CONCRETE Show 2019 to showcase our newly redesigned

website, which now incorporates the full Hatcrete range of industrial flooring solutions. With this we hope that more potential customers from that field gain a better understanding of who we are at PICS and how we can now offer these, and other, products.

Furthermore, we will also be on hand to provide our customers with a detailed breakdown of the latest set of Guidance Notes for the installation of imprinted concrete from The Concrete Society.”

Coming off the back of a strong 2018 from a sales and

growth perspective, John and the rest of the PICS team want to continue to gain momentum during 2019. This push will also see the company make appearances at other major events and conferences throughout the year including the World of Concrete event in the United States, the Flood Expo 2019 and Evolving Concrete 2019. “In core markets such as the home improvement arena we expect to see demand for imprinted concrete and concrete-related services remain consistent, while the strengthening of our product proposition from the continued integration of Hatcrete will help bring in greater volumes of business from the industrial flooring world. As such, we are confident that 2019 will be a year where we take PICS to the next level,” John concludes.

PICS www.picsuk.com Products: Pattern imprinted concrete

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Professional Sub Floor Prep GRINDING MACHINES

by Janser For more than 30 years, Janser UK has served the UK flooring industry with a wide range of machines, tools, and handling equipment

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ffering a vast array of products, Janser UK’s range includes floor grinding and preparation machines, incorporating the latest technology with regards to diamond grinding segments, as well as hand-held grinding machines.

As Sales Director, Caius Kane noted, what sets Janser’s machines apart from the competition is both quality, and also a willingness to listen to customer feedback. “We are known for regularly freshening our product range by introducing new items, which improve on-site results significantly,” he said.

“When doing that, we always take into account the views and comments made by machine users, who are the people whose requirements matter most in our development of new products.

Wherever possible, we also make improvements based on field reports keeping ourselves close

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Above: Colibri machine

to operators and making sure that we understand real working environments.”

Keen to highlight all the benefits of its range of machines to a wide audience, Janser UK is exhibiting at the UK Concrete Show at the NEC in Birmingham in March. Multiple demonstrations of some of its special floor grinding machines and floor strippers will be performed at the Show – and as a Media Partner of the event, Construction & Civil Engineering is pleased to be able to highlight a selection of Janser UK’s machines that show visitors can expect to see.

Colibri The Colibri floor grinding machine from JANSER provides

high performance whilst being extremely user friendly and weighing in at only 35kg (an optional extra weight is available if required). The machine has a very impressive 2,600 rpm making short work of any small/medium size grinding tasks.

The machine has two disc options – the PCD plate ‘Piranha’, which is used for grinding down stubborn residual adhesives, varnishes or carpet backings where aggressive grinding is needed. The other plate is the ‘Universal’ - perfect for grinding of screed coatings, anhydrites etc…

A one centre bolt quick change locking mechanism means plate change is simple, on this virtually maintenance-free machine.

The handle can be adjusted to suit different preferred working positions, and can be completely folded to make the Colibri easy to transport in compacted form. The machine is supplied with a dust guard skirting and

JANSER UK

can be easily connected to a vacuum system for dust free, environmentally-friendly working conditions.

Dia-Disc

Columbus 135 + Janvac 1600 Kit

BS-330 The BS-330 is a robust grinding machine, perfect for mediumsized contracts, and has a brilliant edge grinding feature, where, after a quick and very simple grinding head adjustment, the machine is capable of grinding right up to the wall. This feature vastly speeds up edge grinding, which is otherwise carried out using a smaller separate, normally hand-held, machine.

The BS comes complete with a Quick-Change base plate, onto which either three or six grinding segments can be fitted.

Janser carries a wide range of grinding segments to cover almost any surface that’s likely to be found on site! The machine can be linked to a vacuum for dust extraction and works well with both Janser’s ‘Janvac’, and the continuous dust bag system machine - the 340LP, or the 510-LP. The BS-330 is available in 110v or 240v, the working width is 330mm,

and the machine weighs in at just over 65kg.

Below: BS-330 grinder

Columbus Range The Columbus is Janser’s popular, long-standing contractors’ favourite, single-disc grinding machine. Available in three motor sizes, the Columbus 135, the basic model; the Columbus 145; and the Columbus 155, with a 2000-watt motor.

The Columbus is a real allrounder, capable of many tasks with a simple disc change mechanism. Often used for preparing screeded floors, the 145 and 155 models are perfect for excellent results when working on wooden/parquet floors, when sanding before, and between, sealing and varnishing coats.

For the grinding of sub-floors the Columbus range can be fitted with a host of different discs/ sheet attachments for various flooring tasks. The Dia-Disc (see image) with PCD inserts makes fast work of grinding of screeds, anhydrite screed prep, and scraping of residual material and coatings.

The reputation of Columbus has been built on superb build quality and reliability, with the

result being a robust machine for all site conditions. With a simple raising/lowering of the control handle the Columbus glides across floor surface, efficiently grinding, through its three-gear planetary transmission designed to cope with the very toughest tasks.

Each of the Columbus models can be easily connected to ‘Janvac’ or similar suitable vacuum system for efficient dust extraction on site. The Columbus 135 and 145 models are available in both 110v and 240v. Janser UK holds all disc attachments, abrasive discs and sandpapers from stock - and offers full inhouse back up with regard to spares and servicing.

The Columbus really is the ever-popular all-rounder!

Janser UK www.janser-uk.co.uk Services: Innovative floor fitting equipment

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Precast is the future A forward-thinking software developer, i-Theses is expanding its offering to the global precast market, having developed modules that can be applied to precast floors, beams, columns, and stairs during the construction process

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ed by its mission to penetrate every single segment of the precast concrete industry with its technologicallyadvanced tools, the specialist in calculating and design software solutions i-Theses has grown steadily in the last three decades. A series of innovations in its product offering, as well as the formation of fruitful business partnerships with likeminded companies have enabled the Belgium-based developer to craft solutions that integrate the complete production process.

This means that the i-Theses’ software, known as PrecastOffice, takes care of operations such as project management, design, loads planning, production planning, quality control, stock/stockyard management, and logistics. In addition, the company’s tools are all BIM-integrated (building information modelling), thus facilitating the production process and shortening time to market.

Having demonstrated shrewdness in staying in line with market needs, i-Theses has time and again proven its skills in developing working software

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Main image: AutoStairs – 3D Design application for precast stairs

solutions that can efficiently tackle existing challenges encountered by precast concrete manufacturers.

This, in combination with the company’s continuous drive for improvement and the desire to always introduce more and more ingenious products, has turned i-Theses into a trustworthy partner that never fails to deliver and exceed its promises.

“Historically, we were a longterm Gold Partner of Autodesk, but in May 2018, the i-Theses Autodesk VAR Division was acquired by The Monnoyeur Group and transferred to its software distribution brand,” Rony Verlee, CEO Sales of i-Theses, explains the structural changes that have recently taken place in the company. “This allowed us to focus solely on the precast industry and we are now expanding our portfolio of software applications considerably, reaching out to areas like beams and columns, as well as stairs, as opposed to just the flooring segment.”

Highlighting this approach has been the development of new Planners for production planning for the aforementioned

markets, which will be showcased by i-Theses at Europe’s leading specialist concrete exhibition – the UK Concrete Show in Birmingham, in March 2019.

The end of 2018 brought about a new strategic partnership for i-Theses, which joined forces with Trimble – the developer of the structural BIM software Tekla Structures, to simplify fabrication workflows in the precast concrete industry. With both companies declaring their commitment for joint development, it is expected that seamless data flow will be made easier between the two software applications, allowing for more streamlined precast design, detailing, and production workflows for their customers.

This, in turn, will reduce manual work and human errors, and improve the efficiency of the said processes. In the early stages of the partnership, Trimble’s Tekla Structures will exchange data in i-Theses’ Floordesk Planning Software applications.

“It is clearly observable that there is a need for easier sharing of information and making it more accessible for the users,” Rony

i-Theses

comments on some of the ongoing trends within the industry, and the company’s ideas of how it might take advantage of them. “We are currently developing web-based programmes for capacity planning and project management that can be accessed from anywhere, on any device, provided that this device is connected to the Internet. It will benefit our clients who, even when they are on the road, will be able to check what the production capacity will be in the next weeks or months.

It is a big move we are making in the planning discipline and our efforts there are going to be one of the major focus areas for the business in the years to come,” he discusses.

When i-Theses first began exploring the possibilities of software development for precast concrete manufacturers in the 1990s, the company concentrated

Top left: AutoBeco – Parametric design for Beams and Columns Top right: New FloorDesk CapacityPlanner – web based planning tool for precast building parts Below: Integrated calculation of prestressed hollow core planks

on targeting predominantly its domestic Belgian market. Having risen to and maintained the position of a market leader at home, the business decided to pursue ambitions that would put it under the spotlight of other geographical areas, mainly in Europe and the UK. “We defined our goal to intensify our export activities about seven or eight years ago and one of the very first markets where we managed to establish a footprint in and be really successful, was the UK and Ireland, which also remains our biggest export market to this day,” Rony states.

“To me, the precast floor market in Britain is booming. We were there recently to meet a number of customers and it seems that the opportunities there are endless,” he says, expressing his

optimism about the prospects the industry faces in the UK. “Precast is definitely the future. In January 2018, the UK government vowed to build 300,000 new homes every year until the mid-2020s, which is a clear indication that a lot of work will be done within the next decade, and our goal is to develop a host of new and innovative software tools to optimise the entire process.”

As much as i-Theses is eager to strengthen its positon in Europe, the company is also trying to gain a foothold in the Middle East – a region it has identified to hold untapped potential, due to the large number of construction schemes that are being launched at the moment in this part of the world. “Looking into the more distant future, one of the biggest objectives for the organisation is to build a presence in areas we have not targeted before,” Rony notes.

“Simultaneously, we will continue to enrich our portfolio of solutions with new tools that will enable us to be a leading provider in every section of the precast concrete industry, covering the complete workflow and having it as integrated as possible,” he concludes.

i-Theses www.i-theses.com Services: Software solutions for the precast industry

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Exhibition preview - FUTUREBUILD 2019

FUTUREBUILD 2019 Challenging construction and engineering professionals

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uturebuild is the leading built environment event for construction and engineering professionals to converge and learn, be inspired and do business.

Taking place from 05-07 March 2019, the event will focus on exploring and tackling the biggest challenges impacting the industry, and will be a unique destination for visitors to gain unrivalled insight and hands-on experience around the latest innovations, products and materials in order to address these challenges.

The packed three-day programme, which has been developed in conjunction with renowned, industry leading partners, will offer visitors a wide range of opportunities to broaden their knowledge, including free CPD sessions.

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Time for Action – Meeting challenges and making commitments Central to Futurebuild is the ecobuild conference, which will inspire visitors to take action on the most pressing challenges through insights and learnings from leading experts. With an overarching theme of ‘Time for Action’, the conference sessions will be collaborative forums where visitors will develop plans for implementing change and proposing action for a more sustainable future.

Futurebuild will tackle a total of 12 challenges, including ‘The Environment challenge – how can we enhance the environment in a postBrexit world?’. ‘The Quality Challenge – why can’t we build better buildings?’ will also be addressed by Robin Nicholson

of Cullinan Studio, Ben Derbyshire of RIBA and Kath Fontana of RICS. Other topics include: how to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals; how to transform existing homes through behaviour change and deep retrofits; how construction can break down barriers to reuse and remanufacture and tap into circular economy; how to put health and wellbeing at the centre of design; how to achieve a built environment fit for 2050; how to respond to the climate crisis and how the UK can overcome the housing crisis.

New and exclusive features Outside the conference arena, Futurebuild will be bolstered by a range of new and exclusive partnerships and features.

5th-7th March 2019 / Excel, london

Among these is the Knowledge Forum – a dedicated area where industry-leading partners, academia and professional bodies will offer a comprehensive look at the biggest issues facing the built environment. Hosting CPD workshops, the Knowledge Forum will provide useful solutions and guidance for visitors to take back to the office.

The Waste Zone will return with new and expanded features.

Curated by architect, academic and author Duncan Baker-Brown, the area will showcase how waste can be a valuable resource for industry. Central to the experience will be the new Circular Economy Hub, which will take a unique beach hut format and feature a collection of hand-picked brands at the forefront of making the circular economy a reality.

In an exclusive first for the UK built environment sector, Futurebuild has also announced a partnership with GIGA – a leading organisation driving greater accessibility of international building product certifications via cloud software.

Future trends, products and materials The biggest brands from across the industry, including new and returning exhibitors, will be showcasing their latest innovations and technologies across six themed Hubs – each providing a platform for construction and engineering professionals to gain deeper insight and develop new relationships around the most important industry developments and opportunities.

The Buildings Hub will cover all aspects of building, including new build, retrofit and refurbishment. This will be the place where engineers can find innovative brands working across construction and maintenance – including Internorm, Mapei, Rockwool and Selectaglaze –

and engage in conversation around the latest technology and legislation.

The latest solutions across blue, green, grey and social infrastructure will be addressed in the Urban Infrastructure Hub. All aspects of the city will be covered, from the biophilic city and water management to biodiversity and landscaping. Exhibitors include ACO, Biotecture, Wavin, GreenTech, Ronacrete and ICE. In the Energy Hub, visitors will have access to a seminar programme which highlights the latest research and best practice, with exhibitors – including Flir, Pipex, Rhico and Termofol – demonstrating the latest technologies in the sector, including new advances in district energy and heating. With the imperative to meet targets under the Climate Change Act, all aspects of energy will be put under the spotlight in the Hub. The Offsite Hub will be hosted in partnership with Explore Offsite, to bring professionals an exhibition of offsite construction solutions and four trade bodyled seminar theatres. Visitors will also have access to exciting, full-scale builds and new system demonstrations that showcase the latest advance and innovations from across the globe.

Visitors can also gain new insights in the latest material

breakthroughs – from concrete and timber to steel and masonry – in the Materials Hub. The Hub is supported by The Concrete Centre and TRADA, with exhibitors including Nudura, Glavloc, Cemex UK, Creagh Concrete, Piveteaubois and Steico.

The Natural Building Area will also feature in the Hub, providing free educational information and showcasing natural materials and companies that work in the UK natural building industry.

New for 2019 is the Interiors Hub, where visitors will have the opportunity to meet with leading institutions and manufacturers – including Decolux, Delabie, Novy and Waldmann – to discuss pioneering products and collaboratively explore the impact of design on end users. The focus of the Hub will be firmly placed on design with purpose, with discussions including the WELL Building Standard, the Healthy Building Agenda and the impact of colour and light.

TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT VISIT:

www.futurebuild.co.uk/register-yourinterest-for-futurebuild-2019

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profile: Bourne Parking

Bourne into greatness

Founded on parent company Bourne Group’s history and expertise in steel modular engineering and construction, Bourne Parking is going from strength to strength with its fast, cost effective and innovative carpark solutions

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s the leading carpark design and build business in the UK, Bourne Parking has been responsible for the delivery of more than 45,000 spaces, over 85 completed carparks and approximately one million square metres of finished space in total.

Given its reputation in the marketplace and its track record of success, it is no surprise to learn that since last featuring in the pages of Construction & Civil Engineering in 2017, Bourne Parking has seen considerable growth, with the business having undertaken several large-scale projects for major clients such

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as Sky, Jaguar LandRover, the train operator GWR and Gatwick Airport. “The carpark construction environment has been buoyant for the past two years despite the impending uncertainties over Brexit, with several significant projects being undertaken particularly in the Rail, Aviation and Commercial sectors,” explained Karl Butters, Bourne Parking’s Managing Director, when asked about the main drivers of growth for the company. “However, with competition in the marketplace ever growing we have to ensure our solutions are not only the best from a performance and quality perspective but also can match against price and delivery,”

he continued. “This drives us to constantly innovate our products, systems and processes. Being a specialist company allows Bourne Parking to move away from traditional construction practices and work with our supply chain to deliver integrated solutions right from initial concept stages.”

Part of this non-traditional approach is the amount of work that Bourne Parking conducts within its factory, which results in a better product. Offsite construction cuts down on the number of people onsite and improves control and quality.

Bourne Parking is able to avoid the various weather conditions onsite that can adversely affect

the project and the safety of workers, and also ensure that it can further build upon its portfolio of products, and find ways to enhance their quality to an even more advanced level.

Another portion of Bourne Parking’s continued growth strategy has been to increase its profile amongst clients, fellow engineers and consultants. “This has enabled the company to get involved in projects during the early stages of development allowing us to capitalise on our strengths as a specialist design and build carpark contractor,” Karl highlighted, before giving more details regarding the value that this adds for clients: “Our in-house

design expertise enables us to quickly identify potential design efficiencies that can be integrated to improve both the viability of a scheme, whilst also providing an open flexible environment that is capable of adapting to the ever-changing requirements of a modern carpark.

“To this end, all our schemes are developed based around the best practice design guidance from the IstructE Design Recommendations for multi-storey and underground carparks (fourth edition) and in particular all our carparks incorporate easy to use ramps and column free parking and circulation.”

Renowned for not only being an

expert in the design and build of carparks, Bourne also prioritises the aesthetics of a project, delivering against the architectural vision of the client and the wider needs of a community.

“Offsite constructed modular buildings are often thought to be limited to bland, rectangular, buildings that all look and feel the same,” observed Karl. “However, with Bourne’s experience and maturity in the UK construction sector, our strength in structural engineering, the use of BIM 3D modelling integrated directly with manufacture, and a holistic approach to design of foundations, structure, electrical, mechanical security and control systems from day one of the project, we are able to produce really clever buildings.

These can be of varying shape, have sloping floors and can be clad using modular systems with almost any material, designed around the customer experience, traffic and pedestrian flows, whilst still using the same basic offsite constructed structural form (a galvanised steel frame with self-finish precast floor slabs). Through this approach, we can enable safe and secure delivery in world-class programme times.”

As a result of this methodology, Bourne Parking has created some truly eye-catching and unusual carpark structures, transforming the mundane and utilitarian into something different to the norm, and Karl gave some perfect examples of the company’s innovation in action: “Didcot Parkway multi-storey carpark (MSCP) has a wedge shape plan, which is designed to fit between two main line railways and will take GWR customers directly over the tracks and on to the station platforms,” he said. “Whereas our Telford International Centre MSCP used a split-level approach to optimise the fit of a carpark building on a restricted site with sloping ground in the heart of a major conferencing facility.”

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profile: Bourne Parking

Further illustrations include the Oxford University Benn biotech research building that required the carpark to be fully integrated into the design and construction of the new research building due to a lack of land space; and Sky’s MSCP, where the ground floor was extended in height to five metres, to enable the ground floor to incorporate additional facilities such as goods unloading, warehousing, cycle parking, changing and shower rooms. “And let’s not forget the Gatwick Airport long stay project, which comprised one of the biggest single deck carparks ever built in UK and was constructed in record time,” added Karl.

While Karl has highlighted all the successes that Bourne Parking has seen over the past 24 months, he modestly didn’t mention his own contribution – having taken over the MD role in January 2018, he is in fact credited with reinvigorating the business and pushing fresh energy into understanding the changing needs and requirements of its clients and keeping ahead of the competition.

The management team at Bourne Parking have instigated several initiatives including: • The development of off site manufacturing processes (for example use of fibre reinforcement in precast concrete) • The engagement of supply chain partners • The development of innovative groundworks design solutions • The integration of latest LED lighting technology into schemes

• The optimisation of ramped parking solutions • The development of more cost effective cladding solutions “This has all been introduced to ensure we continue to optimise our parking solutions, continue to improve competitiveness and maintain our market leader position,” noted Karl. “The development of our off-site manufacturing processes has proved particularly successful as it has allowed us to continue to improve the quality and consistency of our finished product in our factory-controlled environment,” he continued. “We have also invested considerable time and effort into the development of a more efficient and unobtrusive lifting system for our precast prefinished slab system, which has resulted in significant time efficiencies within

the erection process on site.”

Karl has now passed his one year milestone as MD and as he pointed out, despite fears over global warming and sustainability there appears to be no slowdown in desire for mobility in our way of life, and the indicators are that more carparks will be needed in the future: “Car usage is still increasing,” he stated. “Air travel is increasing with all the UK airports expanding. The government is investing in rail infrastructure to improve and extend services but to attract people to switch to rail travel requires integrated transport planning. This means an expansion of out of town hubs easily accessible from the road network where parking is not just available but assured. Work places, retail centres and hospitals need parking, but parking does not produce profit and therefore cost effective, low impact, attractive solutions are sought.”

Therefore, Bourne Parking’s focus during 2019 is to continue to deliver multi-storey carpark schemes to the highest standards, and create innovative designs with the flexibility to adapt to the everchanging demands of customers.

“Our efforts are targeted at ensuring Bourne Parking remains the UK’s market leader and the contractor of choice for single deck and multi-storey carpark solutions,” Karl concluded.

Bourne Parking www.bournegroup.eu Services: Part of the Bourne Group, Bourne Parking is the UK’s leading specialist contractor for carpark design and build

Cardiff Steel Erection Ltd In 2016, we were given the opportunity to join the Bourne Parking supply chain. This was a great opportunity and would give us the chance to showcase our vast experience in both steel erection and precast concrete installation.

The first project offered to us was the over deck at Gatwick airport. After an intense period where we assisted in producing a very fast moving program, we were fortunate to be awarded the erection package for steel, Montex, stairs and ramps.

With restricted jib height on four cranes and upto 20 loads per day, the offsite fabrication and planning could not have worked any better and we collectively achieved the strict nine week program.

Cardiff Steel is happy to announce that successful completion of Gatwick has lead to further orders, with hopefully more to follow in 2019.

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profile: Macbryde Homes

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or Macbryde Homes, 2018 was a particularly significant year for the St Asaph based developer of new build properties. For the first time in its 33-year history, the role of Managing Director would be taken on by someone from outside the family. That person is Gwyn Jones who, having studied at Liverpool John Moores University and enjoyed past roles with Anwyl Construction and Lovell Partnerships, first joined Macbryde Homes almost five years ago. In that time, he

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progressed rapidly through the business, holding the position of Commercial Director before stepping into his new position.

At the time of the announcement, Chairman Simon Macbryde told us “Macbryde Homes prides itself on the reputation it has carefully developed over the last three decades, however, to ensure our continued growth and success, I believe it is necessary to provide the Macbryde team with a rejuvenated leadership and Gwyn proved to be the ideal candidate for this role. His rise through the business has been rapid but

entirely well-deserved given his unwavering commitment to pushing expectations and delivery to an ever-higher standard.�

Fresh thinking Speaking to Gwyn now that he is several months into holding the position of Managing Director, he explains how he is always looking to balance the ambitious growth plans he has for the company with the tried and tested values and ethics that Macbryde Homes has long stood for. “My taking on the role was very much about bringing some

All in the detail Award-winning, family-run property developer Macbryde Homes has more than 30 years of experience in the property industry - during which time it has played a significant role in delivering much-needed quality new homes across North Wales and the North West of England

fresh thinking to the company is order to drive it forward towards doubling the number of quality homes we complete,” he states.

“At the same time, it is important to remember the long-standing qualities and values that have helped set the company apart for many years, such as the pride we take in all of our work and the attention to detail we apply.

“We remain big fans of traditional construction methods, and pay much care towards the internal finishing of a home as we do the superstructure, with our teams focused on treating every home they build as if it

In recent times, we have stepped up our level of engagement with registered providers and have just finished our first package scheme with a local provider in the North West of England, delivering 67 homes that they are delighted with was going to be their own, we share a collective desire to ensure that, no matter the value of the property in question, we deliver a home that people are going to be

happy living in for the next 15-to20 years and beyond.”

Gwyn’s rise through Macbryde Homes has also happened to coincide with a change in direction when it comes to the types of home that the company has focused on building. “Coming out of the recession, there was a view that the company would move away from the work being competed for by high volume builders and into more bespoke, niche, high-end developments,” he details. “What we have now done is turn our attention back to more affordable homes and by that, I mean homes for first

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profile: Macbryde Homes

time buyers, second steppers and families. The key difference with our homes is that we have retained the appearance and attention to detail of our highend developments, bringing that unmatched level of quality to homes that are more affordable to greater numbers of local people. This, coupled with strong demand in our core locations, has contributed to the rise in volumes and turnover that we have experienced.”

The rise in volume saw the company complete a total of 208 units across the 2018 calendar year, with a good part of this coming from its expansion into the affordable housing market.

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“In recent times, we have stepped up our level of engagement with registered providers and have just finished our first package scheme with a local provider in the North West of England, delivering 67 homes that they are delighted with,” Gwyn says.

“This is certainly an area of the business where, over the next 12 months or so, we will be growing by working in partnership with more providers to bring a number of affordable and mixed tenure schemes forward.”

Developer of choice Going into 2019, Macbryde Homes has two schemes ending during the first half of the year, with five new sites expected through planning committee to not only replace existing sites but to boost numbers moving into 2020, the first of which received planning on the 9th January, with a view to have broken ground on them all by autumn 2019. “In addition to these schemes, we are also preparing applications for further open market developments and working on

contracts for package deals for affordable home developments with a number of providers, this will deliver further growth into 2020,” Gwyn outlines.

Gwyn is keen to stress, however, that the growth he will achieve is sustainable and, above all, well managed. “A big driver for me is my desire that Macbryde Homes will be the best in our market place and the developer of choice in our geographic reach when it comes to both open market and affordable housing,” he outlines.

“More than that, I want to be proud of the legacy that we leave behind with our homes. Two of the sites currently going through the planning stage, for example, are a matter of minutes from my own front door. I will be passing these sites almost daily and I want to look at them with the same level of pride that I do our other schemes for decades to come.”

Macbryde Homes www.macbryde-homes.co.uk Services: Property developer 35

profile: TSL Contractors

Constructive thinking

A leading, multi-disciplinary construction company based in the west of Scotland, TSL Contractors has been offering a range of integrated services to a varied client base for the best part of 40 years

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hen James and Audrey Knight established Torosay Sandpit Limited, Mull and Iona’s first quarrying company, in 1979, even they probably couldn’t have envisaged the transformation it would undergo over the next four decades. In the years that followed, the company would gradually add further services and capabilities to its portfolio, including a haulage and plant hire service, the supply of ready-mix concrete, an expansion into civil engineering, and the building of its own workshop to carry out plant and goods vehicle maintenance.

Then, in 2001, the company would make its first foray into the

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building sector, officially becoming known as TSL Contractors Limited (TSL) in the process.

Whilst its capabilities may have evolved over the years, what has remained consistent is that the company has been a vital service provider to individuals, businesses and organisations in the west of Scotland. Today, TSL operates from four locations, in Mull, Oban, Fort William and Arrochar, and boasts a broad customer base that includes national contractors, large public and private sector clients and numerous individuals.

“We are essentially still a family business, operating with the same values, professionalism and commitment to the local community that we have held for almost 40 years,” begins

Company Principal, Andy Knight.

“We are proud of the incredibly diverse customer base that we have and we make it a point to engage constructively, honestly and transparently with all of those with whom we work, getting a clear understanding of their requirements in order to deliver quality services at reasonable prices.”

In the last decade in particular, TSL has expanded organically by continually exploring and identifying new market opportunities, and by adding further construction related services to its offerings. Recent additions include the formation of Mobile Concrete Solutions (MCS), a mobile concrete batching facility providing on-

demand concrete anywhere in the country in 2012, and the establishment of Skyhook Helicopters in 2014. In the case of the former, MCS was set up as a 50/50 joint venture with Breedon Aggregates (Scotland) Ltd, the UK’s largest independent aggregate company, whilst central belt based Skyhook Helicopters has proved both versatile and adept at “accessing the inaccessible”, as the company’s fitting strapline goes, by transporting underslung loads by air to serve businesses working in the most remote and inhospitable locations, where land based transport is either impractical or impossible.

“When it comes to our growth over the years, we have always looked to align TSL with the gaps or opportunities we identify

When it comes to our growth over the years, we have always looked to align TSL with the gaps or opportunities we identify within the marketplace that we believe to be both worthwhile and complementary to our core offering, as was the case with both MCS and Skyhook within the marketplace that we believe to be both worthwhile and complementary to our core offering, as was the case with both MCS and Skyhook,” Andy explains. “Both of these particular ventures have since proven to be very successful in their own right, becoming important parts of the business by not only being used

internally on complex contracts that TSL has undertaken itself, but by also contracting out their respective services to third parties. The diversity these entities give TSL also helps to provide the business with a much more stable financial platform and a greater flexibility to take on our own challenging projects.”

Projects undertaken by TSL over the years extend into a number of fields, from civil engineering contracts, involving piers, bridges and water supply infrastructure, and community buildings, to social housing developments and bespoke dwellings. The company has also displayed considerable expertise when it comes to delivering hydro-electric schemes. In fact, TSL has the distinction of being the lead contractor on the largest

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profile: TSL Contractors

hydro project to take place in Scotland in recent times, the Pattack Hydro Project.

“The Pattack Hydro Project is a 5MW scheme located on the Ardverikie Estate near Loch Laggan”, Andy explains. “This was a significant project for us, involving a lot of mobile batching and pipeline installation, including a 6.5-kilometre pipe used to transfer water from a large dam to the powerhouse, and is definitely one of our most notable and rewarding accomplishments in terms of the way we engaged with the client. We were contracted by the developer Gilkes Energy and worked very closely with their project managers throughout to deliver the desired end result both on time and to budget.

We take pride in our ability to nurture constructive, supportive and symbiotic relationships with all our clients in the pursuit of a shared end goal and in this particular project we demonstrated, to ourselves as much as anyone else, that TSL is

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more than capable of running a project of this scale.”

Future hydro projects feature heavily in TSL’s list of forthcoming work, with the company partnering with SIMEC Green Highland, formally Green Highland Renewables, on several different contracts due to commence in the coming months in the Oban and Lochaber areas. In addition, the company has a number of housing and construction projects that will continue to progress to plan, as will phase two of its refurbishment of the iconic Iona Abbey on the Isle of Iona, one of the oldest Christian religious centres in Western Europe.

Perhaps understandably, enquiry levels for TSL’s services are in good health as we head into 2019, and the company now hopes to capitalise on this interest further still with the appointment of a new Managing Director, Ian Lumsden. “Ian joins TSL from Balfour Beatty’s North Scotland business, where he worked for almost 25 years,” Andy states.

“Ian brings with him a wealth of experience, exciting new ideas and a strong commercial background, which will definitely strengthen our construction management capabilities going forward. We also believe that Ian’s appointment will help to open the doors to more opportunities in fields such as the healthcare and education sectors, which are two areas of particular interest for us.

“We have invested heavily in our management structure in recent times, and 2017-18 was something of a period of consolidation for TSL. With many of the key elements now in place, we can look forward to pushing on in the coming years towards our aim of being a £30 million business, recognised more than ever before for our ability to take on and consistently deliver high value contracts across varying industries.”

TSL Contractors www.tslcontractors.co.uk Services: Integrated construction services

profile: Cementir

Cementing its leadership Cementir is the global leader in white cement, having extended its capacity to cover five continents in supporting the right requirements of the construction industry

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niting a number of brands under its umbrella, Cementir Holding is a multinational group headquartered in Italy, but today with 100 per cent of its activity abroad, that specialises in the production and distribution of cement (grey and white), readymix concrete, aggregates, and concrete products. Of these, it is white cement that is regarded as the DNA of the company, with Cementir covering around 13 per cent of the material’s total production capacity globally through one of its daughter companies – Aalborg Portland.

Cementir’s Chief Sales, Marketing & Commercial Development Officer, Mr. Michele Di Marino details: “White cement has been vital for our value proposition throughout our history: it is a niche, high-end product, whose special technical features that make it a bit harder to produce, have allowed us to build a unique offering around it, centring on the possibilities it gives us to develop diverse applications for our customers while closely collaborating with them.”

Unlike grey cement, its white peer is not as widespread and requires more specific manufacturing capabilities to be produced. To ensure this, Cementir has established production plants and other assets in various strategic geographic areas, including the US, Scandinavia and West Europe, Egypt, Australia, China, and Malaysia, among others.

“It is a really strong network of sites that we have created around the world and we are truly unique in this sense, because we have the ability to synergise the different plants in the different regions,” comments Michele.

Acting locally whilst remaining a global company is a clearly observable and definitive trait of Cementir’s approach that underpins what is known as the business’ ‘glocal’ strategy. “We have always aimed to invest heavily in the development of our services on a local level,” Michele remarks. “We are convinced that we need to be close to our customers, speak their language (literally), and deploy local staff to provide technical support.

Growing our presence in certain strategic markets can also provide

us with a much-needed platform to further increase our customer base, which is crucial from a long-term perspective. In addition, we have been investing in our supply chain, setting up fruitful business partnerships with logistics providers to secure the smooth supply of our products to the market.

“As an international leader in manufacturing and commercialising white cement, we also possess a sense of duty to grow the market by opening up new opportunities for our clients in regions where some of the applications of the product might not be so well-known. We try to leverage best practices and sometimes even seek inspiration from our customers, applying the method of cross-fertilization, to mix different ideas that could strengthen our value proposition.

The global side of our ‘glocal’ strategy naturally manifests itself in our customer relationships, too.

Tailoring an offering based on the unique characteristics of a local market may be playing a central role in the way we operate, but with some customers who are global players in their realm, we

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profile: Cementir

have to think globally and create a value-added service proposition that is aligned to their international goals and footprint,” Michele explains.

Cementir has grown a reputation of a white cement specialist on the back of Aalborg Portland – a business that was acquired by the group in 2006. At that point, Aalborg Portland was already a recognised global leader, its history of white cement production stretching back to the early 1930s.

For nearly 90 years, the city of Aalborg in northern Denmark has been the home of the production process, but in recent years, Cementir has initiated that manufacturing also begins in Asia, Africa, and the US. Michele adds: “There are some minor technical differences between the types of cement we produce in the different plants we have, which we consider a company strength, because we can then offer a greater number of product variations that closely match the needs of our customers’ applications. Its whiteness aside, the Aalborg White® cement excels in quality aspects such as high consistency, low content of alkali, and high sulphate resistance, which is why it is viewed as one of the top white cements worldwide.”

As of late, Cementir has seen an

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Top: Anqing China White Cement Plant Above: SAS Guillerm, White cement application in facade of Ecole de Polytechnique in France

increased growth in demand for white cement from manufacturers of glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRC) and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) products. “It is a clear trend in the construction industry that people are now increasingly looking to find quicker and leaner ways of building, paying more attention to sustainability and to the energy efficiency of their newbuilds. GFRC and UHPC are showing signs of fast growth in every region, so we are trying to identify exactly what clients are interested in with regards to these applications,” Michele discusses.

Despite being based in Italy, last year, Cementir’s major shareholder in the like of the Caltagirone Group decided to divest the business’ domestic operations. As big a decision this move might have

been, it has by no means diverted Cementir from its selected path of development. “We know what we are pushing for and the direction for our future pursuits is perfectly clear. First and foremost, we want to continue creating value for our customers in all the businesses and further reinforce our position as a global leader in white cement. By following the ‘glocal’ approach, we are also looking to strengthen our local capabilities and invest in emerging markets. From a financial point of view, it is an ongoing target for Cementir to constantly improve its results and KPIs, and this is not going to change in the coming years.

“In order to capitalise on current trends, we have just launched a new product called Aalborg Extreme®, a new concept of UHPC premix, perfectly suited for the production processes at our precast customers’ plants.

The technology is based on a further refinement of Cementir Holdings’ recently patented binder technology, Futurecem™.

Furthermore, we are also planning to advance a project, which is not directly related to the world of building materials, but still requires cement and concrete, and that is a programme concerning the possibility of charging vehicles

Nanjing Beilida, White cement applied in Zaha Hadid’s project in China (GRC)

wirelessly. Still on the innovation front, we are also eager to explore the opportunities 3D printing might give us in our mission to continuously improve our value proposition,” Michele sheds light on Cementir’s vision for the future.

Finally, he talks about the emphasis the company places on people and talent development.

“We now have more than 3000 staff from more than 20 nationalities within the group, which inevitably calls forth the need for deeper integration of people from differing cultural backgrounds. It has been a major focus area for the business over the past 18 months and initiatives like the Cementir Academy and the various talent and leadership programmes we are running,

are set to continue, so that we can secure our expertise and capabilities and keep our employees engaged and motivated, securing the long-term sustainability of the Group.”

Cementir www.cementirholding.it/index-eng.php Services: Cement and concrete production

AMCS extends its collaboration with Cementir Timing is everything. Especially in the logistics business. This is why many top companies are using the AMCS platform across their entire network. One company taking full advantage of the logistics solutions provided by AMCS is Cementir.

Cementir has relied on the AMCS platform for the logistics planning of its cement and ready-mix concrete business in the Nordic countries for many years. It is now extending and standardising the use of AMCS technology across the group by adding more functionality to the basic solution. The expanded offering is delivering a range of benefits, including fleet management optimisation, added value from logistics execution, increasing accuracy when planning deliveries, faster communication with drivers, flexibility in making quick changes to deliveries, and attention to detail when following up on tracking data.

“What we greatly appreciate with AMCS is their in-depth knowledge of our business,” adds Giacomo Cornetti, Chief Information Technology Officer at Cementir. “We see AMCS as our collaboration partner, working together towards a mutual goal.”

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profile: Ridgepoint Homes

The real deal Ridgepoint Homes specialises in building properties where ‘real people’ are able to live whilst not compromising on the finish. This has resulted in an ever-increasing project portfolio which is bringing quality homes to the Home Counties

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eal homes for real people. At one time this was to be the strap line for Buckinghamshire-

based property developer Ridgepoint Homes, and while it was ultimately not adopted it is certainly an excellent summarisation of what the

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business is all about. Responsible for creating unique new residential and mixed use developments across the Home Counties, Ridgepoint Homes possesses an impressive and fast growing portfolio of completed, high quality homes, and has built a reputation for regenerating redundant sites and transforming

them into distinctive and vibrant houses and apartments.

“Ridgepoint Homes’ core mission is to be a strong, sustainable business with longevity, and we achieve that by building homes that real people and real families can and want to live in for years to come, and by making said

homes affordable to purchase,” explains Managing Director Nick McEntyre. “By operating sensibly, and with attention always given to minimising risk in what is historically a volatile market, we facilitate sales both by way of private tenure and by working in partnership with housing associations.”

Nick’s own background is in land acquisition and his experience in this field has no doubt aided the company’s ability to identify and capitalise on opportunities as they appear. With substantial resources available to it, Ridgepoint Homes is able to consider purchasing land, both with or without planning permission, and thanks

to its attention to detail, careful development planning and close working relationships with local authorities, it is able to maximise land values and ensure its approach to the marketability of each development. As a private company, it is also able to make quick decisions on buying land.

“While there is no exact science

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profile: Ridgepoint Homes

to the land acquisition process, we feel that we are uniquely placed when it comes to locating sites on which to build upon and transforming them into viable places for people to live,” Nick continues. “When it then comes to the design process, the overall appearance of the property is one

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of the big areas of focus for us. We want our purchasers to feel the sense of satisfaction that comes from buying one of our homes each time they arrive home, and it is important to us that they continue to feel this satisfaction throughout their ownership.

“In order to achieve our goals

in this regard, we have forged very strong relationships with all manner of subcontractors and consultants whose efforts are absolutely critical in making Ridgepoint Homes a successful business. In fact, it is the combination of our collective experience and knowledge, and the fact that we have such a good team of people here that we have been able to take on projects that are bigger than we ever envisioned we would do.”

Said projects include the work that the company has completed on the Bierton Road in Aylesbury.

“This particular example of our work involved the acquisition of two parcels of redundant land from the local NHS Trust,” Nick details. “On one parcel, which we have named Bierton Gardens, we have developed 50 two and three

bedroom houses for affordable sale, while at Bierton Place we have introduced 71 one, two and three bedroom houses and apartments which have been delivered as private affordable housing.

“What also made this particular project unique was that it included the conversion of an old workhouse and the retaining of listed buildings. Needless to say, we are very proud of the work completed here, as we are with all of our developments, and the fact that we have made a real contribution to the private and non-private housing sectors in the region, using what was redundant land prior to our involvement.”

Future developments As to be expected, Ridgepoint Homes has a number of exciting ongoing and forthcoming developments of note that will be monopolising its time in 2019 and beyond. Current developments include a residential development of 40 two, three and four bedroom homes in Wingrave, Buckinghamshire, 41 two and three bedroom homes at Moreton Park in Luton, and 135 one, two, three and four bedroom homes adjacent to the Grand Union Canal on Tring Road in Aylesbury.

Meanwhile, developments taking shape in the near future include Altus, a new collection of one and two bedroom apartments in High Wycombe, 41 two and three bedroom homes and apartments on Grafton Street, High Wycombe, and a development of 55 one, two and three bedroom homes in Chesham.

“As we move through 2019, I think it is important that we remain sensible in our approach, particularly given the uncertainty that exists within the market and across the UK at present, but by no means does that mean we have to batten down the hatches, or anything remotely like that, because there are lots of opportunities out there for a

well-managed business such as our own to capitalise on,” Nick professes.

“What we are focused on, and what ultimately drives us,” Nick continues, “is having a progressive business that is sustainable and thus provides a stable future for the internal team, subcontractors and consultants that form the

wider Ridgepoint Homes team.

That is what motivates myself each day and will continue to do so for many years to come.”

Ridgepoint Homes www.ridgepointhomes.co.uk Services: Property developer

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profile: Cree

Brave new world Revolutionising the building industry, Cree’s innovative timber-hybrid modular construction system allows for buildings to be designed and built offsite, and assembled as a ‘core and shell’ faster than any other technique

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n international sensation in the construction world, the LifeCycle Tower (LCT) One – an eight-storey building in Dornbirn, Austria, proved to be the first realisation of what has since become known as the Cree system. In its essence, the technology offers a sustainable building solution, beginning with the premise that the building industry does not automatically have to rely on concrete and steel for urban buildings. Instead, it demonstrates that timber can be significantly more efficient, with wood being a renewable resource.

“Our journey began with the realisation that every building that is built, is a prototype.

Every time we begin, we start from scratch, make a good building, and then leave. In this entire process, around 40 per cent of current resources and energy consumption is wasted by the construction industry, and this is way too much. We had to find a substitute for traditional construction practices, in which the building process is rethought in every aspect. This led to the creation of the first medium-rise building to be constructed in timber, based on the Cree system. Back in 2012, it was just a prototype for the concept of building towers with prefabricated timber modules, and today, it attracts thousands of visitors every year from around the world,” begins Cree’s Managing Director and COO, Bernd Oswald.

Since the building industry has made limited progress in industrialisation and modern manufacturing processes, the Cree system could understandably be viewed as a boon for the sector with the introduction of an industrial method to the planning and construction of buildings. The utilisation

Matching the needs of the market, in 2019, we will further refine and develop a residential building system to cope with the increased demand for living space in urban areas

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profile: Cree

of the approach places at the heart of the construction process not the builders, but rather the assemblers, the software developers, and the designers, allowing a new way of building, based on guaranteeing performance.

“It was developed according to a system that can be the ‘shell and core’, offering flexible planning solutions and architectural and aesthetic possibilities to make each building unique. One of the core aspects of the system is that we integrate technology in prefabricated elements during planning, but at the same time, we limit technology to what is essential, thus reducing costs as a whole. We follow the principle that no components with different lifespans should be connected in a way that does not allow for replacements. For example, facades that have a lifespan of 25-50 years can be exchanged without interfering with the load-bearing structure that has a much longer lifespan. All components are designed using a BIM model, thus creating a digital twin of the building before actual construction starts,” Bernd explains.

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“For example, we prefer wireless sensors over hardwired ones, knowing that technology evolves fast and replacement of hardwired components is costly. We use IoT for electrical components like sunshades. From a manufacturing point of view, we learn from other industries, such as car manufacturing, so that we install prefabricated components into the elements,” he adds.

Developing system Inclusivity and collaboration are an integral part of Cree’s philosophy. All of the system’s processes and physical components are made available only through the company’s licenced partners, which are general contractors or developers. “The technology transfer is then synchronised with licensees in combination with a pilot project. In every project, clients benefit from our knowledge, market expertise, and experience in value engineering.

Every building that is built, is then available for all partners on our evolving platform, thus ensuring that the system itself is developing and everybody involved benefits from that.

Our aim is to develop a modern process to guarantee the performance of buildings. The system allows planners to form virtual teams or firms and realise major projects, while developers can look for specialists,” Bernd comments.

Continuous improvement Alongside the famous LCT One project, which is intended mainly for use as an office building, Cree has constructed a wide range of buildings over the years, both public and residential, in its home markets of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, as well as in countries like Denmark, Luxembourg, and Singapore. Bernd notes: “Our very first external customer order was a showpiece project. The IZM (Illwerke Zentrum Montafon) project built for Illwerke AG is a LifeCycle Tower, which is 120 metres long and has a surface area of 10,000 square metres.

It is a water power centre of excellence with a restaurant and visitor centre that was completed in December 2012.”

This year, Cree launched a webinar series to train architects and planners on its system to ensure that no replanning of buildings that have originally been designed in a traditional way, is necessary. In parallel, the organisation is working on an online building configurator that will let planners, architects, and developers create Cree buildings. “Furthermore, on the technical side, we have developed floor slabs that already contain heating/cooling inside of the concrete layer to further reduce construction time and allow for all-year construction, as the building can be heated as soon as core and shell are installed,” Bernd adds.

“Matching the needs of the market, in 2019, we will further refine and develop a residential building system to cope with the increased demand for living

space in urban areas,” Bernd shares some of the future plans the company has laid out. “We are also looking to finalise our rollout to Western Europe and establish a presence in North America. Crucially, we will continue improving our platform offering. We want to include more architects, building engineers, and manufacturer

partners, so that we can provide a one-stop shop for clients looking to build a Cree building.

Collaboration, joint learning, and maximum intelligence in building systems will be the key drivers of satisfying our clients’ needs and transforming the construction industry as a whole. Last but not least, we will eventually also enter into manufacturing Cree components on an industrial level, ensuring high and repeatable quality at affordable costs, using the best available technology in robotics and artificial intelligence to be as efficient as possible.”

Cree www.creebyrhomberg.com/en Services: Timber-hybrid modular construction system

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profile: BP Mitchell

Making use of waste

Skilled in the provision of diverse haulage services, BP Mitchell is poised for future success, as the company continues to invest in its infrastructure

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ew haulage-related services providers are as multifunctional as BP Mitchell. Operating from numerous sites across Hertfordshire, the company is a reliable partner to the building and construction industry, delivering services such as demolition, waste management, site clearance, ready mix concrete, concrete pumping, and the supply of building and aggregate material like sand, topsoil, chalk, ballast, and MOT type 1 and type 2.

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“When Brendan Mitchell started the firm almost 30 years ago – in 1989, he only had one lorry at his disposal and today, we have grown a fleet of 86 vehicles, which we are trying to increase all the time,” notes BP Mitchell’s Area Sales Manager, Errol Reyner.

“Mr Mitchell’s work ethic has been truly inspirational and can certainly be highlighted as one of the business’ core strengths that have paved the way to the success we have enjoyed over time. He is still heavily involved in the day-to-day running of

the company and you can often see him fixing or driving the lorries himself. Our dedication to providing exceptional customer service has also been characteristic of BP Mitchell, allowing us to gain the trust of our clients.”

Indeed, the company’s customer base is as diverse, as its range of services. During its existence, the provider has worked with and continues to serve borough councils, airport authorities, educational institutions, leisure parks, housing

developments, and builders merchants, among others.

“Housing represents our main activity area at the moment,” says Errol. “There are a lot of major housing schemes going on in and around Milton Keynes that promise to be a great source of work for us in the coming years.

In another significant project, we transported a vast amount of material to the new A5-M1 link road in 2017, which we had recycled from another demolition site previously. It needs to be said that a lot of our raw materials come from sites in North London, where a lot of demolition works are currently taking place.”

Fresh fleet BP Mitchell has developed the types of services it offers gradually. While mucking away, haulage, and recycling have always been at the heart of its operation, in 2009, the company began producing ready mix concrete, having obtained a QSRMC certification for this kind

of operation. A year later, the business took sole ownership of an aggregate washing plant at its Birchall Lane facility that provided BP Mitchell with the opportunity to wash soil and create secondary aggregates itself.

“Calls for using more and more recycled aggregates in the construction industry has definitely been paramount to our success, and we have every reason to believe that this trend will grow even stronger in the years to come,” Errol discusses.

“We are striving to divert as much waste from landfill as possible, so we can use it for the production of good quality material that can find application in our customers’ projects. Practically, this allows us to generate income from two different activities that are part of one cycle.”

Ongoing investment in vehicles can rightly be regarded as a central part of BP Mitchell’s strategic plan for future development. The company has realised the necessity to keep its fleet fresh and runs only the latest and most reliable lorries available in the marketplace. Not long ago, 15 new fuel-efficient vehicles were purchased to optimise BP Mitchell’s service delivery. “It is also worth mentioning that we

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profile: BP Mitchell

can now build our own vehicle bodies, thus cutting out the middleman in the process. For

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example, we are capable of building trailer tipping units in-house here, in our bespoke

workshop, which is proving to be the right approach from an economic standpoint,� Errol adds.

Among the multitude of jobs BP Mitchell has done in 2018 stands out its teaming up with the likes of CF Harrington and the main contractor John Sisk & Son for the removal of a large amount of muck from the development that is taking place around Wembley Stadium. “We have been removing up to 1000 cubic metres of soil every day and, just like with other projects, we are trying to recycle wherever possible,” comments Errol.

“Looking into 2019, there is still a degree of uncertainty around Brexit, but we are confident that we will continue to grow. In fact, if you look at the period since the last mini-recession in the industry, which happened around 2007, we have been increasing our turnover every year,” he opens up on the company’s future intentions. “We have a very good business model that we are trying to stick to, with the idea being to just keep going and trimming our approach down where necessary, so that we do not get complacent. We want to keep our staff and customers happy and ensure that we continue to get repeat business. In the meantime, it is quite important for us to raise our profile within the local community. We are now sponsoring the local football club

– Welwyn Garden City FC, as well as working with several charities, and this, too, will remain a focus area for the company in the near future,” Errol wraps up.

BP Mitchell www.bpmitchell.co.uk Services: Haulage services

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profile: 8build

Prestigious performance 8build is enjoying rapid growth in the construction industry, making the most of its expertise in the buoyant sectors of education, commercial office, theatre and museum redevelopment

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aking pride in the quality of its work and the outstanding care for its clients’ needs, 8build has experienced continued success in a changing construction market over the past few years. The company was founded in 2005 by eight directors, whose shared ambition was to improve the industry as a whole, by employing the very best people and promoting the values of honesty and integrity, and the freedom of acting in a completely ethical way.

“We do value our reputation very highly. We see 8build as a type of family business, even though we are not related to each other,” one of the company’s directors, Nigel Bellamy claims.

“Our desire is to buy into what our clients want to achieve, be on their side of the table, and help them grow their business, while we are growing ours. At the same time, we have always been very loyal to our supply chain, offering them excellent payment conditions even when times have been hard.

Doing a very good job and treating others with consideration are two

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traits of our business that we want to showcase constantly, instilling confidence in existing and new clients alike.”

The end of the recession inevitably modified the construction landscape in the UK, with new sectors emerging at the expense of others. Nigel analyses: “There has been a lot more theatre and museum work, as well as specialist laboratories schemes.

These are the areas we have spent a lot of time focusing on, as the high-end residential market has gone quieter in recent years.”

One of the most high-profile projects completed by 8build in recent times was the major £50 million revamp of Victoria Palace Theatre in London, commissioned

by Sir Cameron Mackintosh. “As a very visionary theatre owner, Sir Cameron wanted to upgrade the theatre for the next 100 years. We widened the stage by three metres and deepened it by another six metres, making it both the widest and the deepest theatre stage in London, so that it could provide any guesting theatre company with all the facilities it may need.

“It was a very challenging

project, because the entire Victoria area is being redeveloped at the moment and we were one of the many contractors working in a confined area of London, therefore, we had to deal with multiple stakeholders at the same time.

To give you an example of some of the programme’s technical challenges, due to the fact that both the Victoria line and London’s largest sewer – the King’s Scholars’ Pond, run straight under the stage, we had to cap off the sewer and pile alongside it. We also had to apply comprehensive vibration monitoring while piling to ensure the safety and efficiency of the operation,” Nigel discusses.

Following the completion of the two-year Victoria Palace Theatre project, 8build has now directed its attention to the ongoing redevelopment of Royal Albert Hall. In addition, the company has developed strong competence in the museum sector, having taken part in the refurbishment works of institutions such as the Science Museum in London and the Titanic Museum in Southampton.

“Loyalty and certainty of delivery are what differentiate

us from other companies,” Nigel maintains. “We have a number of regular clients like Argent, Lazari Investments, and Imperial College, who trust us because we do not let them down. We never claim to be perfect, but we always try to find the right solution to a problem and recognise every project as a unique job that presents its very specific challenges. In fact, establishing long-term relationships that are beneficial to both parties is exactly what we are after. At the same time, as we are becoming more and more respected and well-known, a lot of new clients are interested in trying us out and seeing what we can do for them. Another all-important reason for our success is the higher value of the projects we are being offered to take on. Previously, our sweet spot used to be between £10 million and £20 million schemes, but now, this has grown to between £40 million and £50 million, as evident from the Victoria Palace Theatre programme,” he explains.

customers in this part of the world, the contractor decided to open a small office in Hong Kong in 2018 to manage the ever-increasing number of project requests in the area.

“We are quite cautious as a company, focusing first and foremost on always delivering to our promises, being fair to everyone we work with, and cherishing growth that is steady and progressive. At the moment, all the indicators for continued success are looking very good and I see no reason why we should not enjoy a sustained growth in the coming years,” Nigel concludes.

8build www.8build.co.uk Services: Fit out, new build, light refurbishment, heavy refurbishment

Cambridge expansion While London can certainly be considered the mainstay of 8build, the company is now seeking to emulate its success in Cambridge, having just opened a new office in the university city. “This will definitely be the next growth area for us and we have already secured the first batch of projects, hoping we could build on that in the next couple of years,” Nigel reveals. “We have developed a very good pedigree in the education and technology sectors, which constitute the growth market in the Cambridge area at the moment, so the outlook on our future there is very positive.”

On the international front, 8build has been running an office in Singapore for six years now, during which time the company has made a name for itself, mainly for its fitting out services. Thanks to the rapport it has built with

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profile: origin global

The doorway to success Combining high grade aluminium with precision engineering, Origin Global has established itself as the UK’s leading specialist manufacturer of aluminium bi-folding doors and windows

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n a way, as Sales and Marketing Director Ben Brocklesby explains, Origin Global (Origin) was something of an accidental business when it comes to how it came to be formed in 2002. “It was my fatherin-law and his brother, who at the time owned a swimming pool company, who were first introduced to the concept of aluminium folding sliding doors. After discussing the technology with their respective children, Victoria Brocklesby and Neil Ginger, they concluded that there was a noticeable gap in the UK market that they could fill by designing and manufacturing the highest quality bi-folding doors and supporting this with unrivalled levels of customer service.�

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profile: origin global

Since then, Origin has continued to work tirelessly to create products that offer flawless design and functionality, and has subsequently expanded into the manufacture of stylish aluminium windows.

“Everything we have achieved as a business to date has been as a result of retaining our family ethos of looking to do the best job possible in all that we undertake,” Ben continues.

“As anyone familiar with doors and windows will know, they are rather ubiquitous in their nature, so what we have chosen to do to differentiate ourselves is to focus on designing products that are desirable and that are manufactured to each of our customers’ bespoke specifications.”

In responding to the demands of its customers, Origin has actively looked to include innovative nuances into its products. Examples include the introduction of a finger safety gasket to its newest bi-folding doors, providing an added layer of protection for young children who may be opening said doors, and the company’s unique utilisation of Aerogel, considered to be the world’s best insulator and used by NASA to insulate its space suits, in the manufacture of its windows. By using Aerogel in the thermal break of an Origin window, it considerably limits the heat transfer from one side to the other, delivering a A++ Energy Rating in the process.

Unique offering As well as putting the customer and their wishes at the top of its list of priorities during the design stage, Origin applies the same approach during the manufacturing process. “One of the trends we have seen growing in importance over the years amongst our customers is their desire to have what they want, when they want it,” Ben states.

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“Traditionally, the average lead time within the aluminium door and window industry is between four and eight weeks, but by embracing a Lean Manufacturing model we are able to offer the quickest lead times on bi-folding doors, delivered under our ‘Your lead time, not ours’ promise.

“Under this promise, if a customer chooses a product in one of our 13 most popular colours they can specify its delivery date, be it a day, a week or a month after its order.

Once selected, we fast track the product to the head of our manufacturing line and our customers receive the bespoke doors or windows they want in the timeframe they need. This capability, and the increased degree of flexibility it provides our customers, has helped us to grow rapidly and afforded us the enviable opportunity to possess a wholly unique manufacturing offering that few others would be able to replicate without a vast amount of capital investment and industry know-how.”

US foothold Having established a commanding presence within the UK, Origin has also made considerable strides when it comes to increasing its export business. One of the big markets being targeted today in the United States, where it first introduced its products approximately four years ago.

“Upon entering the US market, we wanted to go into one of the most challenging environments possible in order to test the durability of our products, and that was South West Florida, which regularly experiences the effects of hurricanes and tropical storms,” Ben says. “By putting our UK manufactured products through stringent hurricane testing, we not only confirmed their ability to pass the highest levels of testing around but

also identified any key areas of improvement that would benefit our customers.”

Buoyed by these test results, and benefiting from the respect and kudos that the ‘manufactured in Britain’ tag continues to carry with it, Origin has been able to establish a solid foothold in the United States, with it now also offering a fabrication service for its products on that side of the Atlantic. “Today, we remain one of a very select few manufacturing houses in our industry to offer European systems and solutions in the US,” Ben adds. “It is truly a fascinating market to be active in, but our approach remains the same, and that is do our best by our partners, customers and home owners.”

Plans for 2019

Slimline Window’, or ‘OW-70’, was launched earlier in 2018 to great excitement. The company’s slimmest window to date, with sightlines of just 65mm wide, the OW-70 is ideal for spaces where maximising glass size and light is essential, and comes with a guarantee of up to 20 years.

“We have always been both an optimistic and ambitious business, and as such we are predicting further growth for Origin during 2019,” Ben goes on to reveal. “We have grown year-on-year since our inception and we see no reason to think that 2019 will be any different.

Over the course of the next year we will be working hard to solidify our existing partnerships, increase our footprint and customer base, and develop our e-commerce offering as we

further encourage home owners, builders and architects to engage with Origin.

“We are not ashamed to say that we have some pretty audacious goals, and among the biggest is the desire to see Origin regarded as one of the marquee brands within the door and window industry. From a personal perspective, I would love to get the point where, when people decide they want to purchase a bi-folding aluminium door or quality aluminium window that they say, ‘I want an Origin’, and I see no reason why that can’t be realised!”

Origin Global www.origin-global.com Products: High quality aluminium bi-folding doors and windows

Elsewhere throughout the world, Origin products have long been present in the Middle East, where the company continues to experience strong demand particularly in places such as Dubai, where new money coming into the area is being used to bring the quality and standards of housing up to European equivalent levels. Speaking of which, demand across continental Europe also remains high, with parties from different countries regularly approaching Origin to determine the appetite for launching its products into these locations.

Turning back to Origin’s products, the last 12-18 months have seen the company make a move into the front door market and launch its second window system. In the case of the former, the Origin Front Door boasts advanced security, tasteful aesthetics and thermal efficiency, comes available in a range of panel choices, colours and styles, is completely bespoke, and has become one of the fastest growing areas of the business. Meanwhile, The Origin

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profile: Barlows (UK) LTD

Ethical business Fruitful customer partnerships and commitment to training and promoting its talented members of staff have helped Barlows (UK) LTD become a valued provider of property maintenance services

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s well as a familyowned company, Barlows UK also gives the impression of being not merely a business oriented at profit-making, but a bona fide big family, whose members support and care for each other as they grow professionally.

A multi-disciplined specialist contractor with an expertise in providing complete installation and maintenance services across the UK, Barlows UK is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2018 going through the most successful period in its history.

“We place a lot of emphasis on developing our staff and making sure that our people are trained well and feeling valued,” begins Operations Director, Mark Holden. “One key principle of our philosophy is the idea that we should be giving our employees the opportunity to progress within the company. We have based our business model

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upon a commitment to recruit a number of apprentices every year for a three-year course in our recognised Skills Development Centre, where we train young people, who, after the completion of the programme, are ready to go out in the field and start practicing the engineering profession. A lot of our managers and directors, including myself, have started as apprentices and have progressed through the ranks over time.”

Given the steady efforts to engage with its employees, it is no surprise that Barlows UK was presented with the ‘Employer of the Year’ award at the 2018 Cheshire Business Awards. Mark comments: “It is a signal to our staff and clients alike that we are doing our job the right way.

I am especially satisfied with the fact that we beat a very strong competition of big organisations in the area, which says a lot about our company.”

Offering clients value for money and striving to create and nurture

positive long-term business relationships are two other tenets that form the core of Barlows UK’s system of values. “When working with a customer, it is important for us to build mutual trust between each other. I believe that one of the reasons why we have kept going for 70 years now, is our fair treatment of clients. We have always been focused on the future, unlike some other companies that have fallen by the wayside over time, because they were simply trying to offer their one-off services for a higher price,” Mark discusses.

Barlows UK’s company structure is composed of different departments, which, albeit being rather autonomous, also work together and move in the same direction for the greater good of the enterprise. “It is true that we have various teams, which provide a range of services – for example, installations or reactive engineering, as well as a Compliance department, which generates quite a lot of work on the planned preventive maintenance (PPM) side of the business. In a way, these are little businesses within the wider organisation that are responsible for their own costs and whose managers are especially conscious of every little detail that surrounds their operation. It is then the Directors’ job to ensure that there is a good working relationship between the sections and get across the message that we are all interdependent on each other,” Mark points out.

Wisely, the company has tried

to spread its customer base evenly across multiple different sectors to avoid the risk of losing business during hard times for one industry or the other. “Not relying on only one sector has definitely helped us achieve the success we are enjoying,” Mark maintains.

“To illustrate this with figures, our turnover in 2017 was £24 million, but our biggest client accounted for just three per cent of it. In total, we had 89 customers spending more than £50,000 with us, which is an encouraging sign.”

Headquartered in Malpas, on the border of Wales and Shropshire, Barlows UK has been operating a Manchester office for 15 years. A couple of years ago, driven by its customers’ needs, the company also decided to open an office in High Wycombe to strengthen its position in the South East of England, plus it also has a branch in Lancaster. “Our intention is to emulate what we have set up in Cheshire and export our success to other communities in the country.

The multiple branches also make us a good fit for some national clients, such as Giraffe Concepts and JD Sports, because we are now present in the regions they want us to be,” Mark adds.

“The goal for 2019 will be to concentrate on serving our existing customers. We have a fantastic base of clients that we are eager to develop and provide with a proposition that is constantly being optimised for their benefit,” he turns his attention to Barlows UK’s plans for the future. “Our company has expanded by word

of mouth and we are extremely happy to see that businesses have now started to come to us asking for our services, rather than us going out looking for them. This has put us in a good position where we can pick the jobs we would like to take on.

“In the long-term, we will consider setting up another two offices, probably in the Bristol area, as well as further north in Scotland.

In addition, our overreaching targets remain continuously improving our efficiencies, increasing our profitability, and being innovative, thus ensuring that we are one step ahead of the competition,” Mark concludes.

Barlows (UK) LTD www.barlows-electrical.com Services: Property maintenance solutions

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profile: Swan Housing Association – NU living

Homeward bound Swan Housing Association has been providing residents with exemplary homes and communities for nearly a quarter of a century, boosted by the expertise of its in-house development company NU living

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irst formed in 1994,

Swan Housing Association (Swan) today operates in East London and Essex, where it manages over 11,000 homes, and has a secured development pipeline of over 6500 homes. These future builds will be delivered using both traditional and offsite construction methods by NU living.

“Swan and NU living have a clear vision to deliver 10,000 new homes by 2027,” details Paul Williamson, Managing Director – Modular Housing. “This is certainly an ambitious strategy, but it is both the collaborative approach we take and the innovation that we are applying that makes Swan stand out. We already have a secured development pipeline, and our model will see us generate over £250 million of gift aid by 2027, which will be reinvested in affordable homes and services for our residents.”

Holding Investors in People ‘Gold’ status, and ranked 22nd in The Times ‘Top 100 Best Not for Profit Companies in the UK 2018’ list, Swan’s mission is to deliver effective services, enterprising solutions, and exemplary homes and communities. Always looking to innovate, the company was presented with Inside Housing’s

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‘Award for Modular Construction 2017’. “This award was in recognition of our investment of £3 million in our own factory to build modular homes in Basildon,” Paul explains. “The first homes, which are BOPAS accredited, are being delivered to our regeneration of Beechwood in Basildon and use our ‘NU build system’ to deliver up to 100 homes a year (capacity to build 500), first here, then to Laindon Place and then to Watts Grove in Tower Hamlets.”

Cognisant of the need to modernise the construction industry, Swan had already suspected that offsite development could help to deliver quality homes more quickly, and its research showed that it could create a viable factory turning out 100 homes a year (with the capacity to build up to 500 per year) using volumetric Cross Laminated Timber (CLT).

Swan has also managed supply so as to harness the benefits that offsite construction can bring, thus producing sustainable homes that are greener and cheaper to heat,

delivering greater time and cost savings, and achieving a reduction in defects due to high precision factory processes.

The investment in the Basildon factory will also see benefits extend to the wider region. “The £3 million that we have invested will create up to 70 jobs, helping to stimulate wider economic growth and building manufacturing expertise within the UK,” Paul says.

“Beechwood will fund the factory set up costs, making viable four further developments that are earmarked for modular, while the lessons being learnt are already being shared across the industry, contributing to wider sector expertise and ultimately helping deliver more homes to meet demand.”

Responding to the Government’s new custom-build and selfbuild initiatives, Swan has also successfully created a design framework for homes that residents can personalise to their own requirements and tastes. This online configurator solution allows buyers to choose from over one million configurations, including external materials, internal design, and additional rooms etc from a range of complementary options.

Swan also ensures that all external materials are price neutral so that buyers are free to customise their

homes without constraint. This flexibility is only possible due to the factory manufacturing process that Swan has created.

“With five starter houses to choose from, residents first select their plot and then create their new homes using our specialist software,” Paul continues. “Starting with the basics such as the number of bedrooms, and the arrangement of the downstairs and upstairs plans, and the level of specification, residents then choose from a palette of external finishes for walls, roofs and windows, and even add bays, conservatories or roof extensions. By varying the building form, typology, scale and density of a proposal, we create places of different character and interest that respond sensitively to the existing landscape edges.”

As one of the first housing associations to have an in-house developer, Swan is leading the way in showing that such associations have the capability to build as well. “We welcomed the previous announcement of new funding for housing associations to help build social homes, as delivered

by Prime Minister Theresa May,” Paul adds. “In it, she called for housing associations to take the lead in transforming the very way in which we think about and deliver housing in this country by taking on and leading major developments ourselves, rather than simply buying properties built by developers. We can proudly say that Swan does this already!”

In 2018 Swan’s CEO John Synnuck celebrated his 50th year in the housing industry, a milestone he reflects upon while also casting an eye to the future. “I have worked in the housing sector for five decades now and my experience has shown that it is only through approaching the challenges we face with an entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, that we can deliver the significant number of homes needed to make a real difference,” he says. “I do not agree that acting in a commercial

way is somehow undermining our social purpose. In fact, it is only by acting commercially that we can generate the profits needed to really invest in communities to make the biggest impact.

“At Swan, we have set ourselves the target of growing commercial activity to 60 per cent of our turnover. The reason for this is because it will generate at least an additional £250 million, which will be invested in more social and affordable housing, and in services for our residents. The end result will be the power to continue to deliver successful regenerations, the likes of which are taking place in Beechwood, Basildon.”

Swan Housing Association – NU living www.swan.org.uk Services: Housing association and developer

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profile: Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure

Laying the groundwork Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure’s mission, as displayed by its many successful projects, is to provide specialist contracting and services solutions in an environment where people feel safe, secure and valued

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orking in close partnership with airport operators, owners and carriers, as well as the general public, Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure helps to facilitate the development of airport infrastructure and buildings internationally, often in some of the most remote parts of the world. Understanding the need for maximum safety and security within live environments, the company’s teams are experienced in providing the engineering skills and technologies necessary to deliver both air-side and groundside support facilities.

Utilising its own batching plants and pavers to lay both asphalt and Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC), Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure works within tight time frames, minimising lead times in order to reduce the impact of its activities on both customers

Away from its commercial aviation sector projects, the company has also proven itself to be an important partner to the Royal Air Force (RAF), with work carried out at RAF Gibraltar, RAF Akrotiri, and more recently RAF Marham in Norfolk and end users. In each project location, it uses the expertise of its dedicated and long established supply chain, working in partnership to develop optimum solutions that provide the best possible value, and exceed customer expectations.

Capabilities that the company possesses include: • Design, production and placement of Marshall asphalt and pavement quality concrete, using its own modern batching plants • Delivery of design and

construction airside civil projects • Night time possession resurfacing and rehabilitation projects • Hangar and terminal building construction • Delivery of projects in logistically challenging locations • Delivery of fully integrated solution for its clients • Delivery of associated infrastructure projects including roads and marine works

Team approach Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure has built up a dedicated and agile team that works with its clients from conception right through to completion on every project the company undertakes. The team the client meets at the start of the project journey is the one that will be with it every step of the way.

These teams have successfully delivered over 60 projects across the globe, using the company’s

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profile: Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure

in-house plant fleet, often carrying out works during strict night time possessions to ensure minimal disruption.

Careful planning Examples of the company’s work highlight the fact that it is well versed in handling contracts for both civilian and military clients. In the case of the former, examples include its efforts at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and London City Airport (to name just two such instances).

In Washington, the contract for the rehabilitation of the runway, overlay and taxiway will run for a duration of 74 weeks, and is to be undertaken in ten discreet phases, typically beginning at 23:00 each night and finishing at 05:30 so as for the runway and/or taxiway to be reopened to aviation traffic.

Lagan anticipates removing and replacing over 62,000 tonnes of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) in delivery of the project. The HMA paving work also includes 25,000 linear feet of asphalt joint/crack sealing, performance milling and a three inch HMA overlay on the runway and taxiway areas, full depth HMA pavement repairs in an area of 25,400 square yards, cement stabilisation works; and new electrical ducts and AGL lighting.

At London City Airport, meanwhile, the company successfully completed a £21 million project that involved the strengthening and overlaying of the existing 1.5 kilometre runway with a new asphalt surface, the full-depth reconstruction of four existing taxiways, and upgrades

to lighting and drainage systems.

Working closely with airfield operations and security to ensure the smooth running of the works within a busy airport environment, a dedicated Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure team worked in limited possession from 21:00 to 05:00 every Tuesday to Sunday.

A separate team was then onsite during the day.

The noisiest works were scheduled for the beginning of the shift, typically before 23:30 during the week, and during daylight hours over the weekend.

All plant and equipment on site was less than five years old and was fitted with the best available built-in noise suppression. The company also used fixed and mobile acoustic monitoring units to check noise levels and report each week to Newham Council to demonstrate its compliance with strict measures.

Interesting projects Away from its commercial aviation sector projects, the company has also proven itself to be an important partner to the Royal Air Force (RAF), with work carried out at RAF Gibraltar, RAF Akrotiri, and more recently RAF Marham in Norfolk. As a result of its achievements on said contracts, Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure was awarded a contract to resurface the runway at RAF Northolt, its strategic site in London. The contract, worth £23 million, will upgrade the existing runway, improve drainage and install new arrestor beds to improve safety. The airfield works

are expected to take around six months with the runway being closed for renovation from spring to autumn 2019, and the resurfacing work will extend the life of the runway by ten to 15 years.

James Aikman, Operations Director, Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure commented at the time of the announcement: “Having successfully recently completed RAF Gibraltar, RAF Akrotiri and now nearing completion at RAF Marham, Lagan Aviation and Infrastructure is delighted to have been awarded the runway refurbishment contract at RAF Northolt. We are pleased to be afforded the opportunity to continue our collaborative working relationship with the DIO, which has proven to be successful over the years. Our experienced and dedicated team look forward to delivering yet another interesting project safely, on time and within budget.”

Contract wins such as that at RAF Northolt continue to push Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure towards its ultimate goal, and that is to be recognised for what it believes itself to be – a worldclass family owned specialist contracting business with the potential to grow into the most respected operator of its kind in the construction and services sectors.

Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure www.laganaviation.com Services: Construction of complex airport projects

AUM Construction A family-owned construction business established in 2009, AUM Construction has seasoned itself as a leading international airport runway resurfacing company that enjoys the challenge of taking on large development projects.

Over the years, AUM Construction Ltd has been sub-contracted by many clients, including Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure, to undertake resurfacing or maintenance projects at various airports. Forming close partnerships with its clients throughout the construction process to deliver better value and project outcomes, its mission is to establish long lasting relationships by exceeding expectations and gaining trust through exceptional performance.

Whilst the scope of works may vary from being domestic to commercial - groundwork, labour supply, drainage, property renovation or airport runways, AUM Construction Ltd will always be proficient when it comes to concrete.

As a construction company, AUM Construction Ltd has dug deep to create a strong foundation from which it can build upon and cultivate new relationships.

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profile: Trafikverket – Stockholm Bypass Project

Digging

deep

Once open, the E4 Stockholm Bypass project will include one of the longest road tunnels in the world, an achievement being made possible by the work of countless players, including Trafikverket – the Swedish Transport Administration

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t was approximately one year ago when Construction & Civil Engineering first spoke to Trafikverket Project Director Johan Brantmark about the work being undertaken on the hugely important E4 Stockholm Bypass road infrastructure project. At that time, Johan spoke in detail about the ways in which the

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massive project would provide numerous benefits to a fastgrowing city that welcomes upwards of 40,000 new inhabitants per annum.

The new link will connect the southern and northern parts of the Stockholm county, relieving the arterial roads and the inner city of traffic, and reducing the vulnerability of the Stockholm

traffic system. Construction work for the first main contracts began in 2015, with the Stockholm bypass anticipated to take ten years to finish. In order to reduce the impact on sensitive natural and cultural environments, over 18 kilometres of the 21-kilometre link will run through tunnels, and by 2035 will accommodate an estimated 140,000 vehicles per day.

Some 12 months on from our initial conversation, Johan tells us about some of the developments that have taken place in the time since. “Today there are intensive works ongoing on all project sites,” he details.

“All major civil contracts have now been procured and works, overall, are progressing well. The tender process for electric and

mechanical works are now almost complete, and we are in the midst of signing the next set of contracts. Since we last spoke, we have also successfully produced more than one-third of the total tunnel excavation, and we have begun the permanent concrete works in the tunnels. Meanwhile, the major part of the earth works above ground are now complete,

as are the initial major traffic diversions.”

Successful delivery A project of such size and scale does, of course, also come loaded with challenges, particularly when the company is faced with delivering such a large, complex tunnel system. Johan, however, is particularly proud of how

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profile: Trafikverket – Stockholm Bypass Project

Trafikverket has already met some of these challenges head on. “One of the big successes in recent months has been the completion of the difficult first section of the Lake Mälaren crossing,” he explains. “This section of the work involved subsea tunnelling in soft ground, the type of undertaking that requires that little bit of extra skill, dedication and care from every individual and party involved. By retaining close collaboration between the client, contractor and designer, we have been able to deliver this phase of the project successfully.”

The men and women working on the E4 Stockholm Bypass project come in for considerable praise several times when speaking to Johan, and it is clear he sees their respective contributions as being vital to the achievements being made on the ground. “I have great belief that we have the very best teams currently active across our various sites, both from within our own organisation and also when it comes to the various contractors at work, and we realise that the

future success of the project is down to have skilled and dedicated people working on all aspects of it, now and in the years ahead,” he enthuses.

Tremendous effort Throughout its time working on the project, Trafikverket has made a tremendous effort to be totally transparent with the public as to the nature of its activities and the impact they have on the wider community. One of the ways it is expanding upon this was through a ‘Public Worksite’ event on 24th November, 2018. On this date, the company closed one of its tunnels to work and invited members of the public to take a trip underground to see the fruits of its labour.

During the course of the remaining weeks of 2018, the main activities that Trafikverket will be focused on include further tunnelling, finishing earthworks and increasing its concreting efforts. Then, as it enters 2019, its focus can also turn to additional tasks. “In 2019 we will see the first break through between tunnels,

as well as the completion of all earth excavation works,” Johan continues. “We are also excited by the fact that civil structures such as bridges, and cut and cover tunnels will start to take shape in the coming months, and that we will also soon see detailed design and initial testing of electrical and mechanical works take place.”

While much has changed in the time since Trafikverket featured within the pages of this magazine, one thing that has not is the end goal that continues to motivate Johan and drive his teams forward. “My long-term goal is to safely complete the tunnel project to the designed standard in time and to the highest level of quality possible,” he concludes. “By doing so we will contribute to what is an evergrowing metropolitan area, where people and goods are able to move smoothly and safely.”

Trafikverket – Stockholm Bypass Project www.trafikverket.se Services: The Swedish Transport Administration 71

profile: Ibstock Brick

The brick experts Producing a rich variety of aesthetically appealing brick ranges, Ibstock Brick has recently opened the world’s most modern brick factory in Leicester

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taying true to its policy of investing heavily in the business, in order to deliver strong returns and support the growth in the market, one of the world’s leading producers of building bricks – Ibstock Brick – recently completed its impressive Eclipse factory in Leicester, whose construction cost around £55 million. “It is the most modern brick factory in the world, covering an area equalling that of six football pitches, and boasting a capacity of producing 100 million bricks per year,” the company’s Operations Director, Darren Bowkett proudly begins. “The site,” he continues, “is unusual, as it has clays on-site, which can fire red, buff, and cream. It can produce three different textures and also has the ability to use many sands and stains to create a large number of colours, which gives us the confidence that we will have the capability to react to our customers’ needs for many years to come.”

Having already started production at full steam, the Eclipse factory is manufacturing two of the most prominent brick types made

by Ibstock Brick – the Leicester Multi Red and the Leicester Weathered Red. These are currently being used in two major projects the business is working on. The Leicester Multi Red product is helping shape the appearance of a new build housing scheme in Leicester, while the Leicester Weathered Red bricks are playing a vital role in making the Ash Gardens complex in Towcester an attractive place for its future residents.

Being completely state-of-the-art presupposes that only the latest technology available has been installed across the factory to make Eclipse as efficient as possible.

“For example, control technology is used throughout the process to ensure quick resolution if the process stops for some reason, also helping us to achieve lower waste and higher quality. In addition, waste heat

By building the Eclipse factory and redeveloping some of its existing factories across the UK, Ibstock Brick has made a clear statement of intent that it wants to lead on the innovation front

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profile: Ibstock Brick

from the tunnel kiln is used to dry the bricks and is injected back into the kiln at the start of the process. We also employ precision robotic technology to set the dry bricks and form the fired product into the finished pack, ready to be delivered to a customer,” Darren explains.

Efficient facilities Passionate about operating in a sustainable manner, Ibstock Brick has succeeded in setting up its new facility in a way that will limit its environmental impact.

“We have installed a smart lighting system, which monitors the lighting levels and adjusts the light in the building, taking into account the availability of natural light. Furthermore, because we aim to use natural light wherever possible, we have also placed translucent panels to facilitate that,” Darren continues.

As discussed earlier, the factory recycles waste heat and has already achieved very low levels of waste, also recycling any defective bricks.

“The significant investment in the Eclipse factory will positively affect local economy, as well,” Darren points out. “Besides opening over 50 direct jobs at the facility itself, many of which are taken by local people, we also support a number of other indirect jobs at the companies that supply Eclipse. We are proud of being actively involved in the life of our local community.

Shortly after the formal opening of the factory in June, we hosted an open day in late September to thank the surrounding community and our employees for their support of the project over the last three years. It pleased us immensely that over 400 people attended the event, for which we had prepared a factory tour and a whole lot of other activities, to showcase what we do here and its importance for the whole area,” he discusses.

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In another considerable factory investment project that started in 2017 and was completed in March 2018, Ibstock Brick upgraded its Lodge Lane facility in Cannock for the sum of £7.6 million. The move included the introduction of a new kiln and was done with the idea of boosting production by up to eight million bricks a year.

Known for manufacturing four types of blue brick – with its most popular being the Staffordshire Slate Blue Smooth – in 65mm, 73mm, and solids, the facility also has a specials department, which makes a variety of shaped bricks, including sills, plinths, bullnose, and chamfered.

Cost savings By building the Eclipse factory and redeveloping some of its existing factories across the UK, Ibstock Brick has made a clear statement of intent that it wants to lead on the innovation front. Darren details: “An example of such innovation could be the development of European colours and textures and we are eager to work more closely with architects, so we can create various truly unique building façades. Taking a look into the building systems field, our ambition is to be leaders in the development of non-combustible products, with Mechslip being a great example of that.”

Launched into the market this

summer, the mechanically fixed cladding system is the first of its kind to use real Ibstock Brick. It was developed in conjunction with Ash & Lacy (A&L) and features Ibstock Brick’s clay slips and A&L’s unique aluminium support rails. Designed to provide substantial cost savings compared to similar systems, Mechslip is also capable of delivering the flexibility and aesthetic appeal of real brick in a fraction of the time.

Ibstock Brick has been selected to work on a significant number of building programmes in recent times, across an impressive array of sectors, such as commercial, education, housing, healthcare, leisure, retail, and new build.

Whilst a detailed account of its case studies is available on the company’s website (https:// www.ibstockbrick.co.uk/casestudies/), it is worth highlighting one or two of the more ingenious buildings, Ibstock Brick has provided its products for.

Impressive projects One such construction is the 14-storey Music Box – a mixeduse development incorporating a campus for the London College of Contemporary Media (LCCM) and 55 residential units, including on-site affordable housing. On Ibstock Brick’s part, the use of brick had to reflect the robust

character of the surrounding area with its white colour underlining the building’s unique identity.

The three-dimensional projecting brickwork pattern, which required special bricks glazed on all visible surfaces, reads like a sheet of musical notes across the page, providing relief, rhythm and interest. To add to its character and slip a historical link in the building’s soul, the pattern resembles Eric Clapton’s guitar riff from Cream’s song ‘White Room’.

Equally impressive has been Ibstock Brick’s involvement in the construction of Putney’s Oasis Academy. A combination of highquality standard and multi-hued glazed brickwork contributed to the stimulating and unique façade of the building, providing an inspiring environment to aid the pupils’ educational and social development.

in the heart of Greenwich. The project utilised Ibstock’s Funton Old Chelsea Yellow brick to mirror the existing bricks whilst adding a contemporary twist.

Ibstock Brick has a proven track

record of strategic investments and the business intends on staying on the same path to ensure its future growth. Plans for sizable organic investments notwithstanding, the company also wishes to be viewed as a reference for transformation in the construction sector. Darren concludes: “We believe that, as an industry leader, we need to lead the way in developing supply chain efficiencies to support our customers and industry partners.

What is more, we need to do this by operating at the highest levels of health and safety, which will guarantee our continued success in the coming years.”

Ibstock Brick www.ibstockbrick.co.uk Services: Brick manufacturing

Product recognition Providing evidence for its enviable multifunctionality, the company received a whopping 23 nominations for the Brick Awards 2018. These are spread across a wide range of projects, clearly demonstrating the breadth available within the business’ product catalogue. The winners were announced at a ceremony held on 8th November at the Hilton Park Lane in London, with multiple projects being shortlisted for more than one category. The Awards saw three outstanding projects (Marlborough Primary School, Royal Albert Wharf and Scala Yard) using products from the Ibstock Brick range named as winners, with a further two projects receiving commendations from the expert judging panel. Ibstock Brick also proudly sponsored three awards: l Individual Housing Development l Architect’s Choice l Supreme winner The Architect’s Choice Award was awarded to the BPTW Architects designed project at Creek Road

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