Construction & Civil Engineering Issue 127 May 2016

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ISSUE 127 MAY

future Scaling up for the

A £300m construction programme is underway at BAE Systems’ state-of-the-art submarine shipyard, designed to modernise and significantly extend its facilities See page 24

Green development

Belgian site uses BREEAM Communities framework

Polish recovery

Acceleration expected in Poland’s construction industry

Tower transformed

Emirates Spinnaker tower gets new coat of paint

contents Chairman Andrew Schofield Editor Libbie Hammond

libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Art Editor Gerard Roadley-Battin Production Manager Fleur Daniels Advertising Design Barnaby Schofield Staff Writers Jo Cooper Andrew Dann Ben Clark Operations Director Philip Monument Research Manager Laura Thompson Editorial Researchers Nick Bochmann Mark Cowles Tarjinder Kaur D’Silva Keith Hope Sales Director Joe Woolsgrove Sales David King Mark Cawston Rob Wagner Production/ Office Manager Tracy Chynoweth

Schofield Publishing Cringleford Business Centre, 10 Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich, NR4 6AU, U.K. Tel: +44 (0)1603 274130 Fax: +44 (0)1603 274131 www.ccemagazine.com

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© 2016 Schofield Publishing Ltd

FEATURES 2 Working at Height The IOSH highlight some of the lessons that can be learned about working safely at height

6 IT Digital tools and lean principles offer innumerable potential benefits to construction projects

8 Construction Insurance Banks are having a rising influence on the construction sector as they press for more financial protection

24 Cover story 28 IT

12 Case study Mott Macdonald came up with an innovative solution for Singapore’s newest museum

The BIM Level 2 requirement is supported by a whole host of standards, none of which can be addressed overnight

14, 15 NEWS

30 Energy Management

Updates and information from the construction and civil engineering market

The time is right for developers and specifiers to investigate alternative heating and energy solutions

16 BAUMA 2016 EVENT PREVIEW

32 Flood resilience

As the biggest international event of the construction industry, bauma 2016 looks set to be a success

In response to winter flooding, experts have highlighted upstream flood storage as a possible solution

20 Lighting

36 Renovation

What is required to make a building truly smart and how lighting can be involved in that

24 BAE Systems Barrow-in-Furness redevelopment Allan Day speaks to Ben Clark about the progress of the eight and a half year plan to redevelop BAE Systems submarine shipyard

Dealing with the challenges of working on historical renovation projects requires attention to detail and crossorganisational planning

38 Offsite construction How pre-assembled and transportable formwork has played an important part in some of the biggest construction projects

company profiles 40 Colemore Tang Construction 44 Kodumaja 46 Sutton Power Engineering 49 Voorbij Prefab 52 Thatta Cement Company 54 Qatar Rail 60 Electrical Industries Group 62 Cramo Adapteo 65 TRM 68 The NEC 71 Mercury Engineering 76 Vector Foiltec 80 Birchwood Price Tools 83 Acorn Property 85 MEP Solutions 88 LECA UK 92 TROX HESCO Schweiz 96 Betafence 100 HDM Group of Companies 103 Innovaré Systems

106 Bourne Parking 111 Rudridge 114 DYKA 118 KLH UK 122 LSC Group 127 TMCA 130 Abbey Pynford Geo Structures 134 Arkoni 137 Commercial Marine and Piling 140 RAK Ceramics 144 ViaCon Group 148 Premier Modular 151 AB2000 Limited 154 Egyptian Steel 157 Travis Perkins 160 ATG Access 163 Bouwbedrijf 166 Walter Lilly & Co 171 CEMEX UK

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, 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.

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WORKING AT HEIGHT

The height of

safety

Falls from height remain one of the main causes of injuries and deaths among workers in UK construction. The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) highlight some of the potential lessons to be learned from across the globe

W

orking at height is often an essential part of the life of a construction worker. Yet, despite great efforts to tighten regulations and numerous campaigns to raise awareness about the issue, it remains the most common cause of workplace fatalities.

In the UK alone, 41 workers died as a result of falls from height across all industries in 2014/15.

Twenty of these fatal falls took place in construction, while half of all the cases involved workers aged 55 or over.

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More than 12,000 construction workers are also injured in falls from height every year, according to the Labour Force Survey. The causes are varied, as recent Health and Safety Executive prosecutions emphasise. Firms have appeared in court and been fined after workers were, for example, injured in falls following a cold store collapse, use of a platform with unguarded rails and having fallen through an unprotected skylight.

Legislation and processes have evolved over time to help mitigate the risks of working at height, including eyebolts to secure the

ladder via straps, fall protection equipment with personal rope and harness systems and safe chimney and roof processes. Indeed, major organisations, such as BskyB, started in the early 2000s to attempt to ensure the safe lone working of its staff by introducing Working at Height (WAH) training and basic standard equipment, such as ladder stabilisations, battery-powered hammer drills and basic PPE such as hard hats and working boots.

However, the provision of the right equipment is worthless if the right worker behaviours

are not in place, and this is why accessible advice and guidance is an imperative.

Guidance for workers and their bosses needs to be simple, short and succinct. It has to make the biggest impact in the right way to ensure that working practices are safe. When looking at working from height there is a huge range and variety of tasks being carried out every day, from engineers scaling wind turbines to builders’ apprentices using ladders in domestic settings.

One of our key challenges is to engage with those who might not

always hear our messages such as the young and those new to work.

Health and safety is moving into a new era, we need to ensure that our information reaches those that need it, and that it is in the right format to be translated into knowledge and practice.

Looking at guidance around the world, a report was carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States, in 2014 which highlighted how ladders were the leading cause of unintentional fatal injuries, and that 81 per cent of fall injuries in the construction injury

involved a ladder. This is why a number of US agencies – the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Center for Construction Research and Training - announced a national campaign to prevent workplace falls, and why NIOSH is developing innovative technologies to complement safe ladder use.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Abu Dhabi environmental, health and safety management system regulatory framework (AD EHSMS RF) is an integrated system that

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WORKING AT HEIGHT

takes into account all aspects related to protection of the work environment, and the health and safety system of the workers.

It features a code of practice relating to working at heights, which covers the requirements relevant to planning, preparation and conduct of health and safety work practices in connection with working at heights. In 2012, a campaign was launched which aimed for a five to ten per cent reduction in

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fatal occupational injuries from falls and falling objects. This has been credited with helping to achieve a 32 per cent reduction when compared to the previous 12 months, or 16 less worker deaths after implementation of the programme.

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EUOSHA) has also published guidance on its website on how to work at height safely: The best way to prevent a fall

from or through a roof is not to go on it in the first place. If the work needs to be done, ask whether it can be done without going on the roof or whether the amount of time on the roof can be reduced? It may be possible to partially assemble roof sections at ground level; Protective measures may be required at the roof edge, openings, access points to the roof and where there are fragile roof lights;

of equipment to consider. For people who occasionally work at height, the HSE has developed a toolkit which is available through its website and can be used to find out what type of access equipment to use http://www.hse.gov.uk/workat-height/wait/index.htm

The common types of equipment are: • • • • •

Weather conditions should be taken into account as icy, wet or windy conditions can significantly increase the risk of people or material falling; Falling material can kill nothing should be thrown from a roof: use enclosed rubbish chutes or lower material to the ground; do not let material that could fall accumulate; prevent access to danger areas underneath the roof; use debris netting, covered walkways or similar safeguards

to stop falling material causing injury; where possible, avoid carrying large and heavy objects onto roofs; Work on old roofs needs careful planning. You should: identify fragile parts of the roof; identify preventative measures; where necessary, liaise with the client; carry out a structural survey in some cases; and in all cases carry out a risk assessment.

When assessing the work at height there are many types

Ladders and step ladders Podiums and tower scaffolds Scaffolding Vertical (scissor) lifts Boom-type lifts (cherry pickers) The HSE’s brief guide also provides information on how to decide if the people working at height are competent; only people with sufficient skills, knowledge and experience are employed to perform the task, or, if they are being trained, that they work under the supervision of somebody competent to do it.

IOSH is the Chartered body for occupational safety and health professionals, with more than 44,000 members across 120 countries.

Its Construction Group comprises over 12,000 members who work in the sector. Among current strategic aims is to provide members with knowledge and information around a number of key themes, including working at height.

For more information, please see

www.iosh.co.uk

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IT

The sticky note

syndrome Modernising lean scheduling for efficiency in construction. By Paul Daynes

T

he term has been around for some time now; Lean.

Lean processes; manufacturing; construction; design; supply and even ‘thinking.’ The list grows in size as Lean methodologies are applied and adapted to more industrial practices. In essence, Lean means trimming away redundant processes and harmonising the co-ordination critical to project success; and in the construction industry, this taps the knowledge of all the parties responsible for delivering work on a particular building project, and holds each party accountable for delivering on its promises.

A key aspect of Lean is Lean scheduling. In the construction industry, Lean scheduling promises to make as a big an impact as Building Information Modelling (BIM) is having now; by transforming construction efficiency and empowering construction teams. Lean principles attempt to address inefficient processes before they have an impact on a task or series of tasks.

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From note boards to digital screens Traditionally, firms have conducted Lean scheduling using Kanban boards – coloured cards or sticky notes on large boards – which show who is responsible for work to be done, work that’s underway, and completed work. However, a paper-based way of working – particularly in construction where team members are often going back and forth from the office to the building site – can be unreliable and contradict the benefits that Lean can offer.

Spreadsheets are unreliable and difficult to maintain – and sticky notes literally fall to the floor from planning boards! In addition to this, when several decisions and changes are being made each day on any given project – it also puts construction firms and their clients at risk of mistakes being made when it’s not easy to track updates in real time.

Given these changes in the marketplace, there is a noticeable industry shift towards the use of software tools to replace paper sticky notes that serve as a favourite medium for Kanban

cards. The advantage of such software is that it eliminates the labour-intensive, error-prone (that is, non-Lean) process of transferring data from cards to spreadsheets. Lean planning software automatically records the movement of cards across the Kanban board, enabling the generation of real-time reporting, without delays. Because reports are immediate and accurate – and because collaborators do not need to be in the site office to see the board, since it’s viewable on their portable tablets – Lean teams are managing themselves more effectively, with less effort.

Never enough metrics Metrics are vital to the smooth delivery of projects across the industry. Accordingly, Lean production can be surmised by holding up the ‘Three Big Metrics’ in project delivery; constraints, variances, and planned percent complete – PPC. Introducing digital tools that can track data and analyse successes and failures will help managers deliver these metrics. However, capturing reporting data hinges on

transferring information from cards to spreadsheet-based reports; this is where lean processes are vulnerable to failure. Visual production planning software can allow design teams to escape having their planning rooms covered with fallen sticky notes by transferring assets to a digital board.

Once the project has gone digital the possibilities and potential increase. For example, by hosting digital planning boards in the cloud and ensuring that teams can access tasks and plans remotely, construction supervisors, task owners and teams will be free from having to be physically present in the office.

How Costain improved workflow visibility Engineering solutions provider Costain is one such firm that has embraced Lean software. It has deployed LeanPlanner from Newforma, and has since seen a vast improvement across the company in terms of collaboration and workflow visibility.

“We have seen additional improvements in the way we deliver our strategies for Lean construction and Factory

Thinking,” comments Gavin Pearce, Production Control Manager, Costain Group plc. “With virtual collaborative task boards, we have improved the planning and issue resolution with our project teams and partners.

Through improved visibility of tasks in defined work periods and shortening the interval of control, we have achieved greater efficiency in project delivery, with an audit trail that enables precise construction status and productivity reporting to our clients.”

Lean thinking technology Technology has caught up with the process-problems in project delivery; manifested in the digitisation of workloads in the office. Whilst this has resulted in an explosion of data, which project managers now need to deal with, it presents a new horizon for Lean principles.

For example, an exercise in Lean planning would see digital tools used to show separate teams what they have to do, what work they’re doing, and what they’ve done. Enabling interaction with

virtual Cloud-hosted whiteboards would allow collaboration through mobile technology; allowing different teams to access current commitments at any time.

Digital tools and Lean principles have innumerable potential executions in the industry. While technology is key to handling the construction industry’s ‘dataexplosion,’ Lean will help make sense of it. These tools were once commonly held as a luxury, they are now a necessity. In practice, the ruling methodology has been the work paradigm of “Cost – time – quality: Pick two,” whereas it is entirely possible to have all three.

Paul Daynes is Regional Director, UK & Northern Europe at Newforma. Newforma develops, sells and supports project information management (PIM) software for architecture, engineering, and construction firms worldwide, and the building and infrastructure owners and developers they serve. Newforma products raise the productivity of individuals, improve collaboration among project teams, and elevate the effectiveness of organisations.

For more information, please see www.newforma.co.uk

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CONSTRUCTION INSURANCE

Are you

covered?

It is a mistake to ignore the power and influence of the banks when buying insurance protection

O Chris Davies is Director at Prescott Jones Property and Construction Risks

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ne of the less reported effects of the global financial crisis is the rising influence banks have on the construction sector as they press for extra layers of financial protection. Traditionally, the only extra insurance policy needed

by contractors would have been the old JCT 21.2.1, more recently known as the 6.5.1 policy that provides protection against loss, claims or proceedings due to nonnegligent damage to property.

In this piece, Chris Davies, construction specialist and Director of independent insurance broker Prescott Jones

Property and Construction Risks examines the importance of adding to and/or modifying existing policies to satisfy lenders in this evolving period.

Professional Indemnity (PI) Professional Indemnity insurance is now commonly required for anyone acting as a main

contractor, even where all design work is being sub contracted to an architect. Lenders rarely accept the argument that design work is being sub contracted. They require the main contractor, all consultants and key bona fide subcontractors to have their own professional indemnity insurance. This means, if any

company goes bankrupt, they have options against the others should subsequent problems in the building arise.

Environmental Contaminated Land Policies: Contaminated land policies cover unexpected and fortuitous losses arising from historical

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CONSTRUCTION INSURANCE

contamination. This means land has to be analysed and remediated if necessary. Policies typically cover injury and property damage, cleaning costs and fees.

Lenders are usually also looking for loss of rental income and policies are typically issued for single periods of insurance up to ten years.

Environmental Impairment Liability (EIL): A standard public liability policy covers pollution that can be identified as a sudden specific event, for example, a tank bursting. However, where pollution occurs gradually over a period of time, for instance, a slow drip from a supply pipe connecting

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to the tank, it is specifically excluded. Consequently, there are a number of policies available that cover gradual pollution that are more focused on contractors’ environmental exposures.

Contractors All Risks Normally the principal contractor covers the new build structure throughout the lifetime of the contract until practical completion and handover to the employer.

It was common under the JCT Contract Form for cover to be required in joint names of the contractor and employer.

However, lenders now typically want their interest to be noted

by way of a Joint Insured, CoInsured or Composite Insured endorsement. They also often require to be made ‘First Loss Payee’. There can be a significant amount of compromising between lenders, solicitors and insurance companies until an agreement can be reached.

Delay In Start Up (DSU) – Advanced Loss of Profits In the event of major damage to the Contract Works, prior to Practical Completion, the repair/rebuild will inevitably delay handover.

The income that the building was going to generate, by way of rent for example, may be delayed by

the duration for which the bond remains in force. This is normally tied to the contract period with release of the bond on practical completion of the contract.

Unexpected Archaeological Insurance

a month or even up to two years.

It would be typical to cover lost rent or additional finance costs and have an indemnity period reflecting the rebuild time in a worst-case scenario.

It is very difficult for developers to source cover separately from the Contract Works as quickly restoring damage reduces unnecessary delays therefore, typically, the same insurer has to be involved i.e. the contractor’s insurer.

Performance Bonds There is currently a huge demand for performance bonds, which have been around for a long time.

Bonds are typically valued at

ten per cent of the contract and given in favour of the employer, providing a financial buffer to complete a project where the original contractor defaults.

They are typically available from banks and insurance companies, however insurance market bonds are favoured where use of a bank bond would severely deplete the contractor’s working capital.

However, there are certain classes of bonds e.g. ‘On Demand’ bonds that insurers will not underwrite.

The cost and availability of insurance sector bonds is entirely dependent upon the financial strength of the contractor.

Premiums also depend upon

Still in its infancy, employers and funders increasingly demand this.

The UK has a huge, undiscovered archaeological heritage that is protected by several pieces of legislation aimed at protecting and preserving it.

Contractors and developers can and have been badly caught out when archaeological finds are made on the contract site.

For instance, the 1800-year-old Roman sculpture of an eagle discovered at the site of a planned hotel in London in 2013 resulted in costly delays and financial expenditure for parties involved.

The key to the cover is contained in the word ‘unexpected’. A policy would be available following evaluation of the site by means of a desk study and possibly field investigations.

A typical policy would cover cancellation or delay, extra archaeological costs, redesign costs and loss of profit or value.

It is important to recognise that each contract and each lender’s terms will require a tailored solution. Put simply, the need for specialist and independent advice has never been more important.

Chris Davies is Director at Prescott Jones Property and Construction Risks, part of Prescott Jones Insurance Group. Prescott Jones Insurance Solutions is a leading insurance broker in Wales and the west. Headquartered in Swansea, it also has offices in Cardiff and Bristol.

For more information, please see

www.prescott-jones.co.uk/products/ property-and-construction-risks

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case study

Ancient artefacts meet new

technology

Singapore’s newest museum has raised the bar on energy efficiency thanks to Mott MacDonald’s award-winning design cutting energy demand by 28 per cent.

By Joe Ong

S

ingapore’s Indian heritage is being celebrated by a new museum that has literally set new standards for sustainability. The £5.5M Indian Heritage Centre (IHC), located in Singapore’s ‘Little India’ neighbourhood, contains three gallery floors dedicated to Indian artefacts, culture and history. Singapore’s diverse Indian communities number over 350,000 people and form a major proportion of the national population.

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Mott MacDonald was engaged

by Singapore’s National Heritage Board to provide building services engineering and sustainable design consultancy in pursuit of a Green Mark Gold Plus award under the country’s Green Mark sustainable building rating system.

The consultancy’s response to that task was a set of design solutions that reduced the building’s overall energy use by 28 per cent compared to a code-compliant building, and cut operating costs by SG$45,500 (£22,000) annually.

The fundamental challenge facing Mott MacDonald was to reconcile the need for precise 24-hour environmental control to safeguard the museum’s centuries-old artefacts with the need to minimise energy consumption. In a hot and humid climate like Singapore’s, air must be overcooled to remove moisture, then reheated to achieve the best balance of air temperature and relative humidity for human comfort. To enable humidity control without the use of mechanical reheating, the

consultancy designed a means of recycling heat from the intake air.

Humidity control with 44 per cent added efficiency This system works by placing heat exchanger coils either side of the main chiller coil. They are linked in a closed loop, separate from the main system.

The first coil contains cold heat transfer fluid which precools incoming fresh air before it reaches the main chiller coil. The transfer fluid is heated by this process and travels to the second coil where it in turn reheats the now-overcooled air. The transfer fluid becomes cold in this process, and so it recycles back through the loop. Mott MacDonald’s system is 44 per cent more efficient than one using a heat pump at the reheating stage.

This is because all the hard work is done by the main chiller, which is driven by a highly energy efficient centrifugal compressor.

Magnetic levitation is used to eliminate friction between the compressor shaft, which rotates at very high speeds, and the shaft’s support. This creates over 37 per cent greater energy efficiency than a conventional chiller.

To save more energy at night, Mott MacDonald devised an innovative ‘superdehumidification’ process. The chiller is configured to produce very chilled water for a short period before being shut down for a number of hours overnight while the already-chilled water continues circulating. Through rigorous testing, the consultancy showed that this mode of operation meets temperature and humidity requirements while using less energy.

Mott MacDonald worked with the architect and façade consultant to further improve building envelope performance by incorporating a double-skin façade that significantly reduces

thermal gains and solar radiation.

Mechanical fans at the top of the façade space help to induce stack effect ventilation, reducing the overall need for mechanical ventilation.

The double-skin façade also improves acoustic insulation and the inclusion of staircases provides a circulation space for visitors to move between floors. Locating these staircases in the façade freed up extra floor space for galleries and raised floor plate efficiency to 90 per cent, surpassing the National Heritage Board’s requirement of 82 per cent.

Exhibit lighting cuts energy demand by 24 per cent Lighting was another opportunity to save energy. By persuading the gallery consultant that halogen exhibit lighting could be replaced

by LEDs, Mott MacDonald delivered a 24 per cent saving in lighting energy consumption.

Social sustainability was crucial. The community was reflected architecturally, with Indian sculptors commissioned to carve decorations for the entrance projection and the façade staircases designed to resemble traditional Indian

architecture. Following extensive community consultation, the road fronting the IHC was converted into a pedestrianised space for community use.

The consultancy was successful in achieving Green Mark Gold Plus – after overcoming a final hurdle. Existing benchmarks were not applicable to a museum environment with strict environmental control requirements, so Mott MacDonald worked with the local building authority to allow the IHC to be assessed appropriately, by developing alternative baselines for elements such as gallery lighting and air delivery systems.

As a result, the IHC remains Singapore’s only museum to date to have achieved this sustainability award. The new baselines Mott MacDonald helped develop, as well as the design example set by this project, will pave the way for other Singaporean museums to realise similarly high standards of sustainability in future.

Joe Ong is principal engineer, Mott MacDonald.

For more information, please see

www.mottmac.com

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news

Good news for Poland

Green development Developers Ecowijk and Sogent have adopted BREEAM Communities as a framework for achieving the ambitious sustainability goals for the residential development Ecowijk Gantoise in Ghent, Belgium. The site, which has had a rich history in sports for more than 150 years, was sold to developers Ecowijk and Sogent, who in turn agreed on an ambitious project brief for an econeighbourhood that they will develop together.

The use of BREEAM Communities was announced by one of the developers saying: “BREEAM Communities is put forward as a development tool, instead of an assessment tool, to master and manage the broad scale of topics related to sustainable development without limiting creativity.”

Ghent-based property consultant and BREEAM assessor Bopro added: “Our clients integrated our assessment team and the BREEAM Communities methodology early on, recognising the potential of the scheme as a management tool to master the challenging ambitions. A special effort was made for the extensive consultation of all stakeholders, which in turn motivated the City of Ghent to recognise the project and its development process as an exemplary project for new residential developments.”

After a sluggish performance over the past couple of years, the construction industry in Poland is recovering strongly, finds a new report by Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Center (CIC).

In real terms, the Polish construction industry is expected to accelerate at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.17 per cent.

Consequently, the industry’s value is expected to increase from $109.7 billion in 2015 to $134.6 billion in 2020, measured at a constant 2010 US dollar exchange rate.

Infrastructure development is forecast to be a crucial driver behind the future construction growth in the country, and is expected to remain the largest market in the industry over the next five years, while the energy and utilities market will also continue to expand up until 2020.

Awards shortlist

Your views on SuDS Engineering Nature’s Way, the knowledge-sharing initiative for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), has launched a national survey of professionals working with SuDS at the ‘grass roots’ level to assess confidence in progress being made towards best practice implementation across the UK. The survey seeks opinions on the future prospects for SuDS from a wide range of professional disciplines including consulting engineers, house builders, local authority engineers and planners, contractors and environmental agency staff. To take part in the survey visit: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FFCMQL9.

Alex Stephenson, chair of the British Water Sustainable Water Management Focus Group and Group Market Development Director of Hydro International, said: “When Engineering Nature’s Way conducted its first SuDS: The State of the Nation Survey in 2012, the results prompted a great deal of industry debate. We want to see if views have changed, broaden access to participation in the survey and encourage as wide a range of professionals as possible to offer their views.

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Engineering and environmental consultancy Grontmij has had two buildings in a high profile redevelopment project shortlisted for Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Building Excellence Awards, which celebrate the creation of excellent buildings with outstanding craftsmanship, technical innovation, sustainability and high performance. The LABC has recognised Grontmij’s work on Kings Gate and The Zig Zag Building in the ‘Best high volume new housing development’ and ‘Best large commercial building’ categories.

The LABC Building Excellence Awards are a two-stage process beginning in each of 12 regions throughout the UK. The award final will be held on May 13 at The Guildhall, and winners are automatically short listed for the LABC Grand Finals, which are held in London in the autumn.

Training for the future

Award honour

In a move that will give more than 4000 decorators and apprentices the chance to upskill each year with new techniques and ways of working, AkzoNobel, parent company of Dulux Trade, has launched the UK’s first academy for industry professionals, including architects, painters and decorators.

The academy will enable students to receive expert advice in applying paints and coverings, as well as gain an advanced understanding of the essential principles of colour, design and sustainability. It will equip professionals at varying stages of their careers with the skills to build, run and promote a successful company, with a variety of business and marketing courses available.

In addition to training existing professionals, the Dulux Academy will train a new generation

The UK’s fastest growing external maintenance and commercial landscaping company has bee awarded the coveted Queen’s Award for Innovation, the UK’s highest accolade in recognising success in business. The award specifically recognises the significant contribution of the application of technology to servicing its customers including live reporting systems that enables the company to respond rapidly to evolving customer demands. The company has become an exemplar of innovation in its industry sector and a pioneer of technology across its divisions.

of painters and decorators, addressing the skills shortage across the industry and enabling specifiers to access high-quality professionals within the industry.

The first ever City & Guilds Level 3 Certificate in Colour, Design and Professional Decorating – a qualification established specifically for Dulux Academy – will also be on offer.

The academy will work with colleges nationwide to provide 350 workplace opportunities for promising students to inspire the next generation of painters and decorators. Tutors at these colleges will also learn about the latest products, methods and design technology to ensure they are passing on the latest skills and techniques to their students.

Iconic tower transformation The exterior of the iconic 170-metre Emirates Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth has been repainted using protective anti-carbonation coatings manufactured by Flexcrete Technologies Limited.

The renovation was carried out as part of a major £3.5 million five-year naming rights partnership between Portsmouth City Council and Dubai-based Emirates Airline.

The Tower was painted in Flexcrete’s Monodex Smooth coating in blue and white for the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series. Monodex Smooth is a water-based, high build, elastomeric, decorative coating which was specified due to its protective properties, fast curing nature and ease of application by brush, roller or airless spray. This was crucial as the coating was applied by specialist access contractors The Abseilers Limited, so they were able to rapidly apply the coating by brush and roller to the concrete legs of the structure whilst using roped access equipment and techniques.

The bottom 50 metres of the concrete legs were painted in a special Portsmouth blue colour, and white above. It was then decided to enhance the appearance even further by requesting supply of Emirates’ individual corporate metallic gold colour to cover a large central section of the Tower. This led to Flexcrete developing Monodex Metallic, the world’s first metallic anti-carbonation coating, which is applied as a lustrous feature finish over an existing Monodex Smooth base coat. Monodex Metallic is equally suited for internal surfaces to produce a unique, sparkling architectural statement.

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Bauma MUNICH 2016 review

O innovation A platform for

With higher than expected order activity and record levels of demand, the bauma 2016 event held in Munich has once again demonstrated the show as a record-breaking trade fair for construction machinery

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n April 11 2016 the 31st edition of the bauma International Trade Fair for Construction Machinery opened its doors at the Messe Mßnchen trade-fair centre in Munich, Germany. Once again the lively event has reinforced its importance to the construction industry and in terms of success - the exhibition’s visitor numbers speak for themselves. The recordbreaking trade show attracted around 580,000 visitors from 200

countries between April 11 and 17, representing an increase of circa nine per cent compared to visitor footfall at the bauma Munich 2013 exhibition. After Germany, the top ten countries of origin among the visitors were Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, UK, Sweden, the Russian Federation, Poland and the Czech Republic.

The event was organised

by Messe München with cooperation from the Construction Equipment and Building Material Machinery Association and the Mining Association in the German

Engineering Federation (VDMA) and the Committee for European Construction Equipment (CECE) as conceptual sponsors.

Bauma Munich 2016 also broke records in terms of what the event was able to offer, with 3423 exhibitors from some 58 countries presenting their products, developments and innovations at the show. Exhibitors from outside Germany accounted for 63 per cent of the total figure, with 2160 of the displaying companies coming from abroad, representing a higher number than ever before.

This amounted to an impressive 605,000 square meters of exhibition space, a further record for the event. “The response from the participants this year was amazing. The visitors at bauma always come looking to invest, but this year the exhibitors’ order books filled up much faster than expected. Many exhibitors are talking about a record level of demand at bauma 2016 and that is an extremely positive sign in this current uncertain climate,” reveals Klaus Dittrich, Chairman & CEO of Messe München.

“The bauma event is the ideal platform for presenting innovative new developments, because it has a big impact in the industry around the world,” agrees Johann Sailer, Chairman of the VDMA Association for Construction Machinery and Building Material Machines. “Bauma is the ideal platform for presenting innovative new developments, because it has a big impact in the industry around the world. Again in 2016 the world’s largest show of construction machinery delivered impetus for further growth in our sector.”

Across the event a number of talks, conferences and presentations took place, drawing attention to the key trends and innovations occurring throughout the global market. One of the highlights of the event was the THINK BIG! programme that was held in Hall B0. Targeted at young visitors with the aim to provide

essential information about careers and opportunities, 16 toprate companies and educational institutes and associations presented live demonstrations and workshops. A high-tech cockpit, joystick table football, excavator models, grader driving simulations, ball-in-a-maze puzzles and talent machines all featured at THINK BIG!, ensuring that it has a big hit with young visitors.

For grown up attendees, bauma continued in its tradition of providing an important networking and sales hub that resulted in a new precedent in the number of orders signed during the exhibition. Indeed the event resulted in positive results for a number of exhibitors, further highlighting the importance of the exhibition to the construction industry in general. As Stefan Heissler, a member of the Board of Directors of Liebherr-International AG, confirms: “Bauma 2016 was a tremendous success for Liebherr.

We received many orders from a wide variety of different markets. In some segments our expectations were even exceeded.”

As a supporter of innovation within the construction industry,

17

Bauma MUNICH 2016 review

several companies were recognised with bauma Innovation Awards during the 2016 event.

18

The awards were presented as part of the world’s leading trade fair for construction machinery,

building material machines, mining machines, construction vehicles and construction equipment in a lively event at the Allerheiligenhofkirche in Munich.

“The bauma Innovation Award is a reflection of the innovativeness of the German and international construction, building material and mining machine industry,” commented Bavarian Economics Minister, Ilse Aigner in praising the award winners and all of the other companies that took part in the competition. “It serves not only as a demonstration of what is technically feasible, but also points the way to the future.”

During the ceremony six winners were announced across several categories. These include Kramer Werke GmbH,

making an active contribution to sustainable economic progress.’

The minister further described mechanical engineering as a rolemodel industry within Germany and Bavaria, noting that it is the country’s largest industrial segment with more than 220,000 employees.

The 2016 event also saw the launch of its Charity Alliance programme for the first time.

Paying heed to the construction industry’s unique position to advance development around the world, the event gives a stage to charity projects that have helped improve the quality of life of needy people across the globe. Providing a world-class network to promote dialogue across the industry, companies such as Caterpillar, MAN SE, Terex, Volvo CE, Wirtgen,

Zeppelin Baumaschinen and ZF Friedrichshafen, Atlas Copco MCT, AUMUND Fördertechnick and Pilosio all took took the opportunity to showcase their social development projects free of charge. With these and other important programmes drawing attention to critical issues for the construction industry, bauma 2016 Munich has proven to be a huge success. “We make use of the attention bauma attracts to present our innovations. This event is a milestone for the industry,” concludes Masatoshi Morishita, Managing Director & CEO at Komatsu Europe. “It’s not only Komatsu that tries to get certain machines ready in time for bauma. This trade show really drives the entire industry forward.”

www.bauma.de

JOEST

Pfullendorf in the category of machinery; IMKO GmbH, Ettlingen in the field of components; LEONHARD WEISS GmbH & Co. KG, Göppingen for construction process and construction work; the Technical University of Dresden and the Department of Construction Machinery Technology, Dresden for their contribution to research; and Groupe Mecalac S.A., Annecy-leVieux, France and the Technical University of Dresden, Dresden in the field of design. Commenting on the importance of the awards to the German economy and the wider construction industry, Minister Aigner said that the award winners ‘understood the signs of the times’ and that ‘with their innovations they are

Full Screening Power at the Arctic Circle in Norway Scandinavia’s biggest producer of iron ore is relying on JOEST screening technology. The project comprises of a new, turnkey screening and conveying system to prepare iron ore pellets for shipping.

The new screening plant system consists of a storage bunker system, six large double-deck vibrating screens with chutes, various connecting belt conveyors as well as a crusher. The scope of delivery also included the entire steel structure, detailed planning, project management as well as installation and start-up.

19

LIGHTING

levels Innovation on all

Tim Ensor takes a look at what will really be required to create truly smart buildings

T

Tim Ensor is Head of Connected Devices at Cambridge Consultants

20

omorrow’s buildings will not simply be lumps of concrete in which we while away our everyday routine.

Through the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT), paired with innovative construction methods and cutting-edge materials, structures of the not-sodistant future will look and behave very differently from the buildings we know today.

The UK government announced last year an extra £45 million of public funding for IoT research, bringing the total to £73 million.

This has the potential to enable a better-connected world.

However, having heating and cooling controls in a building does not make it a smart building.

Critical to a true smart building is connectivity of all sensors and control equipment, and - crucially - connectivity of people with

the building. Ensuring electronic systems from heating and cooling controls to security and access, lighting, and any other technology, is integrated and connected, so that each one can work in synch with what people really need – that is the true definition of smart.

However, in order to see this take off, it will need to be both economic and easy to use.

To make these future smart buildings a reality will need both

innovation at the individual device level, and also innovation on how we connect them together.

An example of innovation at the device level will continue to come from developments in LED technology. Although not a new breakthrough, we haven’t even touched on the potential capability that this technology could offer in terms of changing the way we light our spaces.

So far, LEDs have mainly been

used to replace existing fixed light fittings, but as we’re seeing in emerging digital signage, LEDs are starting to be used to create displays on any flat surface. We see this being increasingly used at events such as CES to turn surfaces of the exhibition stands into video screens.

As LED technology continues to improve and as prices come down for larger arrays of bright LEDs, we’ll start to see surfaces

21

LIGHTING

being used as light sources to complement the point light fittings we’re used to today.

Innovation in how we connect and control such systems is another area we see vast advancements made in. We have long been able to control our lighting (especially in commercial buildings) from occupancy sensors, daylight sensors etc. but we should

22

expect to see much more sophisticated - and user-friendly forms of control emerging.

We’re starting to see the emergence of smarter lighting, which has much better information about who’s in the building. This is starting to emerge in the smart-home market with smart lights which recognise the presence of a particular individual when their

smart phone comes home (e.g. the Philips Hue system).

Taking this idea into commercial buildings you could expect to see more convenient and efficient lighting if the lighting system knows more about its occupants.

If the lights in a room knows who’s there, it can ensure the lights are on, and that the lights to the exit also stay lit. It could also present a control panel for the lights on

features needed to tailor the lighting control for different building users. This is an example how advancements in connected devices are surging with potential to make buildings smarter for both installers and occupiers.

Using these ideas and the emerging wireless connectivity standards such as Bluetooth Mesh or Thread would enable a more distributed form of lighting control which would mean that these features are easier to use and more economic to install.

The main issues we will have to face in making these concepts a reality are around how to manage the large networks of wireless devices to make this kind of connected lighting scale to large buildings (the Philips Hue system supports up to 50 lights) and also how do we ensure that the user experience for these systems is good. When we scale this technology from a home to a large building, we get added complexity over which lights should be controlled, by who and when.

Smart Buildings and Smart Homes are the focus of a lot of interest as the likely next wave of the Internet of Things. The companies who succeed in this sector will be those who are able to solve these issues in a way which makes it simple for occupiers and building managers to get the most out of the spaces they inhabit and oversee.

the smartphone of people in the building - and by knowing who’s in the room you can ensure that only the people in the room - or others with the right privileges can change the lights from their smartphone.

We recently created a smart lighting controller for one of our clients, including a Bluetooth Smart wireless connection as well as the traditional passive infra-red

(PIR) occupancy sensor and lightlevel sensor. The sophisticated lighting controller uses a Bluetooth Smart connection from a smartphone to configure, adjust or override settings using the rich user interface of a smartphone app. The product is designed to meet the needs of installers and facilities managers by making it quick and easy to configure whilst offering the advanced

Tim Ensor is Head of Connected Devices at Cambridge Consultants. Cambridge Consultants develops breakthrough products, creates and licenses intellectual property, and provides business consultancy in technology-critical issues for clients worldwide. For more than 50 years, the company has been helping its clients turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether they are launching firstto-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies.

For more information, please see

www.CambridgeConsultants.com

23

BAE Systems Barrow-in-Furness Redevelopment

Scaling up for the

future

As the Barrow-in-Furness redevelopment programme at BAE Systems’ state-of-the-art submarine shipyard makes good progress, Programme Director Allan Day speaks to Ben Clark about some of its major challenges as well as its key successes 24

T

he Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, based in Cumbria, has existed since the 1870s as a world-class submarine site. Since 1963 it has been responsible for building all but three of the Royal Navy’s nuclearpowered submarines and as such has been maintained as a cutting edge facility. With the current Astute programme ongoing and the Successor programme gearing up to potentially replace the Vanguard class submarines, a major redevelopment scheme

worth in excess of £300 million is currently underway to modernise and facilitate the extra capacity.

Construction & Civil Engineering spoke to Programme Director at BAE Systems Submarines, Allan Day, who discusses the progress of the eight-and-a-half year plan as well as some of the challenges that are being over come.

“Overall the project is made up of numerous individual schemes constituting a mixture of civil facilities, large engineering workshops, marine installations and a range of

other boundary buildings within the nuclear-licensed site. So it’s a very diverse project,” he explains. “As a key enabler, not only for the delivery of the potential Successor submarine programme, but also the legacy capability for the shipyard long into the future, this is an incredibly significant programme.

It is also the biggest investment the shipyard has seen since the 1980s when the Devonshire Dock Hall (DDH) was built, so it’s a once in a generation investment.”

The project is currently around two-and-a-half years into its schedule with all the planned projects past the concept design stage, with some already mobilised on site. Atkins leads the project from a design point of view, whilst Costain, Shepherd (now part of Wates Construction) and Morgan Sindall hold the main framework contracts.

“The strengths of bringing these three main contractors together on the programme is the requisite capabilities, track record and experience they bring, all underpinned by the safety culture necessary to deliver this vast programme over the time frame,” notes Allan. “This part of Cumbria is not used to such large investment so we recognised that we needed a strong strategic framework that would support this. These organisations were able to work closely and have early engagement with us to support the project’s entire development.”

One of the first major projects to have started construction in 2015 was the Central Yard Complex (CYC). At 45 metres high, 170 metres long and 90 metres wide it will be the tallest building on the site when completed and only a third smaller than the already immense DDH. It is also the largest of this current build programme.

Designed as a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility the CYC

is scheduled for completion sometime in 2017.

“In order to get ahead of the game and mitigate the challenging weather conditions that this coastal site is submitted to in the winter we began the groundworks and enabling works at the beginning of August 2015,” Allan outlines. “This has involved demolishing previous facilities, such as the old boiler shop, to make way for the modern development and has involved around five months of excavating an area 90 metres wide and twice as long in length to prepare the ground for piling rigs, foundation masts and so on.”

Despite the site’s long history this phase of the development didn’t experience any major contamination and has been completed in time for major construction works to begin. In total around 51,000 cubic metres of materials were removed from the ground, most of which was recycled and reused as graded material, minimising environmental and transport impacts. Testament to their expertise, Allan praises the collaborative innovation undertaken by the designers and contractors in achieving this.

In October 2016 the first of the projects to be completed is due for commissioning just outside the main shipyard. The 28,000 square metre strategic bulk store will be a key logistical facility distributing materials to and from the main manufacturing hubs and is currently in the advanced stages of construction. “The main structural steelworks are up and over half the cladding has been completed,” Allan says. “This is on-time and on-budget so our stakeholders are very pleased with progress.”

Around the same time work will also begin on adding a significant extension to the DDH, which will provide additional manufacturing capability, plus office accommodation and workshops

25

BAE Systems Barrow-in-Furness Redevelopment

for over 200 extra people. Allan also highlights a state-of-the-art paint spray facility that is due to start in 2016 as well alongside a number of refurbishment projects to make use of existing facilities in a cost effective manner.

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Operationally the Barrowin-Furness shipyard continues to focus on the current Astute programme as well as readying itself for the potential Successor programme. This poses the development team its biggest

challenge as it enters some major construction phases over the coming months. “It is the closest a construction project can get to open heart surgery,” Allan expresses. “At its peak we will potentially have 850 contractors on site, in addition to the 7000 employees already working here.

It’s a massive task where we have to look at the three individual programmes together and ensure that we can fully integrate the logistics so that they can work side-by-side, harmoniously and with no conflict between them.

However, whilst this will be one of our biggest challenges over the next five years, the intensity of having so many people working here at any one time creates an excellent opportunity for employment.”

Opportunities for employment are not only of benefit for the development programme itself, but also the local economy and the BAE Systems team have

made it a clear remit of theirs to make sure it engages with the surrounding communities in the best way possible throughout the project. “Part of our down-selection for framework contractors was an evaluation on their approach to Corporate Social Responsibility,” Allan continues. “All three evidenced their commitment to this and it is now manifesting itself in tangible benefits on the ground.”

As part of the focus, framework partners are appointing apprenticeships through the local college to provide unique knowledge and experience on the site, and 30 to 50 per cent of the employed workforce is coming from the local area. The organisations are also providing their services to the local schools. In 2015, for example, the team rejuvenated part of a local infant school’s grounds, creating a secret garden for the pupils. Regular local briefings, a

public information centre and a dedicated webpage have also all been set up to ensure that the local communities are engaged with, fully informed and kept up-to-date with ongoing and planned works. Allan also points out that numerous supply chains have been formed from the local economy, and the number of associated visitors to the area has provided a boost to local businesses and amenities.

This focused commitment to responsibly operating also manifests itself in an exemplary health and safety policy on site.

“Between us and the framework partners we have developed a programme-wide SHE Charter, which is people focused and is very much about a leadership and behavioural-led approach to safety,” says Allan. “This is implemented by encouraging people to share best practice with their partners and also by regular meetings at both a programme management and director level.

This way we can continually assess the logistics and actively review onsite performance from a design, buildability, implementation and also an enduser point of view. It is absolutely the first item on any agenda, is

Right Allan Day, Head of Barrow site redevelopment programme non-negotiable and to date our AFR is still at 0.0 per cent.”

The Barrow-in-Furness development is undeniably large in both its scale and its impact on the site’s future. Over the course of 2016 construction will be in full flow with a total of five major projects ongoing simultaneously before the year is out, meaning that many of the commitments already highlighted here will become even more important. Ultimately it is clear that BAE Systems and its partners will continue throughout the remainder of the programme with an integrity and excellence already demonstrated by early works and its responsible approach to the people both on and off site.

www.baesystems.com

27

IT

2016BIM Mandate

Getting the basics right for BIM Level 2. ByDavid Light

W

ith the introduction of the government’s BIM mandate in 2016, all contractors of public sector buildings will be required to be BIM level 2 compliant. One of the original drivers for the mandate was around reducing the carbon emissions during a build by using efficient and sustainable construction practices, such as 3D simulation and analysis. BIM level 2 provides a consistent framework for managing construction projects to continue such sustainable practices during the build and throughout the entire structure lifecycle.

It’s important to realise that these public sector requirements are not simple undertakings that can be addressed ‘last minute’.

They will require planning, investment and patience.

Organisations such as BDP and BAM have already begun

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preparing for mandate, which should act as a marker for all firms in the industry. The BIM Level 2 requirement is supported by a whole host of standards including operational data management, stakeholder readiness and security – none of which can be addressed overnight.

The BIM Level 2 basics 1. Standards across the supply chain Broadly speaking, the focus of the mandate isn’t simply pushing firms to invest in the latest technology. Instead, the focus should be around collaboration.

For example, one of the basic standards of BIM Level 2 is having

a central source of truth for all stakeholders to share documents, data and models, referred to as CDE or Common Data Environment. The most common framework deliverable required

by Level 2 is COBie (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange) – a data format for the publication of a subset of building model information focused on delivering building information.

Different stakeholders are required to associate various data sets such as area specifications, costs and suppliers that are then extracted into an Excel spreadsheet to make it easier to maintain a building throughout its lifecycle. COBie helps capture and record important project data at the point of origin, including equipment lists, product data sheets, warranties, spare parts lists, and preventive maintenance schedules. While this doesn’t require the 3D modelling we associate with BIM, it is an essential deliverable to be Level 2 compliant.

2. Invest in the right technology Even if your company has invested in a BIM platform it doesn’t mean that you’re automatically going to be able to reap the rewards of the BIM process. When choosing BIM software, companies need to almost work backwards and consider what deliverables they have to provide to their clients and then form an action plan for deployment. This includes getting staff up-to-speed on how to use the tools efficiently.

3. Education is the foundation Contractors and architects need to educate their employees on firstly the BIM mandate standards and also how to use the tools. Each stakeholder in the construction project must be able to digest the jargon within the mandate, make it relevant for them and know what data they need to deliver in projects in order to be compliant for Level 2.

They also need to keep up with changing legislation.

The good thing is that there are various sources that can help make the legislation palatable, including industry groups, BIM hub user groups, training courses and online resources.

Demand for BIM is growing – don’t miss the boat

won’t be the end of the journey for BIM. As an industry we need to continue working towards a future where we are able to build even more sustainable, attractive and better uses of space. Within the industry there’s already talk about BIM Level 3 and the rise of smart cities as the future of construction.

To survive, firms must strategically position their use of technology, and educate and work collaboratively between their supply chain vendors and industry bodies to share concepts and recommendations. If we continue building on our BIM success in the UK, construction projects will be more sustainable and we will also have more innovative design and engineering strategies, providing firms with a significant competitive advantage. It’s a really exciting time to be a British business in this space.

One of the key objectives behind the government mandate is to act as a catalyst for the industry as a whole to modernise and improve its processes, quality, efficiency and sustainability. For those who innovate now and ensure that they are at least BIM level 2 compliant, they’ll be able to bid for and win projects wherever and whenever public or private clients demand it.

Moreover, the number of project owners around the world requiring the use of BIM is also rising. The UK is leading the world in this respect and this offers a huge opportunity for British businesses to export skills and win more international projects, positioning UK organisations as best in class, both at home and abroad.

David Light is a BIM Consultant at Autodesk.

Autodesk helps people imagine, design and create a better world. Everyone - from design professionals, engineers and architects to digital artists, students and hobbyists - uses Autodesk software to unlock their creativity and solve important challenges.

The future of BIM and connected Britain

For more information, please see

It’s important to remember that 2016 will be a milestone but it

www.autodesk.com

29

ENERGY MANAGEMENT

Offering

alternatives Neil Birdsall discusses the recent changes to the heating and energy management markets and the opportunities presented to the industry

R

ecent figures from comparison service uSwitch.com have highlighted that nearly three million consumers have switched energy provider in the last 12 months. These figures alone show how savvy consumers are becoming when shopping around looking for the best deal possible. It is therefore equally important that installers are equipped to unlock further potential reductions when assessing their current heating systems.

Installers must also be up to

30

speed with the current trends and associated positives and negatives of different types of energy.

Recent figures from Department of Energy and Climate Change show that the number of houses using electricity to heat them is on the rise. This change can be attributed to the preference in new build properties for electricity over gas systems and, as with many of these trends, this is beginning to be replicated in the refurbishment market.

The winter months are well and truly here and 60 per cent

of a homeowner’s annual bill is accrued during the colder season.

Giving those in new properties the opportunity to access real-time information on how much energy they are consuming, and more importantly how much this is costing them, is a very useful tool, and installers can maximise this by promoting the use of smart meters. A recent survey showed that 64 per cent of smart meter users saved up to ÂŁ75 per year on their energy bills.

Home automation technology has been available for many years

but demand for systems in the UK have, until recently, been largely limited to luxury homes and specialist projects. However, with declining costs and complexity, plus greater awareness of system benefits, home automation is set to become one of the fastest growing markets in the UK. There are now thermostats available, such as the third generation Nest Learning Thermostat, that learn user’s preferred settings, then programme themselves, whilst also capturing data on how long it takes to heat the home, ensuring it reaches a comfortable temperature by the time the homeowner wakes up. They are also able to sense when the home is vacated and turn down accordingly. Importantly for endusers, many of these types of products come with smartphone and tablet apps to control and monitor energy usage remotely, allowing them to see savings in real-time.

With so many products currently available, and new products constantly coming to market, developers should ensure customers are given as much information as possible in order to allow them to make informed decisions that could make a difference to their energy consumption. Allowing customers the opportunity to save energy will not only save money, but will also improve overall customer satisfaction.

For those customers who are in the market for a system upgrade, switching from a ‘wet’ heating system using hot water pumped round the house to a modern completely electric system can further reduce energy costs and overall usage. With insulation improving and homes becoming increasingly airtight, homeowners heating demands are changing.

The versatility of electric heating means that systems can meet

end-users comfort and budgetary requirements.

A further money saving incentive that needs to be communicated to customers is the benefit of switching to electronic thermostats and radiators that feature built-in thermostatic controls. A typical three-bedroom semi-detached property can save up to £150 and 630kg of carbon dioxide a year through the installation of a new thermostat and, by turning down room temperatures by just one degree, save a further £75. What’s more, these changes can be made with minimal disruption, as it is not necessary to replace the boiler to make the switch, which should be a key selling point to customers.

An extra benefit of installing electric radiators is that they can be used almost anywhere in a room and come in a range of sizes to suit, and, importantly for installers and homeowners alike, can be fitted and working within a matter of minutes. Installers can also leave customers safe in the knowledge that gone are the days of the expensive annual boiler inspection and with a simpler electronic system, maintenance is much easier.

Suitable for both new-build and refurbishment projects, the newest electric heating technology features on-board energy monitors allowing occupants to see exactly how much energy is being used to heat a room, helping them make

an informed decision on comfort versus cost.

With modern electric radiators featuring digitally controlled thermostats accurate to within 1°C, electric heating can quickly respond to maintain constant room temperature, reducing the overheating of rooms and limit the unnecessary consumption of energy.

Demonstrating cash savings to customers in real terms can help them understand and buy into the benefits of new technologies and products. Likewise, demonstrating how all those technologies can interlink to provide them with an end solution designed to save more energy and money means they are able to see the bigger picture and all possibilities.

With rising energy bills and a raft of challenging legislation driving the demand for renewable, low carbon alternatives to gas, oil and LPG heating, the time is right for developers and specifiers to investigate the alternative solutions that can be offered to consumers.

Neil Birdsall works at leading electrical wholesaler, YESSS Electrical. Normanton-based YESSS Electrical, established in 2012, is one of the UK’s fastest growing companies and recently opened its 90th branch. Employing 850 staff nationwide, YESSS has plans to expand throughout 2016 to achieve a network of 150 UK branches.

For more information, please see

www.yesss.co.uk

31

FLOOD RESILIENCE

Holding back the

floods

Mark Goodger suggests it’s time to change the paradigm for flood resilience and move to sustainable, long-term upstream defences 32

T

he destructive power of floodwater has been all too evident during another winter of relentless and repeated storms in some parts of the UK. Finding longterm solutions to building flood resilience is back at the top of the agenda, and it is the civil engineering community that can provide precision-engineered answers.

Following Storms Desmond and Eva, the Government confirmed details of its National Flood

of vulnerable areas could be considered.

Well-proven engineering

Resilience Review to assess how the country can be better protected from future flooding and extreme weather events.

It says it will start to consider the longer-term strategy for flood defences later this year, aligning closely with Defra’s work on integrated catchment-level management.

Flash river floods are one of the most powerful, and often all-too-sudden, consequences of relentless rainfall in vulnerable low-lying areas. The problem is, it’s already too late when water

from the surrounding uplands has raced down highland slopes to the valleys below.

In response to the winter flooding, many expert commentators have highlighted upstream flood storage as one solution that could provide more sustainable, long-term resilience.

UK Environment Secretary Liz Truss and Neil Parish, Chair of the EFRA committee, also both seemed to suggest that providing positive rewards for farmers for managing temporary flood storage areas upstream

In fact, the value of holding back the river water upstream, well away from vulnerable homes and businesses, in upstream flood storage defences is already a proven and sustainable alternative.

It makes a lot more sense than just building higher and higher walls, floodgates and levees in the valleys and hoping that the surging river will not overtop them – especially as climate change makes such intense storm events more likely.

Controlling floodwater by holding back flow means finding space to store the water temporarily upstream so it can be discharged at a rate that protects the downstream environment.

Whether in a river, a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) or below ground in a combined sewer, the same rules of precision engineering apply.

Vortex flow control technology is already familiar to civil engineers and contractors as a means of regulating the flow in watercourses by flattening out

33

FLOOD RESILIENCE

peak flows, thereby protecting the downstream catchment from flash flooding. Hydro-Brake flow controls are a commonplace solution in our urban environments as a sustainable, nopower and low maintenance way of managing flood protection.

Civil engineering has also taken on board their long-proven ability for larger-scale flood alleviation measures for rivers and watercourses, leading to some of the most spectacular schemes. The technology has been ‘supersized’ in fluvial projects across the country and is now a familiar approach that is successfully protecting more than 4000 homes and businesses in cities, towns and villages.

The world’s largest HydroBrake flow controls on the White Cart River hold back flows in the highlands above Glasgow. At the

34

time of planning the scheme, it was recognised that building defences along the river’s urban banks alone would have required flood walls over two metres high, which would have been a hugely disruptive construction project and would have closed down the natural river system in the some places.

Instead, three upstream flood storage areas were constructed on agricultural land in the highlands above Glasgow with a capacity to hold up to 571 million gallons of floodwater. At the same time they provided 90,000 m2 of wetland habitats. As part of the scheme design, plans were made to enhance biodiversity and wildlife habitat of the area with the creation of woodland, scrub, and species-rich wet grasslands, shallow scrapes and ponds and other artificial habitats.

One of the biggest advantages of the cone-shaped vortex flow control technology is that it comes into operation automatically as the river levels rise. There is no power needed, no one needs to be there to operate the flood defence in an emergency, and there are no moving parts or electrical systems that could fail.

The flood storage has been custom-designed to precisely calculate the capacity and reach of upstream storage areas; using the correct Hydro-Brake flow control can reduce the volume of flood water to be stored by up to 30 per cent compared to fixed orifice controls; reducing land take during storm events.

Flow control selection Choosing the correct flow control solution follows the same principles for any scheme, however large or small. It depends firstly on the physical space available for storage - there may be strict limitations in an urban area, for example - and secondly on the affordable project costs of creating the storage, both in terms of land value and construction.

The maximum storage water

level is often limited by the existing topography, infrastructure or property. The engineered storage area could be used when not in flood for agriculture, or for leisure and recreation. Drain down after events should therefore ideally be rapid, to restore land to its primary use, and authorities may need to ensure public education to warn of the risk of flooding, especially where flood events are infrequent but significant.

A range of solutions is available starting with a basic orifice plate, best suited where the area available for storage is not limited. The most advanced vortex flow controls offer precision engineering that achieves the best-possible hydraulic response for a device without any moving parts or external power requirements. To get closest to the smallest upstream storage volume, a float-operated flow control provides precise performance by creating a continuously variable orifice that changes in direct relation to the

water height and enables rapid drain down to protect against the next peak flow.

Engineering a balance Hydrological and hydraulic modelling for each of the control technologies, combined with a range of storm event and duration probabilities, will be used to calculate the storage needed and its capital investment implications.

The storage volume needed must be carefully balanced against the cost and complexity of the flow control solution selected.

Mark Goodger is Regional Technical Manager for Hydro International’s Stormwater Division. Hydro International, which has offices in the UK, USA and Ireland, provides cost effective solutions for controlling the quantity and improving the quality of water with minimal maintenance. Hydro products have won international awards for outstanding contributions and technical innovation in the water industry.

For more information, please see

www.hydro-int.com

35

RENOVATION

life Back to

Luke Czerpak explains the challenges involved in working on historical renovation projects

R

estoring and renovating older properties often presents a series of significant challenges for all the professionals involved; from architect to engineer. Apart from all the red tape that surrounds historic and listed buildings, the fabric of the building itself can present a whole range of problems.

Electrical refits are commonly an important part of most renovation projects and often require a different approach to working on a new or modern build. The issues range from ensuring that wiring is sympathetic and unobtrusive,

36

Above Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London

to installing heating systems appropriate for the preservation of historical artefacts.

Safety first But the most important factor in any electrical installation will always be safety. With electrical faults reported to be one of the major causes of fire, this is crucial in any project, but becomes even more pertinent when working in older buildings where wiring may be outdated or hazardous.

The impact of fire in properties of historical or cultural significance can be costly and culturally disastrous. For example, the 1992 fire at Windsor Castle resulted in a ÂŁ36.5 million repair

bill. More recently, last year’s fire at stately home Clandon Park destroyed several Victoria Cross medals plus valuable 18th century porcelain, furniture and textiles.

Investigators have concluded that the probable cause was a defect in an electrical distribution board in the basement. So, ensuring the safety of electrics in older properties has to be a priority.

Meeting a range of demands Having worked on a range of heritage projects from museums to Landmark Trust properties, in our experience, each project will have a set of strict installation and renovation guidelines,

increasingly including stipulations regarding sustainable practice.

Many projects also involve the added challenge of liaising with a wide variety of organisations, some with differing agendas: local heritage officers, charitable trusts, local authorities, building services engineers and architects - in addition to the usual health and safety certification bodies.

Apart from safety, the main objective of any electrical work within a restoration project is to be sympathetic to the original character of the building. Whilst the technology involved is 21st century, the electrics have to complement their surroundings, ideally being hidden from view if possible. This can often be difficult to achieve as most older buildings originally accommodated limited services. This means that electrical systems have to be incorporated into structures that simply weren’t designed for them.

So, system design in heritage properties often involves minimising the physical and visual impact on the building. This can be achieved by concealing electrical equipment in ancillary rooms such as cellars or storerooms. One advantage of an older property is that they tend to have many void spaces. Roof areas, floor cavities, redundant chimneys, gaps behind skirting boards, panelling or architraves and the insides of disused gas and heating pipes can often be suitable sites. For example, in a recent project at Miranda House (the Embassy of Venezuela), the original gas lamps were converted to LED lights and heaters were hidden beneath floors. Reusing any previous holes, notches and cable routes can also minimise disruption.

Reuse, replace or replicate?

Most projects will entail retaining the original fixtures and fittings – or at least the appearance

Creating the right climate

of them. This means that are fittings may often be replicated or renovated. Existing fittings and fixtures can be adapted to provide modern services e.g. gas lamps can be converted to modern light fittings. However, it’s a demanding process, which may require the use of specialist craftsmen to undertake building work, carpentry, decorating and plastering. It is also important to future proof the property by incorporating spare capacity to avoid frequent re-wiring and associated damage.

Fortunately the technology we have available in the electrical and construction industry can help to minimise any invasion. The use of radio frequency control may avoid unnecessary cabling, whilst the installation of specialist containment systems and cabling (including steel conduit, micro bore tubing and MICC cabling) can reduce the potential for invasion and damage.

However, challenges aren’t restricted to the fabric of the buildings themselves. Many heritage properties house precious artefacts, requiring careful storage and climate control and so many of these installations are highly specialised.

For example, a recent project at the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House in London required some delicate work on conversion, lighting and climate control. As the home of a world famous collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art works, the project involved the conversion of a picture store into a gallery area. A key part of the project’s brief was to install a BMS system, allowing the gallery to control the humidity and temperature in order to meet stringent guidelines set

by Art Council England – and to protect some great works of art.

Combining the elements of history and technology in a successful heritage renovation requires cross-organisational planning, a clear understanding of the project, attention to detail and high levels of skill. It’s certainly a challenge – but that’s also what makes such projects so interesting. After all, what could be more rewarding than preserving our past for future generations to enjoy?

Luke Czerpak is the Compliance Manager at Eaton Electrical and has been involved in many heritage projects including museums and art galleries, as well as National Trust and Landmark Trust properties. Eaton Electrical has been providing electrical contracting and building maintenance services throughout the UK for over 20 years.

The company offers complete turnkey solutions, including design, installation and maintenance, as well as a free energy audit service.

For more information, please see

www.eatononline.co.uk

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OFFSITE CONSTRUCTION

form UK projects hit top

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K construction has seen significant growth in over the past 12 months, with the industry expected to add more than £12bn to Britain’s economy over the next two years, according to research conducted by the Construction Products Association, and sector growth estimated to increase by 23 per cent at the end of 2018.

As a result of this upward turn, there has been increased demand for simple and timesaving solutions that can be tailored towards each project and help contractors meet tight deadlines.

Pre-assembled and transportable formwork has played an important part in some of the past year’s biggest projects.

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By Alasdair Stables

Regeneration

In recent years we have seen a gradual rise in the regeneration of inner city areas, which includes London Dockland’s new residential development, New Providence Wharf, as well as ambitious projects taking shape after years in planning with the Queensferry Crossing a perfect example. Each of these projects has one thing in common: a need to conduct a smooth execution of all working operations.

Using the correct formwork and scaffolding solution is key to the success of a project. All of our solutions are tailored to our customers’ needs, meaning that contractors can receive equipment on-site that provides the right solutions no matter what the size and scale of a project.

Pre-assembled equipment, for example, ensures that no time is lost in erecting and dismantling supportive formwork, a great benefit when it comes to managing manpower and meeting tight deadlines.

Birmingham city centre – new car park and retail space To overcome tight working conditions, PERI supplied its MULTIPROP table system, which was pre-fabricated off-site at its Rugby depot. This meant that the MULTIPROP tables were delivered to site ready-to-use. In total 124 tables were fabricated off-site and easily moved from floor to floor using PD8 trolleys.

The MULTIPROP legs and frames were already in position

when the ready-to-use tabletops were delivered to site. This demonstrates PERI’s technical expertise and unique resources, which were not matched by any other formwork supplier working within restricted spaces.

New Providence Wharf, London – new residential tower block This build used a complete range of PERI equipment, including its RCS-C climbing system with TRIO Panel Wall Formwork, which has all been engineered towards construction specifications. This meant that time was saved and safety was assured by achieving greater support from the formwork as the tower progressed in height on the construction of the 45-storey residential tower.

Pre-assembled and transportable formwork elements such as slab tables, special column formwork, architectural fair-faced formwork or customised formwork, have become very popular. PERI provides these services within its state-of-the-art assembly halls at its head office in Rugby. Here, highly qualified personnel work with optimally designed machines and equipment to ensure cost-effective solutions for even the most unusual architectural requests.

The assembly service PERI provides offer several advantages, including the reduction of mobilising equipment on site, ideal for locations such as city centres where space can be limited and, in some cases, storage nonexistent. The Midlands-based

fabrication service means clients save time and labour costs as no site assembly of equipment is necessary, and customers can order the products on a ‘just in time’ basis. This approach has been welcomed by many inner city project managers, as well as infrastructure builds where space is a constant obstacle when planning the solution.

With having the formwork pre-fabricated at PERI, costs can be monitored closely and quality assured under controlled conditions, which cannot be replicated on site. A further important advantage is the increase in safety, as the equipment is being assembled

by PERI experts. Therefore, it’s no surprise that we are seeing more firms approaching us for economical optimal system equipment for each application and we predict that the demand for such services will continue to set us apart from the competition.

Alasdair Stables is Managing Director at PERI Ltd UK. PERI offers a comprehensive product range and has vast experience in the development and manufacture of formwork and scaffolding systems tailored to customers’ needs. As well as materials, PERI also provides a comprehensive range of services, including site assistance and an assembly service, which has seen many projects combat challenging conditions and save resources.

For more information, please see

www.peri.ltd.uk

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profile: Colemore Tang Construction

up

Building For Birmingham based construction firm Colemore Tang, continued evolution is key to achieving success in a highly competitive industry

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ith no legacy projects hanging over from the economic recession Colemore Tang Construction (CTC), which was born in February 2014, has undertaken a journey of significant evolution over its first two years of doing business. Established to serve the contracting needs of Birmingham property developer Seven Capital’s (SC) 253-bed, four-star Park Regis hotel at the

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right value, CTC’s ability to deliver major refurbishment work to the right standards but at highly competitive prices meant that it secured a significant framework to deliver all SC’s refurbishment and new build residential project for the following five years. This represents a pipeline of around 1000 units per year on SC development sites.

When Construction & Civil Engineering last featured the company back in July 2015, MD Andy Robinson highlighted four

major projects that effectively kicked off the company’s success.

The first being the Park Regis hotel, which was closely followed

by One Hagley Road, a 22-storey, 270-apartment conversion project in Birmingham. The year also saw work commence on a 313-unit, part-conversion, partnew build project in Digbeth, and the Kettleworks and St George Urban Village scheme in the city’s Jewellery Quarter, which includes the refurbishment of an historical building into 313 units, plus a new

company experienced a notable flourish of activity topping out four projects in just one day.

Such ability is testament to the deeply ingrained knowledge and expertise held within the relatively young company by a tight-knit team of highly experienced individuals from a wide range of operational, development and contracting backgrounds. “The business is always working hard to maintain its ‘fast-track’ reputation for delivering high quality on time and on budget,” explains Andy.

“We have developed a strong image within the industry for a no-nonsense, practical approach, which is heavily client focused and allows the client to have complete trust in what we are doing and how we are delivering it. Our long-standing experience within

the operational and development sectors culminates in being able to demonstrate a mindset of developer first and contractor second, and means that as a team we are able to approach a range of detailed matters in the right way.”

At present, CTC is working on numerous projects that perfectly demonstrate the broadening scope of delivery expertise held within the business. Many of these are centred in Birmingham, however 96 units in Liverpool, 230 units (plus retail space) in Basingstoke and a 200,000 square foot distribution centre in Northampton also feature on its portfolio of ongoing works.

“Clearly our residential pedigree is second to none, especially when it comes to our conversion

build 320-unit village.

“The ten months since have been hectic to say the least,” Andy comments, looking back at only the business’s second operational year. “We have continued with these four large projects and this has resulted in us completing and handing over 600 apartments as well as the four-star hotel. We have also added a further six projects, which we are now on site with, contributing a further 1000 units to our portfolio.”

Indeed, as CTC entered 2016 the

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profile: Colemore Tang Construction Building Design Group Bespoke, considered, progressive architecture for discerning commercial and private clients is at the heart of what Building Design Group do. With a proud history and a strong portfolio of national and international projects, Building Design Group are a dedicated and passionate team, who enjoy delivering a great service and well-designed buildings to their clients. Drawing on a diverse skill set and varied project history, Building Design Group respond quickly and effectively to a wide range of projects from luxury residential development to one off commissions, in retail, heritage, office and industrial sectors. skills,” Andy highlights. “However, it is the Park Regis hotel with the roof-level Rofuto restaurant – a fantastic Japanese-fusion venue and Saki bar – that we are particularly proud of. We were involved in all aspects from the technical conversion work right

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down to the interior design and branding of the finished product.”

Keen to continue the excellent work that has defined CTC’s short history, the company is currently undergoing a strong recruitment drive, bringing eight additional key people on board

over the last 12 months. “However, we are still facing the challenge of a labour shortage within the industry,” explains Andy. “We are doing what we can with South Birmingham College and other educational establishments to help provide placements and permanent work opportunities on our projects for local labour.

It is still a struggle though. The discussion regarding off-site manufacture is advancing quickly because of these labour issues and I feel sure they will continue to become more critical to the necessary efficiencies that we need to bring into our processes.”

Andy himself demonstrates this commitment to future skills and talent even further, recently being invited onto the board of Dudley Education College for the development of a new

market will see CTC making further inroads into new build projects.

“Ultimately, it’s all about ensuring we deliver what we say we will deliver to our clients, whilst at the same time continuing to hone our skills and stay ahead of the game, adding value to their businesses wherever we can,” he says. “We will also be looking to expand our capabilities to a wider client base, so more commercial projects, such as the upcoming distribution centre, will start to feature more and more alongside our great work in the residential sector.”

Construction Training Facility.

“It’s a real privilege to assist the board on the new Advance II building,” he expresses. “This is being built now to house 400 students who will be able to concentrate on new technologies in the construction industries – something that is very close to my heart. I am really looking

redevelop in the right locations is becoming more and more difficult, so over the course of 2016 the

Colemore Tang Construction www.colemoretang.com Services: Leading construction company based in Birmingham specialising in refurbishment and new-build projects

forward to lending assistance and ensuring that the courses are focused on delivering practical and relevant skills for the industry.”

As far as the future of CTC is concerned, the company will continue bringing new talent on board as well as developing its offering to the market. Andy highlights that finding new large existing vacant office buildings to

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profile: Kodumaja

Working

together

With two decades of proven industry experience, Kodumaja has established a reputation as a leading manufacturer of prefabricated modular units throughout Norway and beyond

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ince its formation during 1995, Kodumaja has simultaneously represented a brand trademark and the name of a group of companies specialising in the construction of high-quality housing using modular fabrication techniques.

Through the implementation of its effective and futureorientated construction method the company ensures that all of its completed projects conform to the various construction requirements and standards within its strategic markets.

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Presently 96 per cent of the housing built by Kodumaja is constructed in the Nordic countries, mostly Norway and Sweden, but also Denmark and Finland, while the remaining four per cent is built within the Estonian region. As of December 2015 the company had completed more than 6000 apartments and houses to the satisfaction of its clients. Typically the modular units produced by Kodumaja have a minimum set service life of 50 years, set by industry legislation.

Kodumaja however is dedicated to exceeding the standard level of quality expected by its clients and providing structures that with the correct maintenance, will endure for much greater periods of time. Through this commitment the company is dedicated to becoming the market-leader in its line of business within Europe. “We have made significant investments in our business and today we have the technical capacity to increase the turnover of the company to €100million per year,” reveals Chairman, Lembit Lump. “The export turnover of the company during 2015 was 56 million euros.”

The fabrication process employed by Kodumaja incorporates a number of features that translate into critical advantages when the erection of structures commences on site. The manufacturing process relating to the modular components of the units is undertaken at the company’s factories in Estonia.

Kodumaja prefabricated modules are closed elements, meaning that most of the work on the units can be completed in-house.

All doors and windows are fitted in the facility and 95 per cent of the interior finish is completed including all of the unit’s internal plumbing and electrics. The nature of this construction process allows the units to be shipped straight to site upon completion. Once there, they can be immediately unloaded onto pre-constructed foundations in quick succession. In general it takes between 20-60 minutes to install one individual module, translating to 15-30 modules per day, making the onsite construction process impressively quick and efficient.

Within this environment, variables like weather conditions,

which can cause timing and material issues on traditional construction sites, are eliminated.

Therefore production does not depend on weather conditions, the fabrication process is simple and easily controlled and conditions are optimal for quality control and management.

This construction method is highly efficient and allows Kodumaja to offer clients shorter construction times and reduced costs. For example, the factory production of components on site enables a large amount of the work force to operate simultaneously. Furthermore, when combined with the simultaneous construction with onsite foundations and utility lines, the factory production of components greatly shortens each project’s general construction time and minimises mixed overheads.

Since the company was last profiled in Construction & Civil Engineering magazine during April 2015, Kodumaja has completed the construction of the world’s tallest timber building located in Bergen, Norway. BOB Eiendomsutvikling AS ordered the impressive structure, known as ‘The Tree’, with planning and negotiations beginning during 2011. Kodumaja began work on the 14-floor, 62 apartment building during summer 2014 and the 4500m2 structure finally opened in December 2015. “We consider working with partners from a very early point as the best way in order to get the most efficient and best possible final result,” Lembit says referring to the technically demanding project.

“It is not difficult to build a 14storey residential building, but it is certainly challenge to build a 14-storey wooden house, while ensuring adherence to all of the requirements and standards that are in force. However, we work on behalf of our customers to offer high quality products that meet all

state-of-the-art requirements and we like challenges.”

Kodumaja employs a core of more than 500 highly dedicated staff that enables it to maintain a focus on flexibility and a readiness for the implementation of oneof-a-kind projects at competitive rates. During its 20-year history the company has amassed greater experience when compared to competitors in the design and manufacture of large multi-storey projects, through the development of structures including factory produced four and five storey apartment buildings. This extensive scope of delivery allows Kodumaja customers to solve several operational challenges at once, through a single supplier.

During 2015 the dedication of the company was rewarded, when Kodumaja was awarded the title of Estonian’s Company of the Year by the President of the Republic of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves. Kodumaja was selected as Company of the Year from a shortlist of 400 companies.

Several criteria were considered in deciding a victor, including economic indicators, coping with complicated economic environment, contribution to creation of employment, activities towards export and contribution to society. Estonia’s Company of

the Year award was established in co-operation between the state’s provide and public sector to promote entrepreneurship and recognise the best Estonian companies. Estonia is presently the leading exporter of wooden houses throughout Europe, with the majority of Estonian wooden houses destined for the Kingdom of Norway, followed by Germany, England, Sweden and France.

Some 140 companies are presently active within the wooden building sector, generating a combined export turnover for 2014 of 238 million euros.

Further to the acclaim of Estonia’s Company of the Year, Kodumaja was also acknowledged as the region’s Exporter of the Year, solidifying its position as a market-leader. Throughout 2016 and beyond, Kodumaja will focus on the continued expansion of its business within the company’s key markets, as well as exploring new possibilities for further growth and expansion. “Today we consider our strategic markets to be within Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Estonia.

During the last couple of years we were focused mainly on Norway and Sweden and the same focus will apply over the coming years.

Our final target is to split the risks more between our markets to lower the company’s dependence on Norwegian market,” Lembit concludes. “Norway is a generally good and active market for Kodumaja, however the Swedish market also looks very promising now. It is very active – almost booming. Our challenge is that we are not as well known in Sweden as we are in Norway, it takes time to establish a brand in a new market and we are working hard in that direction.”

Kodumaja AS www.kodumaja.com Services: Manufacturer of prefabricated housing units 45

profile: Sutton Power Engineering

Meeting

demand

Cost effective and environmentally conscious solutions sit at the heart of Sutton Power’s quality offering

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utton Power was first started in 2004 by Richard Sutton to design, manufacture and supply diesel and LPG generators from two to 2200 kVA through a global distribution and support network. Richard’s own long standing experience in electrical engineering meant that the company was able to come straight to market offering complete power solutions including control, monitoring, installation and maintenance.

Over a decade on and Sutton Power has established itself a proven track record in consulting, designing and delivering systems to meet the widely varied needs of its clients and now has a portfolio of products that match the demands of numerous sectors.

Key markets for the company include welfare accommodation, construction, telecoms, infrastructure, events and rentals.

Serving the specific needs of

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Mecc Alte A world-leading producer of synchronous alternators rated 1-5,000 kVA, operating in the electromechanical sector, the company produces many types of special rotating machines to cover a diverse range of applications. Remaining totally independent since 1947, with a strict focus on alternator design and production, Mecc Alte has continued to manufacture the world’s widest range of alternators, through ‘made for manufacturing’ advance product design.

Mecc Alte products incorporate world-class quality with high tech manufacturing, taking place in Italy, UK, India and China. These reasons go some way to explaining why Mecc Alte is seen as the natural choice for alternators.

each, the British-made generators from Sutton Power can deliver reliable prime or standby power with class-leading low-noise levels and fuel efficiency that minimises carbon emissions and maximises sustainability.

Based in Lincolnshire, a team of highly qualified and experienced electrical engineers and designers have afforded Sutton Power with an international reputation for world-class generator manufacture. Keen to retain a cutting edge in the market, the company constantly strives to improve the environmental impact of its products. This encompasses everything from minimising noise and air pollution, to enabling its LPG generators to run on cleaner and cheaper energy, as well as offering range extended oil life systems.

Thanks to key supply relationships with internationally leading engine and alternator manufacturers, Sutton Power is

able to offer its clients a range of customisable combinations aimed at specifically matching individual needs. All power units also come with bespoke, robust, ultra-quiet acoustic canopies.

A clear supplier policy to only use quality components defines the business’s approach to manufacture, and in addition to this it maintains a continuous on-site stock of high quality spares to support all sales. Also available from the company is a range of telemetry devices that let its customers monitor the performance and status of remote generators, enabling maximum performance and heightened security.

The support provided by Sutton Power to maintain the performance of remote generators is a significant part of the company’s offering. Designed to meet today’s challenging demands, the company has developed a unique service that delivers cost effective solutions with efficient service and maintenance to remote units. Sutton Powercare is a highly effective GPS/GPRS based service-scheduling facility that uses the very latest tracking and telemetry software, assuring the client that any fleet of generators is maintained in accordance with the manufacturers’ instructions.

This service also aids security, cost savings and less downtime.

At present, the firm’s own line-up of generators includes a range of proven and compact generators that provide safe power for all applications from small accommodation and events demands upwards.

The Cabinmaster and MiniCabinmaster sets offer the user ultra-quiet function, combined with low vibration levels and long run operation. Chieftain, Centurion, Cellmaster, Sovereign, Sitewarrior and Conqueror, on the other hand, are all designed for a range of heavy-duty applications,

whilst still maintaining the quiet, energy efficient characteristics that define Sutton Power’s offering.

One particular development that is helping to revolutionise the way generators efficiently manage power delivery is the company’s ECO-ASSIST unit.

Available in both three and five kilowatt options, the fully automated systems can be simply retrofitted to any generator model (with an auto start function) and can potentially cut generator running times by 70 per cent. Utilising stored power, ECOASSIST generators are able to eliminate low-loading demands on a generator, saving both fuel and exhaust carbon emissions and significantly increasing the lifespan of an asset. Its small footprint, portability and plug-

and-play capability makes it a very attractive option for any operator.

However, keen to deliver a comprehensive range of options and solutions to its clients, Sutton Power also acts as a distribution partner for Italian manufacturer Onis Visa. Central to this move is the Italian firm’s effort to penetrate the UK market with a full range of diesel sets for standby and prime power applications as well as the introduction of its new VM rental range. Significantly, the strategic partnership between Sutton Power and Onis Visa means that the British company is now able to provide all major engine brands, including Perkins, Deutz, John Deere, Volvo, MTU and Mitsubishi, coupled to either Stamford or Marelli alternator units.

Continuous improvement is clearly a part of Sutton Power’s growth strategy, and with 2015 seeing the company expanding its manufacturing premises to increase production capacity, growth is evidently a core part of its current activity.

However, equally as clear is its consistent approach to producing quality, reliable and highly cost effective solutions that meet the innumerable demands and applications present in the global market. Ultimately, Sutton Power demonstrates the success that can result from solid values and a carefully defined strategy.

Sutton Power Engineering Ltd www.suttonpower.co.uk Services: Manufacturer of generator systems

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profile: Voorbij Prefab Master Builders Solutions from BASF

A concrete shift

A few years ago Voorbij Prefab was facing closure, but a bold move to adopt revolutionary innovation in a traditionally conservative construction industry sees it leading the way into a digital future

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riginally founded in 1935 by the Voorbij family, creating wooden piles for the construction industry and later moving into precast concrete solutions, Voorbij Prefab has amassed a long history of experience in the sector. Taken over by TBI Holdings BV in 1996, the company remains renowned in the industry for high quality prefabricated concrete solutions.

For much of its recent history Voorbij’s core market was supplying to the Dutch utilities market, however following the crash of this sector in 2005, the company, along with its modern facilities on the outskirts of Amsterdam, continued with a unfocused strategy supplying into a number of sectors from offices to tunnels.

“There was no focus anymore,” says Jeroen Pat, Technical Innovator at Voorbij. “The factory was working hard and our people were working long hours, but the company wasn’t making any money.”

“There was a point when we were on the brink of collapse,” the company’s CEO, Jos Mulkens continues. “Our market was too diversified, our lead times had become too long, customers were losing satisfaction, we were too expensive, employees were becoming demotivated and there was no strategy in place to move forward. In essence, it was do or die, and we decided to invest one last time to try and refocus by narrowing our scope of work to housing with some special works.”

It was a decision that helped seal the successful fate of Voorbij as it sought to continue delivering the high quality that it had become known for whilst placing its customers right at the centre of its activities.

However, at the very heart of this refocus was a cultural shift that favoured the process over the product itself, something that was ultimately delivered by what Jeroen describes as a gamechanger in the construction industry: the adoption of digital technology amd a change in corporate culture.

Under the Master Builders Solutions brand, BASF bundles its advanced chemical solutions for new construction, maintenance, repair and renovation of structures. Master Builders Solutions is built on the experience gained from more than 100 years in the construction industry. The comprehensive portfolio under the brand encompasses concrete admixtures, form release agents, cement additives, chemical solutions for underground construction, waterproofing solutions, sealants, repair and protection solutions, performance grouts, and performance flooring solutions.

Master Builders Solutions is backed by a global community of BASF construction experts. To solve its customers’ specific construction challenges, it combines the suitable elements of its portfolio, its know-how across areas of expertise and regions, and draws on the experience gained in countless construction projects worldwide. It leverages global BASF technologies as well as its in-depth knowledge of local building needs, to develop innovations that help make its customers more successful and drive sustainable construction.

“We no longer need to focus on the product, because we can count on the product always being good quality,” he says.

“Instead we are looking at the process, and ensuring that our process is able to respond to the ever changing needs of the customer and the end user.

During the design, and even the build, stages of a building many decisions may change, such as the positioning of electrical fittings in a wall, and because of our software-driven process and innovative culture we are flexible enough to be able to implement these at the ‘last minute’ before prefab work.”

By implementing digital technology and completely transforming the production process within its facility, Voorbij has switched from a labour intensive approach to a capital intensive one. In doing so it is bringing a traditional production company into the modern age of digital technology ahead of the rest of the industry.

This culminated in the 1-2-3 Casco development, a system

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profile: Voorbij Prefab

that couples 3D architectural modelling with state-of-the-art 3D printing methods to produce precast elements far quicker and more cost effectively than anything previously capable within the sector.

“By using ‘big data’ inputs we are able to analyse everything we do and constantly derive insights to improve safety, quality, production and cost,” Jos highlights. “Since implementing this new system we have achieved a 30 per cent reduction in cost and our preparation work takes 80 per cent less time. Whereas it used to take us two days to create casting moulds, we can now do it in six minutes.”

Equal to a shift in culture in making the adoption of digital technology a success, is Voorbij’s desire to form strong partnerships within the industry. “For example, we are presently making wall sections for housing projects, but are looking at the next stage to be able to make floors in a partnered facility,” says Jeroen. “This is with a company that shares our knowledge and our culture to

think-out-of-the-box who we can connect with our own digital processes and essentially add a second printer to the network.”

In fact it is a strong partnership with software developer Idat upon which the digital excellence of Voorbij’s process is made possible.

“Idat’s systems have a very

PROGRESS GROUP progress Maschinen & Automation successfully modernised the Voorbij prefab beton production plant in Amsterdam. In close co-operation with Voorbij the company overhauled the coil processing machinery and installed a shuttering and deshuttering robot as well as a new comprehensive software solution. progress Maschinen & Automation is a member of the PROGRESS GROUP – a group of companies providing complete solutions for the precast and rebar industry. The machines and plants are designed for the production of precast walls and floors, hollow core slabs, constructive and pre-stressed precast elements as well as wire reinforcement. The group consists of the five mechanical engineering companies EBAWE Anlagentechnik, progress Maschinen & Automation, Tecnocom, Echo Precast Engineering, ULTRA-SPAN Technologies as well as the software company Progress Software Development and the precast concrete producer PROGRESS. Thanks to the complementary product portfolios and the valuable synergies PROGRESS GROUP acts as a full-range supplier, providing ‘all from one source’.

strategic place in our factory,” Jeroen explains. “The software allows us to input an architectural design and produce a 3D model complete with a detailed report of optimised design elements, such as the best type of rebar to install. It takes the DNA of everything we have in the factory and of consultants’ knowledge and creates an optimised recipe for production. It then organises production, manages schedules and implements factory roles and logistical systems – all at the click of a button. We are very happy with the work that Idat do – it is not just a piece of 3D modelling software but a relationship with a partner that shares our culture to do things differently and to optimise processes by working together.”

“This complete integration across the factory, which is made possible by strong partnerships with companies like Idat, is what makes the process so successful,” adds Jos. “It means we can implement customer changes quickly, without the need to consult external specialists, and this provides the advantage of being able to create completely bespoke elements without altering the process or the factory at all with higher quality and more sustainable methods of production. It is part of switching to Industry 4.0 standards where

we can react almost instantly to changing customer wishes.”

It is a truly remarkable step forward for a company that was just a few years ago on the teetering edge of survival to now be at the cutting edge of industry progression. Voorbij has its sights set firmly on continuing the rapid development of the process whilst always maintaining a crystal clear focus on its market and its customers’ needs. Over the coming months further improvements to its logistical system will allow the company and its partners full transparency of where an element is in the process, what its quality is, and where additional capacity exists. As too will continued safety developments, which centre on improving the detail of information given to site teams in preparation for a safe construction operations.

Compared to the wider manufacturing industry, construction is arguably still rooted firmly in its traditional, labour-intensive roots, but with digital technology advancing at an unprecedented rate early adopters such as Voorbij are sure to benefit over the coming years. Jos concludes with a positive vision of continuing to bring this digital revolution into the company’s processes and in doing so take up position at the very front of the construction industry’s shift towards the future.

“One thing seems clear,” he notes. “If the construction industry doesn’t deploy disruptive technology or innovation that helps it deliver to ever-challenging market demands, then it will be disrupted from the outside.”

Voorbij Prefab BV www.voorbijprefab.nl / www.123casco.com Services: Specialist prefab concrete manufacturer 51

profile: Thatta Cement Company

Strength through

experience Pakistan’s Thatta Cement Company continues to grow in a responsible and sustained manner as market conditions pick up

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hatta Cement Company Ltd was first incorporated in 1980 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the State Cement Corporation of Pakistan Ltd, and was supported by the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) from Japan. By 1982, the company’s manufacturing facility, which initially operated with a capacity of 1000 tonnes per day of clinker, was commissioned 110km north east of Karachi in the Thatta District. In 2004 a consortium of Mr Arif Habib and Al-Abbas Group acquired 100 per cent of the company from the privatisation commission and since taking over full management control have led

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the facility through vital expansion and economic upgrades.

“Today, the company can derive its strength from a highly competent board of directors who collectively have a diverse and vast range of experience in the fields of engineering, finance, banking, trade and commerce,” begins CEO Muhammad Fazlullah Shariff. “The board oversees all aspects of the company’s affairs, ensuring that it remains a going concern, and is supported by a highly professional management team.”

One of Thatta’s key competitive distinctions in the Pakistani market is its wide range of products. OPC, SRC, slag cement plus class-G oil well cement all feature in its portfolio, the latter making it the only company in the country API-certified to produce oil well cement. “Oil well cement remains our strategic product, contributing to the enhanced profit margins of the company,” comments Muhammad Fazlullah. “Crucially, we are in the process of establishing this brand overseas once the oil exploration sector stabilises.”

Also enabling the company to maintain this edge is its close proximity to the major cities of Karachi, Hyderabad and Thatta, all of which are located within 110km of the plant. Running close to a national highway, the plant also has direct access to a key road network and two seaports, Bin Qasim and Karachi Sea Port, which support its distribution and export activities. Muhammad Fazlullah highlights that domestic consumption of cement has recently seen phenomenal growth of 17 per cent and is likely to gain even more momentum as Pakistan’s government continues to invest in major public sector development programmes.

Spread over 236 acres of freehold land consisting of factory and commercial buildings, facilities for its workers and

officers, and its own water reserves, Thatta’s manufacturing plant is the heart of the company’s operations. Quarry deposits are in close proximity to the plant and with current mining rights for limestone from over 3500 acres, shale and clay from 1212 acres and silica sand from 1239 acres of land, it is estimated that limestone and clay reserves are sufficient for about 100 years. Thanks to this rich source of raw materials, the cement produced by Thatta demonstrates a low alkali content making it the preferred choice for the construction of dams and bridges.

The plant itself was designed and supplied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan, following a two-stage crushing format of primary jaw crusher and secondary impact crusher, followed by a double rotator grinding mill. “The original capacity of 1000 tonnes per day of clinker was based on a dry process,” outlines Muhammad Fazlullah. “However, since the cement plant has suffered on account of economies of scale with issues of low capacity, frequent stoppages, high consumption of energy and so on, the management has instigated a multi-phase upgrade programme.

“Phase one of the upgrade was successfully completed in 2006 carrying out suitable modifications to increase clinker production to 1550 tonnes per day on a more sustainable basis. This project cost the business Pak Rs. 800 million. The completion of the second phase followed in 2015 seeing further upgrades and improvements in plant efficiencies through cutting edge technologies at a cost of Pak Rs. 1.4 billion. We now have a daily production capacity of 1800 tonnes.”

On top of demonstrating a clear focus on improving its production facilities, Thatta Cement also displays an exemplary attention

to corporate social responsibility.

In fact, in 2016 it has been recognised by the National Forum of Environment and Health (NFEH) with its annual Corporate Social Responsibility award. The award comes in response to the company consistently going above and beyond to provide much needed support to both its employees and its surrounding communities. “In addition to our quality management system and ISO 9001 certification, Thatta operates a health and safety scheme that is designed to ensure the highest standards of product quality while protecting workers, the surrounding population and the environment,” explains Muhammad Fazlullah.

Funded by a one per cent allocation of profit earnings, Thatta has set up a medical

centre and school, both open to the company’s staff and the facility’s surrounding communities.

It also arranges regular Medical Camps, inviting experts to treat large numbers of poor patients, who are unable to afford medical expenses. The service is provided free of charge including the provision of medicines. The school is equipped to educate up to secondary level and provides scholarships to all deserving applicants. “Furthermore, we hold an equally firm belief in sustainability,” adds Muhammad Fazlullah. “For example, we operate a containment system to catch and bag all dust for recycling. We have also installed more efficient motors and insulation, together with measures to minimise carbon emissions.

Further projects to achieve a

substantial reduction in carbon emissions are ongoing.”

One of the biggest challenges facing Thatta at present is how to best manage its economies of scale, and focusing on the production capacity and efficiency of its plant is key to this. Over the course of 2016 plans to install a five mega-watt waste heat recovery plant to produce electricity from flue gases will be implemented.

Beyond this, Muhammad Fazlullah highlights longer term plans to upgrade the facility to 3000 tonnes per day, and install a Greenfield plant with an annual capacity of two million tonnes.

Thatta Cement Company Ltd www.thattacement.com Services: Major Pakistani cement producer

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profile: qatar rail

A vast

undertaking

Qatar Rail is making significant progress into developing the country’s rail network that will be critical to Qatar’s future vision of economic growth

I

n 2008, under the light of continuous and rapid economic and social development in Qatar, the country’s Emir launched the Qatar National Vision 2030, a scheme to manage and implement this development in the most productive way possible. One significant part of this development framework is the Qatar Rail Development Programme (QRDP), a vast project managed by the newly formed Qatar Rail to deliver a complete rail network to support

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Above Al Waab underground station of the Gold Line

the growing population and economic activity in and around the country’s capital, Doha.

“Our vision is to create the favourite mode of transport for everybody and to provide an integrated railway together with a public network of bus systems,” begins Senior Programme Director at Qatar Rail, Dr-Ing Markus Demmler. “We want to make it attractive and sustainable, both in terms of economic and ecological impacts, and to make sure it is of the highest quality whilst remaining economically viable.

Ultimately, it will run parallel to achieving Qatar’s overall vision to reduce emissions, as most of the country is run on cars at present, to ease congestion and improve travel times both into and within the city.”

An overview of the planned network for the development project serves to display the sheer scale of Qatar Rail’s undertaking.

The programme is split into three separate projects, the Doha Metro, a Long Distance network and a light rail network in the up-andcoming city of Lusail. The long distance network is designed for both high-tech passenger and freight services across five lines and 502 km of railway connecting population centres with major industrial hubs and forming critical connections with neighbouring countries. The lines include: a mixed passenger and freight line from Doha to Saudi Arabia; a high-speed passenger line from Doha to Bahrain, capable of speeds up to 270km/h; a freight line from Mesaieed Port to Ras

Laffan; plus two mixed lines from Doha to Dukhan, and Doha to Al Shamal. By 2021, 8000 passenger trips are expected to travel on the network every day, with this rising to 24,000 by 2031.

To facilitate the developing city of Lusail, a light rail, tram-based network is being developed across four lines and 37 stations, two of which will link to the Doha Metro network. In a city that is predicted to house up to 450,000 residents in the near future, the Lusail network has been designed for a capacity of 50,000 passenger trips a day by 2021 and 120,000 a decade later. With an average speed of 29km/h, the lines will take an average of one to two minutes between adjacent stations.

The Doha Metro project, a strategically planned underground

network to serve the expanding city of Doha, is undeniably the most complex of the three. As part of phase one, planned to be completed and operational by the end of 2019, 37 stations will connect nearly 86km of track spread across three separate lines. The Red Line, which will also be known as the Coast Line, is planned to run for 41 kilometres from Al Wakra in the south to Lusail in the north and will stop at 18 stations along the way. The Red Line will connect Hamad International Airport to the city centre and it is estimated that a trip from the airport to Lusail will be 36 minutes compared to current peak times of an hour and half. Other notable stops will include West Bay, Katara and Qatar University. At its deepest, the Red Line’s tunnels will operate as far as approximately 46 metres beneath Doha’s surface.

Connecting Al Riffa in the East to Al Mansoura in the West and passing through Education City, the Green Line will stop at 11 stations along its length of 22 kilometres. Significant stops for the Green Line, or the Education Line as it is also known, will be the Hamad Hospital, Al Shaqab and the currently in development, Qatar National Library. Extending 14km from Ras Bu Aboud in the west and Al Aziziya in the west will be the Gold Line, or Historic Line. Stopping at 11 separate locations, the Gold Line will be a

crucial link for the Qatar National Museum, Souq Waqif, Al Waab and Sports City – a key hub for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Due to be completed by 2020, ahead of the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the Doha Metro Phase One network is being achieved through eight separate projects.

Three of these projects relate to 17km of elevated and at grade (EAG) routes, plus six stations, all of which will be above ground and highly visible. These are the Red Line North (RLN) – six kilometres of track and two stations, to be completed by December 2018; Red Line South (RLS) – six kilometres and three stations, to be completed by autumn 2016; and Green Line (GRN) – another six kilometres and just one station to be completed by December 2018.

Phase two will see the metro expanding with additional line extensions and a brand new line according to the city’s growth, the total number of stations will be increased by over 64 across more than 200 kilometres of track.

Upon completion by 2021, the entire metro system aims to take 17,000 cars off the road, having a significant impact on the city’s carbon footprint.

“In terms of timescales, we released the first civil design and build contracts for the Metro scheme in 2013,” explains Markus. “Work, including MEP and architectural fit out, will

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profile: qatar rail

be completed by 2018. The railway systems contract, which is separate, is due to finish in 2019 with the aim to be fully operational by 2020, if not the end of 2019. So far, we are 36 per cent towards overall completion (as of March 2016) and have already achieved 85 per cent of the tunnelling work, for which we have employed a record-breaking 21 simultaneously operating TBMs. Significantly, we have only dropped behind schedule by 2.3 per cent.”

As a young and burgeoning company taking on a project of such scale, Qatar Rail has faced a number of challenges, particularly in the development of the Doha Metro network, but has been able to overcome many through significant strategic decisions and management processes.

“When it came to our contractor strategy we decided it would be more beneficial to allocate many of the risks to contractors because they have the knowledge and experience,” highlights Markus. “This is what we have done through the awarding of design and build contracts, eight of which are civil with one overarching systems contract.”

However, here arises the challenge of successfully managing a number of contracts in parallel to each other. As such, Qatar Rail has set up both a delivery division, to oversee the project management of all contracts with support from consultants, and a technical division, which ensures that significant design decisions regarding certain aspects that needed to be implemented across all lines are made in harmony with one another.

Due to time pressures put upon the scheme the QRDP and Qatar Rail have achieved a number of unique milestones in the way it operates in Qatar. First of all is its contract strategy, as Markus explains: “The usual way in the Middle East is to take a design-

bid-build approach. However, because of the time constraints a design and build contract was decided upon to be more viable.

Because of its irregularity in the region there was a certain amount of concern about this approach initially, but it has saved us a lot of time and because of its proven success in the QRDP other authorities are now taking this approach as well.”

Another significant aspect of the programme, which highlights both the scale and success of Qatar Rail’s management, is its health and safety record. Markus points out that the project has a target of a 0.1 per cent AFR (accident frequency rate), but is currently operating at 0.06 per cent. “Overall, we have over 112 miillion man-hours worked on the project so far, so this is outstanding,” he says. “To achieve this we are constantly running extensive training centres with our contracting partners, so that every person who comes through a contractor is fully trained in line with our zero harm policy before going onto site. This focus on wellbeing is continued in the general facilities, such as accommodation, as a lot of the labour is coming from abroad.”

Successful progress defines the Qatar Rail project so far in terms of operation, management

and safety, and this is set to continue throughout its course.

“By the beginning of 2017 all TBM work will be completed, with the Red Line North and Green Line tunnelling work just finished at the end of March 2016,” explains Markus, looking ahead at the coming 12 months. “Before the second half of the year all MEP and architectural contracts will have been awarded, and we have just had approval from his Highness the Emir for all mock-up architectural finishes, so we will be ready to begin fit-out works this year. The ultimate goal is to finish all civil structures, and this means that underground stations will be around 85 per cent complete and ready for the systems contractors to begin work on track installation and technical systems.

“Of course, with more subcontractors moving in manpower will be increasing to around 35,000 across the metro project, which brings its own challenges, so as the project changes in nature, so too do its challenges. Looking further ahead we are already preparing for phase two of the programme. Although this hasn’t been confirmed as yet, we think it would be wise to continue directly on from phase one as we have all the machinery, equipment and labour on site.”

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18/02/2016 10:40

profile: qatar rail

Focus on: Major Stations Phase one of the Doha Metro programme, which is due to be completed and operational by the end of 2019, will feature 37 stations connected by nearly 86km of track across the Red, Green and Gold Lines. The 41km Red Line, or Coast Line as it will also be known, will stop at 18 stations on its way from Al Wakra to Lusail, and connect Hamad International Airport to the city centre. Notable stops will include West Bay, Katara and Qatar University. In 2013, the contract for the Red Line North section of the programme, which includes the build of seven stations, was awarded to a consortium led by Italian construction firm Impregilo and comprises of South Korea’s SK Engineering and Construction and Qatar’s Galfar al-Misnad Engineering and Contracting.

The Green, or Education, Line will run 22km between Al Riffa and Al Mansoura, stopping at 11 stations including ones at the Hamad Hospital, Al Shaqab and the Qatar National Library. Finally, the Gold Line will comprise of 11 stations as it links Ras Bu Aboud to Al Aziziya over 14km of track. The Historic Line, as it will otherwise be known, will add the Qatar National Museum, Souq Waqif and Al Waab to the Doha network, as well as providing

a critical link to Sports City –a major hub for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Due to be expanding with additional line extensions and brand new lines in phase two according to the city’s growth,

the total number of stations will eventually increase by around a further 64 as more than 200km track is brought into operation.

When completed, all lines will intersect at the central Msheireb station, the largest in the city, which will also serve as an iconic landmark designed to help locals and tourists orientate around the area. A strong visual connection between the entrance and concourse will also enable a smooth passenger experience and clear direction throughout the station. In 2013, a consortium of Spanish firm Obrascon Huarte Lain (OHL), Samsung C&T and the Qatar Building Company, was awarded a 1.1 billion euro contract to build Msheireb, as well as the Education City station – both major interchange hubs.

Station design is a key factor for the entire Doha network and an architectural branding scheme has been established to ensure continuity of local flavours and personality throughout the metro system. All stations, which will eventually exceed 100 in number, will adhere to a contemporary ‘vaulted space’ concept, reflecting the heritage of the region’s traditional Bedouin tents. Functionality has also been designed into the aesthetic value of ornamental panels, which will form the backbone of a dynamic lighting and ventilation system. Through the use of traditional elements of Islamic and local art, each station will be a unique tribute to Qatari heritage with dhow-inspired exteriors and a ‘pearl-effect’ aesthetic on the inside.

Left Aerial view of the Msheireb underground station

Qatar Rail www.qr.co.qa Services: Delivering Qatar’s rail network 59

profile: Electrical Industries Group

Global focus Electrical Industries Group brings a world-class portfolio of industrial solutions to the Caribbean market

E

lectrical Industries Group (EIG), located in Trinidad and Tobago, is a manufacturer and distributor of electrical cables, plastic and lighting solutions for the Caribbean, extra-regional and international markets. As part of this offering, the company also represents major international brands through its distribution division. EIG boasts leading brands of extremely high quality and value, and is well known in the construction industry of numerous markets.

In 1997, the company acquired Electrical Industries Ltd (EIL), a premier electrical cables manufacturer, itself a company with a history in the region dating back to 1969. Agos Lighting, a leading industrial lighting brand, and Century Elson Ltd, one of the Caribbean’s biggest plastic manufacturers, later joined in 2009 and 2011, respectively. In terms of distribution, EIG has established strong supplier relationships with well-known international brands such as GE, DAB Pumps and Leviton, amongst others, to provide a fully integrated and wide-reaching package of solutions to its customers.

“We have a really great technical history with very long-

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standing regional brands that are industry leaders in each of the sectors that we operate in for quality, reliability and for the service that we provide,” highlights Solomon Rodney, VP Plastics and Distribution. “We have been in the market for over 50 years and this time has allowed us to develop a unique offering that makes us very competitive across our extraregional and local sectors.”

EIL, the cable division, focuses solely on producing high quality electrical cables that are made from 99.99 per cent pure copper to ensure high performance, reliability and safety. As a group, EIG holds a number of internationally recognised industry standards and quality certificates and EIL was the first company in Trinidad and Tobago to achieve ISO9000 accreditation (later upgraded to ISO9001). Century Elson, the plastics division, runs three individual plants dedicated to roto-moulding tanks, PVC pipes and injection moulding for producing PVC fittings and industrial packaging solutions (plastic pails, buckets and crates).

In addition to this, EIG’s Lighting Division (Agos) is a leader in producing quality light fixtures and is the Caribbean’s largest manufacture of fluorescent

options. Solomon notes that within this division, the company has recently begun to look at energy saving solutions.

Innovation has defined the way EIG has done business throughout the years. Not only in the products it provides but also in the way it has developed its strategy to meet customer needs and to manufacture high quality products. Solomon highlights that by consolidating high value items, such as electrical cables, with relatively low value products, like plastic pipes, the company is able to offer cost benefits to its customers. Having such a wide range of lines, both its own and of its distribution brands’, also adds to being able to offer a fully integrated service to customers.

“We try to support all our project partners with integrated solutions that follow the lifecycle of a project,” he continues.

“We are a key representative for General Electric in our local market, which contributes to around 60 per cent of our distribution business. This agreement means that we can provide a full range of GE solutions such as low to medium voltage switchgear systems. In fact, we have a local switchgear manufacturing plant set up within our lighting division, from which

we can produce customised switchgear solutions for both local and some other regional markets. Ultimately, thanks to our own lines and the extensive range of distribution agreements we have in place we are able to offer everything from consultancy right through to pipes and fittings, cables, lighting, switches and so on, which is beyond what many of our competitors can manage by supplying single lines.”

Such a strong portfolio makes for a robust platform upon which EIG is able to react positively to changing market conditions. At present, market conditions are somewhat favourable. Despite reporting a slight dampening in local demand, Solomon points out a recent merger of two major competitors in the Dominican Republic and the opportunities this has opened up for the company as a result.

“A lot of customers want a duality of supply as part of their business continuity plans,” he says. “Therefore this merger has created new opportunities for us.

At the same time, it has forced us to rethink the way we do things

and to become more efficient so that we can meet the demands of new markets that are often a bit more price sensitive to what we are accustomed to. It’s about tweaking our products so that we don’t just offer a low cost solution, but a good quality product at a better price, which is great for all our customers.”

Another key opportunity for EIG is the low oil price, which, whilst putting some pressure on the economy, has freed up more cash for regional governments to invest into infrastructural projects that can create new opportunities for the company. However, the market outlook is not without its challenges and the company is aware that ensuring its customers are knowledgeable of its full range and developing its innovation and sustainability will be critical to

making the most of any new and current market opportunities.

With this in mind it is no surprise that growth is very much on the cards for EIG’s future. “The coming years will be focused on investing more into the business and to grow our export markets whilst at the same time ensuring we continue improving the service we provide to our local markets,” Solomon concludes. “This will put us in a really strong position as we look even further into the future at opening up markets in Cuba and Central America.”

Electrical Industries Group www.electricalindustriesgroup.com Services: Manufacturer and distributor of electrical cables, plastic and lighting solutions for Caribbean market

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profile: Cramo Adapteo

Making room for

great days Through the utilisation of a range of flexible modular units, industry-leading experts Cramo Adapteo ensure the process of adding extra space is smooth and quick

O

perating as a sub-brand of the Cramo Group, Cramo Adapteo offers high-end, flexible modular units to buy or rent to those requiring space primarily in the school, daycare, office or accommodation sectors.

“We are a Finnish based company that has a history dating back to 1955,” begins Petri Moksen, Senior Vice President at Cramo Adapteo. “Today we operate in 14 countries in two business areas – the rental of modular space and the construction sector. Because of our long history in the market, we have developed a solid

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reputation for our capabilities in delivering the best possible solution to customers in a competent manner.”

In order to give customers

optimum flexibility, the company works with modular units that are easy to combine as they can be lined up or placed at an angle and stacked on top of one another.

This way of operating means there are virtually thousands of modular units ready to go via a range of specialised modules that can be built from, each of which has its own unique strengths. The main modular systems within Cramo Adapteo’s portfolio include C10, a cost-effective system that is the perfect solution for those requiring space while also seeking to keep rental costs low; C30, which lets customers design their

own perfect solution, whether they need space for a short-term project or for a number of years; C40, a modular system that provides all the comforts and quality of a permanent building as well as the freedom to customise the unit.

More high-end solutions include the C80, which creates optimal indoor comfort while also boasting high-energy efficiency, and the C90, which is viewed as the next generation for modular space. Indeed, developed in Scandinavia for Scandinavian conditions, the C90 is suitable for schools, daycare, offices and accommodation and uses the most innovative ideas over the last 30 years to merge functionality, working environment and energy consumption in a modern design.

Another of the company’s latest modular innovations is the C100, a state-of-the-art solution for modular schools and daycares that meets all demands in terms of comfort and efficiency.

Discussing the benefits of modular units, Petri comments: “For one thing, we are delivering parts of a building that are ready to go and to the customer’s satisfaction. We have designed and developed these units ourselves before ensuring fast delivery and a better control of costs.” Furthermore, modular solutions can be stacked on top of each other, up to three floors high, can have underfloor heating or ceiling heating and cooling, offer the option of an elevator

in addition to stairs and a short time frame of one to three weeks from an empty ground space to customers moving in.

Firmly aware that there is more to creating a space than putting up walls, the company offers customers the option of leaving all aspects of filling and running their temporary space to its highly competent and knowledgeable workforce. Packages are tailored to suit each client’s particular needs in terms of function and atmosphere; Cramo Adapteo also covers all service and maintenance that is required with the goal of transforming a room

Norske Verita, which is situated a few metres from Hovik’s shore in Norway. Despite being comprised of two buildings on three floors and totalling 2500 square metres, the solution was quickly constructed and left the customer

into a room for great days.

Recent projects include adding two modular classrooms to the Plavniekkalna School in the Kekava district, Latvia, in order to provide additional space for schoolchildren in 2010. Following the addition of two classrooms, a second floor was added in 2011; using 14 C40 units in two floors, the new classrooms offer a warm welcoming environment. Another project involved the production of a new office building that consists of 99 modules for Det

impressed with the end results.

Although its modular solutions tend to be used as schools, offices or daycare units, the company is also able to meet the needs of those seeking a solution for accommodations, gas stations, embassies, shops, laboratories, hospitals or clinics. With plenty of room to expand its services, Cramo Adapteo will be seeking to branch out into central European areas while also targeting the growing accommodation sector.

“We have a two-year strategy

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profile: Cramo Adapteo

UNIHOUSE Swiftly, healthily, with panache The modular buildings produced by UNIHOUSE in Bielsk Podlaski (Poland) comply with the standards concerning ecology, noise and air tightness.

They have Norwegian technical approvals.

In Norway UNIHOUSE has already built multi-storey buildings comprising over 1300 apartments and nearly 400 apartments are now under construction. It has carried out the building projects in Oslo, Stavanger, Alesund and also within the Arctic Circle – in Tromso.

Modular construction carried out by UNIHOUSE is friendly to the environment and user who will dwell in such a building. It is because the material applied for production of the modules is timber, which is natural and which creates a very good microclimate inside the building. They are healthy and comfortable to live in. Great advantages are also a very short construction period on site and the possibility to ‘assemble’ the modules in winter, upon previous preparation of the foundation.

UNIHOUSE approaches each construction project on an individual basis. The designers and engineers take account of all needs of the future home users. Modular buildings can be erected on the sloping, rocky, sandy and marshy ground, and even on top of roofs of existing facilities.

Such buildings can be moved from place to place and even, if needed, disassembled and reassembled. Furthermore, they can be easily extended, by buying some more modules. They can assume any architectural forms. The modules can be used to construct not only apartment buildings but also office blocks, hotels, dormitories, kindergartens, schools, clinics, etc. The established co-operation between UNIHOUSE and CRAMO is promising, prospective and brings benefits to both of the parties, among other things through extension of the market for innovative and healthy civil engineering. to capitalise market share in the accommodation sector and are currently working on a number of accommodations projects in both Nordic countries and Germany.

It is really about developing

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significant growth in this business area through organic growth and acquisition.”

Alongside this focus on accommodation, the ISO 9001 and 14001 certified company will

also continue to generate revenue from the school and daycare market, which has remained strong over the years, while also seeking to develop more energy efficient products to meet all energy requirements across EU countries. “Looking further ahead, we have a market day coming up in September 2016 where we will explain our strategy in more detail. However, for now I assume we will continue to strengthen our position in Europe over the coming years by offering a more enhanced service than our competitors,” Petri concludes.

Cramo Adapteo www.cramoadapteo.com Services: Offers flexible modular units to buy or rent

profile: trm

strong

Holding

TRM’s innovative piling solutions have been helping clients save money and reduce installation times for 30 years and the company is showing no sign of slowing down

T

iroler Rohre (TRM) was first founded in Austria in 1947 for the production of ductile iron pipes for a range of industries around Europe. Years of investment into manufacturing capabilities and development of products followed and in 1986 the company began production of its ductile Iron piles, which have since been installed on numerous projects around the world. Thanks to the

combination of high corrosion resistance with quick installation times, TRM’s piling systems have become an established economical alternative within the global construction industry.

“There are a number of features that set the TRM systems apart in the market,” begins UK and Ireland Sales Manager, Neville Wood. “Chief amongst these is the sustainable way we manufacture. All material used is recycled and comes straight

into the factory through a direct rail link, so we are able to keep our carbon footprint down. Each pile is then manufactured and installed in five metre lengths, and has been designed so that if a section length is cut down, the left over can be reused, rather than wasted.

We are also able to install using an excavator so there is often no need to lay an expensive piling mat, which keeps the cost and installation time low for our clients.”

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profile: trm

Left Grouted driving adapter Right Non grouted adapter

A unique Plug&Drive© system – which provides a fast, forcelocking connection of individual pile tubes without the need for any specialist tools or welding – low vibration driving and selfproving characteristics, plus the elimination of spoil also add to the fast and cost effective advantages of TRM’s piling system. “We are often able to drive up to 400 metres of piles a day, which is generally about four times faster than a standard piling machine for similar sized systems,” Neville points out.

On top of this success story is the high impact resistant material used to create the lightweight, ductile iron piles. Through a complex process of heat treatment in a 40-metre oven a compound layer of oxidised iron is formed, which stops any oxygen reacting with the pile itself. Due to the high carbon and silicon content of the raw material, taken exclusively from the recycling industry, plus this protective layer, the resulting nodular ductile iron has a higher corrosion resistance than steel.

“Our piles even resist the highly

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variable weather conditions here in Austria like rain, snow or heat, without showing notable signs of corrosion,” Neville says.

The ductile iron piles have

an excellent impact resistance making them perfect for driving in with high-performance hydraulic hammers with no risk of overstraining. Quality

checks take place throughout the manufacturing process, with quality assurance covering everything from the chemical composition and the mechanical parameters to the dimensions.

Accreditation-wise all activities

are certified to EN and ISO 9001 standards. A large stock capacity also ensures short notice delivery to projects around the world.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, TRM’s ductile pile systems have been proven on projects around the world, from Pakistan to Syria and Egypt.

Current major markets include Germany, Austria, France, the UK, Australia and South Africa, and Neville points out that demand in the USA is also increasing rapidly.

“The market conditions around the globe are generally strong, and this year we are performing better that expected,” he goes on to say.

“This is allowing the company to invest more and more into new

markets such as the UK where I have been taken on to develop the TRM name and get it more widely known amongst major companies.

It’s about letting people know of the many advantages in terms of operational, economic and ecological performance and the fact that we now have 30 years of proven experience is a big part of being able to do this.�

Over the coming months and years TRM has a clear growth strategy. Thus for the next year the goal is to more than double sales volumes on the last, increasing from 300 tonnes a year to 800 tonnes in the UK and Ireland.

Neville highlights that an increase in renewable energy projects around the world, such as solar programmes

in South Africa, provide a unique opportunity for the company’s competitive solution and ensuring its reputation is upheld and widespread will be key to capitalising on this. The company will also be looking north, into Scandinavian markets

in the near future.

With 30 years of proven success in the market, there is no doubt that TRM brings to the construction industry a unique solution that is able to compete on price and performance in a range of applications around the world. An exemplary approach to sustainable production and the constant development of innovations that help drive down cost and installation times for its clients has been, and looks set to continue being, a major part of this achievement.

TRM www.trm.at Services: Specialists in the manufacture and installation of ductile cast iron piles

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profile: The NEC

Making

connections Growth and investment have defined the past 40 years of the NEC in becoming the UK’s leading event centre

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016 marks four decades since Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II opened the doors to the NEC in Birmingham. It was already considered a major site at the time, boasting five main Piazza halls spread across 85,000 square metres of space. Yet, fuelled by an active manufacturing sector in the UK the following years saw the centre grow to meet international needs and today the NEC can only be described as vast. Twenty interconnected halls spanning 182,000 square metres - which includes the 15,700-capacity Genting Arena - means the centre is 80 per cent bigger than its nearest rival in the UK, attracting around six million visitors and 35,000 exhibitors a year.

Such growth has only been made possible by a string of key investment programmes. In the last ten years alone a £29 million project to update the façade and internal visitor experience of the Genting Arena and a major £40 million improvement programme of the NEC venue

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Below Kathryn James, NEC’s Managing Director

has taken place. Most recently in October 2016, Malaysian casino and leisure group Genting opened the £150 million Resorts World Birmingham on the site – its first integrated leisure and entertainment complex in Europe. Comprising 450,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment facilities, Resorts World was a major project to achieve in such close proximity to the NEC’s live exhibition halls, and supports the continued prosperity and growth of the NEC by adding a new element to the customer experience; offering the opportunity to meet, work and relax outside the hours of an event.

Indeed, as the NEC’s Managing Director Kathryn James looks ahead, the wealth of activity and further opportunities for construction are remarkable. “The NEC Group was sold last year by Birmingham City Council to LDC – Lloyd Banking Group’s venture capital arm,” she explains. “Being privately owned has allowed us to develop our strategy further and our focus now is on business growth and improvement with

a number of capital projects planned for the coming years.

“Included amongst these is a large scale £5 million exterior cladding project to resurface halls one to five over the next three years. This is about to commence; as too is a £4.5 million programme to refurbish all of our bathroom facilities over the next four years.

We’re also upgrading all our lighting systems throughout the halls and public spaces, which represents an additional £2 million of work, to improve operating and maintenance costs, as well as our overall green ambitions.

Furthermore, our catering partner, Amadeus, is undertaking £3 million of work to improve all the major catering pods in the halls.”

With so much work going on, it is not a surprise that the NEC has forged some longstanding relationships within the construction industry, especially considering that the venue hosts some of the biggest exhibitions in the industry including, Grand Designs Live, Construction Week Live and Homebuilding and Renovating Show.

With the challenge of such a busy event schedule and such large volumes of visitors, Kathryn explains how critical it is that robust and collaborative relationships with construction and supply partners are maintained in order to achieve the growth and development needed at the NEC. “The fact that we have been growing for 40 years now means that we have a well proven methodology of working with our partners and carrying work out in live environments,” she highlights. “One of the beautiful things about events is that they don’t come as a surprise and we have a diary broadly scheduled now until 2023. Therefore, we have the advantage of being able to plan ahead. However, it is also critical that we can team up with experienced, creative, flexible and

cool-headed partners who can work with us and understand the needs of the NEC to achieve our goals. We pick partners based on their track record and attitude towards delivering these kinds of projects, and this extends to the way we work in partnership with surrounding authorities such as the City Council, Birmingham Airport and Highways England.”

Kathryn additionally notes that establishing solid relationships with construction partners and the industry’s supply chain is also helping the NEC to achieve its international ambitions. “This is being demonstrated on a couple of new build projects at present where our unique group offering of both venue management and venue services can deliver new solutions to different markets,” she adds.

Durolas (Contractors) Ltd Durolas (Contractors) Ltd are a well-established and respected surfacing, civil engineering, line marking and fencing contractor incorporated in 1947, famous for installing the Birmingham’s first zebra crossing in 1950. Whatever your requirement is, Durolas can provide a solution. Our expert project management team are on hand to discuss your requirements, provide solutions that best suit your needs and budget.

Years of experience ensure that a quality product is delivered and customer satisfaction is achieved.

However, opportunities for growth and further construction development do not stop there.

Suitably located in the centre of the UK with physical connections to Birmingham Airport and the West Coast Mainline, plus being situated in close proximity to the motorway network, the NEC is one of the best-connected venues in the country. In 2017, construction is set to begin on the new HS2 NEC Interchange station.

“When complete in 2026, the NEC interchange will be the first highspeed stop for trains coming out of London with a travel time of 36 minutes,” explains Kathryn. “As part of this we are also working very closely with Highways England to consult on redesigning and improving the road system around the NEC to cope.”

Big plans and major

construction projects in the works mean for a lively future for the NEC and its neighbourhood.

With infrastructure improving Kathryn also hints at continued expansion of the NEC’s footprint.

“It’s all hugely exciting,” she concludes. “In 20 years’ time I’m expecting the geography around the NEC to be an incredibly vibrant and economically bustling environment. From a construction perspective the opportunities for major companies all the way through the supply chain are massive, and I hope that over the coming years we will see a construction community flourishing in the West Midlands.”

The NEC www.thenec.co.uk Services: The UK’s number one venue

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profile: Mercury Engineering

success F Sustaining

People form the heart of Mercury Engineering’s specialist and unrivalled offering to the market as it continues to deliver quality and client-focused projects around Europe

ounded in 1972

by Frank O’Kane and Joe Morgan, Mercury Engineering has established itself as one of Europe’s leading independent engineering contractors. Its range of specialist services includes HVAC, process, electrical, I&C, data and telecoms, and fire protection installations.

The culmination of such expertise along with its decades of industry experience means that the company is able to provide

project management, design, procurement, general contracting, specialist commissioning and maintenance for numerous client needs and projects. As a clear marker for Mercury’s achievement in the industry, the company currently turns over in the region of 535 million euros, courtesy of 2100 dedicated and hardworking employees based around the world.

If organic growth has been the vehicle to this success, the company’s commitment to high quality project delivery

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profile: Mercury Engineering

Edina Uk Ltd Queen Elizabeth University Hospital is the largest single hospital construction project undertaken in Scotland and sees a major partnership between Mercury Engineering and Edina.

Edina is the UK’s leading supplier, installer and maintenance provider for energy efficient CHP (combined heat and power) solutions for natural gas and biogas applications, providing complete turnkey and containerised plant and control panel systems manufactured in-house.

Edina is the sole distributor in the UK and Ireland for leading efficiency MWM manufactured gas engines, world renowned for achieving maximum electrical and thermal efficiency, low operating and servicing costs and high reliability and availability.

With over 30 years’ experience in providing flexible power generation solutions, Edina works closely with its customers to understand and meet their requirements, from initial proposal to long term maintenance support. and professional relationships has been its driver. “We are a very client focused and flexible company,” begins its UK Managing Director, Ed McIntyre. “We don’t look at work on a project by project basis, we look at it from the point of view of our client relationships, and we think about these in the long-term to ensure that we can remain the contractor of choice.”

Such an approach to the market has resulted in a robust and leading reputation amongst a variety of high profile clients.

“We do a lot of work for large international clients for instance, and if they encounter an issue on one of their projects, it is not unusual for us to assist in helping with the resolution of those issues,” Ed continues. “It’s very much a case of going where our

clients want us to go.”

Whilst commercial engineering projects, such as office blocks, provide a solid yet competitive market platform, Mercury has positioned itself as a specialist delivery partner for more complex projects in the healthcare, power generation and data centre sectors. Last year, for instance, it completed the M&E fit out of the New South Glasgow Hospital in Scotland. Spread across 14 floors and 170,000 square metres, the hospital is one of the most modern and advanced facilities in the world and the country’s largest ever medical facility.

Add to this scale the inherent complexity of any hospital M&E fit out and it equates to a vast and complex project, particularly in relation to its logistics.

“The hospital had around 8000

rooms and that means 32,000 individual and technically detailed walls that needed to be correctly fitted with the right equipment in the right places,” explains Ed. “The challenge wasn’t necessarily the technical aspect of it – we’re engineers and we’re highly experienced in this kind of work –

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profile: Mercury Engineering

but the painstaking co-ordination process that has to be effectively managed.”

This project also highlighted Mercury’s exemplary approach to its human resource strategy, particularly in regards to equal opportunities. “When we went to Glasgow, part of the contract was weighted heavily towards community engagement and we had a target to recruit ten per cent of our team from newstarters,” Ed highlights. “These were people who were new to the industry, graduates, or those who had been previously unemployed.

We actually maxed out at 18 per cent, which was excellent, and it has really shown its value to the company. By working closely with the local apprenticeship bodies, we were able to bring some very passionate individuals on board.”

Further afield more projects continue to enhance the reputation of Mercury around Europe. Elsewhere within the UK the company is working on a smaller, yet still complex, children’s hospital in Edinburgh, plus a number of data centres in London.

Ed notes that it is also in talks over a 300MW energy project in Wales and is considering what value it could bring to the upcoming Hinkley Point project.

When it comes to its workload Mercury takes a very considered approach. “We are fully committed to delivering the highest quality of work,” Ed

WAGO The effectiveness of WAGO’s WINSTA modular pluggable connection system has led to a highly successful partnership between WAGO and Mercury Engineering on several major hospital projects.

The WAGO lighting and small power trunking system is based on traditional wiring methods while incorporating innovative Modular Wiring Technology.

The modular system provides flexibility for standard applications and custom solutions, as well as easy adaptability for future changes and expansions.

“The way the WINSTA system plugs together makes installation time faster and safer,” says Paul Witherington, WAGO’s UK & Ireland Marketing Manager. “As well as taking out initial cost, a modular system introduces flexibility during the life of the building.”

expresses. “Therefore, we are very careful not to over stretch ourselves. We like to be able to deliver within our capacity and once we reach that we can be very selective if one of our key clients approaches us about a project.” It’s an approach that Ed suggests could be a more suitable model for the construction industry to follow in general in order to achieve a more sustainable level of growth.

“The construction industry follows a very painful cycle,” he says. “When its on a downward cycle, as it was during the recession, there is very little work in the market, experienced people leave it and companies stop investing in recruitment and training. This means that when it starts to pick up again it will eventually reach a point where it faces both material and labour shortages. Ultimately, it begins to exceed its capacity. I think that whilst the market at present is very buoyant, particularly in the UK and London, it is starting to show signs of overheating and over the next year or so it may start facing these resourcing challenges.”

Mercury’s proactive yet targeted approach to those specialist engineering contracts around Europe, combined with a focus on offsite fabrication, puts it in a good position to weather any future challenges the industry may face. With major investment

programmes in place in the public infrastructure and energy segments, plus ongoing expansion being carried out by major tech companies around the world, Ed is generally positive about the future and the company’s ability to continue delivering quality projects based upon longstanding client relationships.

The future for Mercury then is bright. With its experience in delivering complex engineering projects to the healthcare and industrial markets, opportunities to get involved in high end and high specification projects are plenty. Despite being of corporate size, the company remains a family-owned entity and Ed highlights the open culture and people-focused attitude that results. The company’s success

has come from its ability to bring this to its clients and thus build a robust reputation in the market, and maintaining this offering will be the key to its continued success as it progresses long into the future.

Mercury Engineering www.mercuryeng.com Services: Leading contractor specialising in the provision of mechanical, electrical, sprinkler and fire protection and technology services 75

© Sam Peach

profile: Vector Foiltec

Pioneered to

last

With unrivalled expertise in the application of ETFE technology, Vector Foiltec is currently expanding its engineering capacity to take on increased demand across the world 76

V

ector Foiltec began life when its founder Dr Stefan Lehnert developed an innovative technique capable of welding large sheets of ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) back in 1982. Since then the market for the cladding system has grown rapidly with many iconic projects demonstrating the technology, including the Eden Project, The Watercube on Beijing’s Olympic park and Singapore’s national stadium. Since Construction & Civil Engineering last spoke with the company mid-2015, demand

for the technology and Vector Foiltec’s expertise has continued to grow and the company has recently completed major projects at Manchester’s Victoria Station and the massive redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station.

It is not just the aesthetic appeal of ETFE technology that is facilitating this growth, but also the environmental and cost factors involved. Philipp Lehnert, Global Business Manager of Vector Foiltec, explains that as the need for more energy efficient and green building concepts rises, ETFE is becoming more favourable within the market. “The

© Sam Peach

technology and systems around it. When it comes to specific and complex engineering challenges it is this unrivalled expertise and experience of application, not just a theoretical knowledge, that has enabled us to succeed.”

Vector Foiltec is very much the pioneer of ETFE structural technology and, thanks to a strong and dedicated team of engineers who are able to think outside of the box, continues to innovate new application, print and foil techniques. Unfortunately, with competition increasing Philipp notes that the company has been forced to withdraw from some tendering processes due flexibility and versatility of the technology means that we can provide an answer to virtually any requirement surrounding solar heat gain, insulation, flexibility and so on,” he says. The material is also fully recyclable and is able to save a lot of structural weight in the final construction.

“As the market grows we are of course encountering more and more competition,” Philipp continues. “However, none of the other companies have the long standing expertise and experience that we have been able to develop for ourselves over the 33 years since conceiving the

© Sam Peach

to aggressive price strategies by competitors. “Once a project drops below a certain price it can no longer comply with our company values of high quality, expertly engineered solutions and sustainability,” he explains.

“However, we often find that we are approached at a later stage to remedy the problems that have occurred with cheaper solutions because whilst a competitor might have the knowledge of ETFE technology, they haven’t the experience that we have.”

Perfectly illustrating this ability to overcome complex engineering challenges, Vector Foiltec was part of the transformation of the former Olympic Stadium, located in London. “The main challenge here was that we had to build the ETFE cushions on to a preexisting steel structure,” Philipp outlines. “This meant that we had to build the penetration points into the cushions and to do this we developed a very unique but demanding mock up system at our manufacturing facility. This way we could test everything and find the most suitable way to deal with every aspect from onsite welding, to the penetration point rings, and the inflation of the cushions. It was a very good example of a sophisticated project

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© Sam Peach

profile: Vector Foiltec

© Sam Peach

where our engineering expertise was put into practice.”

Similar levels of complexity were met at both the Manchester Victoria Station and Birmingham New Street projects, which both involved the engineering team working closely with its supply partners to have the technology smoothly follow the complex geometries of certain structures.

“We never approach a project

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focused solely on the ETFE technology,” notes Philipp. “It is important that we can understand the project as a whole so that we can make sure our solutions meet the requirements of the client and their desired purpose for the building. This way we are able to work with other construction partners to create the best endproduct.”

Facilitating the delivery

expertise is a very robust and cutting edge engineering capacity. “Alongside off-the-shelf software, we also have a lot of self-developed software and programmes that can optimise the design process and its interface with the production capability,” Philipp continues. “The first welding machines we used for ETFE were originally developed by us as well and this allows us to approach the market very freely when there are very few standard solutions. It is crucial here that we have a good understanding of the machinery we are using so that we can utilise it to weld very sophisticated geometries.”

Committed to continuing this pioneering presence amidst a growing market, Vector Foiltec is currently in the process of expanding its engineering capacity to cope, and is also focusing on maintaining its training programme as one of the only bodies capable of providing this knowledge to engineers.

Developing the capabilities and capacity within the business will be key to Vector Foiltec

AGC CHEMICALS

© Sam Peach

AGC is a leading global manufacturer of fluorinated materials that improve quality of life in many ways. The product range includes agricultural/ pharmaceutical fine chemicals, cosmetic additives, water/oil repellents for outdoor apparel, fluoropolymers for ultra-light cable coatings and fuel hose as well as architectural products offering bright, modern looks coupled with high durability, reduced maintenance requirements and easy-cleaning properties.

AGC Group has 110 years’ experience in manufacturing and is proud of its no. 1 position in the world for ETFE and glass.

‘Chemistry for a Blue Planet’ is AGC’s vision of how chemistry can contribute to environmental solutions.

taking advantage of the growing opportunities in the construction industry around the world as it moves forward. Philipp points out that the need to create open public spaces in geographies

with harsh climates is a growing market, and the company has helped create various shopping centres and public spaces in places like Kuwait and Kazakhstan, thanks to the thermal and lighting qualities of ETFE technology. A growing business in the refurbishment of schools and other institutes is also a key opportunity and is where the

company is able to develop a solid base for more standard solutions.

As the original pioneers of ETFE technology it really is little surprise that Vector Foiltec remains the leading contractor for the innovative material. However, it is its consistent dedication to expanding its engineering capacity and delivering truly iconic and incredibly complex solutions that has helped cement this. As architecture demands more and more aesthetically pleasing and flexible solutions, whilst also adhering to tighter and tighter sustainability targets, ETFE remains a leading solution and Vector Foiltec’s unrivalled ability to deliver looks set to define its future for years to come.

Vector Foiltec www.vector-foiltec.com Services: Globally leading experts in ETFE cladding technology 79

profile: Birchwood Price Tools

A leading light

Birchwood Price Tools is leading the way when it comes to innovative solutions and powerful brands for the world’s tradesmen

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irst established in 1974 and becoming a flagship trade brand branch of Travis Perkins plc in 2011, Birchwood Price Tools (BPT) is a pioneer in the design and development of innovative and high quality brands for tradespeople. Under its umbrella sit eight exclusive brands including, Scruffs, for safety workwear and footwear; Defender, a site power and lighting brand; Van Vault, for secure storage solutions; Bullet, a professional fixings brand and Punk, a range of power tool accessories. The company also acts as a distribution partner for well-known brands such as Bosch, Makita and Stanley.

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“We design, develop, market and sell brands that are ‘built to inspire’,” begins COO of BPT, Fiona Hornsby. “A focus on quality and innovation is at the heart of everything we do and our product development process is focused on adhering to ever changing health and safety regulations. We are passionate about delivering long-term sales and profitgrowth for UK and international customers by providing outstanding performance and value.”

Based in Nottingham and served by around 150 dedicated employees, BPT currently distributes throughout 27 countries worldwide. Strong branding and striking marketing campaigns support the development of innovative products, and it this very marketled and unique approach that has awarded the company with the ability to compete in a challenging global market.

Serving through both the retail and hire sectors with leading merchants, hire companies and wholesalers, as well as over 8000 national and independent electrical, plumbers and builders merchants with a growing

international base, as well, BPT’s performance in the market is unrivalled. Fiona highlights that in 2015, despite challenging marketing conditions, the business was able to outperform many of the more established brands in the market. “We have ambitious growth plans and are confident that we can continue to outperform the market over the coming years as well,” she adds.

Also setting it apart in the market as a supplier is its portfolio of owned and exclusive trade brands. To do so, it has in-house expertise in product design, development, engineering and manufacturing across all its brands “We have a set of strong values which drive everything we do,” Fiona continues. “We challenge ourselves to stand out by developing innovative, award-winning products, creating powerful brands and delivering impactful communication both on and offline. As such, our design and marketing are both recognised as being the best in the industry.”

Demonstrating the strength of BPT’s position in the industry particularly well is its longestablished Defender brand, which has been developing and delivering cutting-edge power distribution and lighting solutions to the industry for over 20 years and is now represented in over 20 markets around the world.

“Whether it is illuminating a site to support maintenance and engineering works underground or a railway track, it all comes down to performance and safety for Defender,” outlines Fiona.

“We continue to work hard to create exceptional products that users can trust to deliver the light and power needed to get a range of jobs done. A prime example of the brand’s success is the award winning Defender Uplight product range, which has revolutionised lighting, delivering shadow-free illumination perfect for plastering

and decorating. The Uplight is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2016, demonstrating its success and continued demand in the market.”

Defender is also a pioneer in LED site lighting, having been the first into the UK market in 2009 and BPT continues to develop sustainable solutions that challenge the norm and meet more user requirements. For instance, the LED Light Cannon Rechargeable Floodlight is a lightweight, portable solution that is essential kit for use when access to power is limited. In 2016, the company has also launched the LED Luminator Floodlight Tower, a portable solution delivering 30,000 lumens of super bright light. The product is wind resistant up to 65mph and made from solid materials designed to be safe and durable on site. “Key benefits of the tower include its four-metre extendable mast and its ability to alternate light spread from 360 degrees to 180 degrees, helping to save energy and manage light pollution,” Fiona notes.

Another well-known brand within the BPT portfolio is Van Vault, the UK’s first purpose-built range of mobile site security containers when it was launched in 1997. Van Vault has maintained

this leading position in the market as a frontline defence system to defeat the rising tide of tool theft and protect livelihoods. “Indicating the level of brand success Van Vault has achieved, it has over 80 per cent brand awareness amongst tradesmen,” points out Fiona. “The range includes security solutions for both commercial vehicles and onsite uses. The original Van Vault-2 is a high security steel storage box for commercial vehicles and continues to remain a best-selling line. Equally, the onsite range features purpose built solutions suitable for storing flammable liquids and hazardous chemicals, offering safety and security on a worksite.”

Brand development and product innovation continue to be the driving forces behind BPT’s success. Moving forward the company has an ongoing pipeline of products and patented technologies that will be brought to market over the coming years in line with the ever-changing demands and regulations within the marketplace. “Making sure we are agile and able to respond quickly to these evolving needs is a big challenge, as is protecting our intellectual property from competitors,” says Fiona.

“However, we also see some major opportunities, particularly in our digital presence and how we can serve, support and communicate

with our customers through these new channels. We also see some big opportunities to strengthen the presence of our key brands in international markets.”

The plan for the next 12 months very much falls in line with these challenges and opportunities.

Continuing to invest in innovation and developing a product pipeline for the next five years, building its digital capability, continuing to internationalise and maintaining investment into its people and process to ensure it can continue to deliver the best quality and service to its customers, will all be central to 2016. Following a year in which BPT gained ISO 9000 and Investors in People accreditation, further reinforcing its drive to ensure it has the best approach to quality management and the best people in place to serve its customers, the future for BPT looks bright. “We have ambitious plans over the next five years,” Fiona concludes. “Our vision is to continue being an innovator and supplier of exciting brands, to grow internationally and to double our turnover.”

Birchwood Price Tools www.birchwoodpricetools.com Services: Leading designer, manufacturer and wholesaler of products and equipment for use by tradespeople 81

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profile: Acorn Property

The perfect

partner

With over 20 years of industry experience in residential led property development, Acorn Property Group (Acorn) has established an impressive portfolio of completed residential and commercial projects throughout London, the South West, Bristol, Cardiff and the South of England

A

corn’s Founding Principles were a strong focus on the provision of bespoke schemes and interesting sustainable architecture that adds quality and a sense of purpose to a building’s immediate environment.

Numerous successful partnerships have earned Acorn a

Above Melanie Omirou, Managing Director

reputation as the ultimate flexible joint venture partner for land owners, property professionals, introducers, building contractors, banks, financiers, local councils and housing associations.

“Acorn is an independent residential led developer, with regional offices in London, Cornwall, Bristol, Cardiff and recently Hampshire,” elaborates Managing Director, Melanie Omirou. “The company has been creating award winning residential and mixed-use schemes since 1995, our business plan is based around niche developments and no two projects are the same. We are an opportunity led business that is driven by the sites offered to us and not by set housing number targets like most PLC house builders.

“We have no specific type of site we wish to purchase or finished product, we react to local demand and to a site’s specific strengths and weaknesses. We develop greenfield and brownfield sites in urban and rural locations and we are equally happy with new build projects or conversions.

We buy land with or without planning permission and are happy to look at Options and planning promotion agreements.”

During the past two decades Acorn has built an impressive track record in the development of architecturally interesting commercial and residential buildings throughout the South of England. This success has been spurred by the company’s flexible and responsible approach to working with both its clients and its partners. “Using the team’s extensive experience and the regional knowledge we aim to be the perfect development partner and we acquire most of our land through partnerships,” Melanie says. “We are very flexible as a business and structure our deals around the needs of not only the site and local stakeholders, but our partners as clients and of course the occupiers of our homes.”

The culture of flexibility within Acorn is as important to the way the business operates internally.

This has played an import role in allowing Acorn to create a positive relationship between

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profile: Acorn Property

the company and its employees that champion equality within the workplace while maintaining high levels of productivity. “Although people claim that there are now less stereotypes in the property workplace, they do still exist and the challenge is to continue to change these preconceptions, particularly in the field of construction,” Melanie explains.

“The property development world is slowly attracting more women, but being a woman in this business can be very tricky.

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“Another challenge is that the construction industry can be quite rigid and ‘nine to five’, which can be problematic when trying to balance work and family life. Through the use of remote connections, more and more people are working from home and I think it is something that is becoming more acceptable across a number of industries. This particularly helps employees with families who can adapt their work hours or number of days to suit their needs and, whilst it might mean that they may have to get up at 5am and still be working at midnight, it fits their lifestyle and it works.” The approach taken by Acorn to its staff and working hours has proven highly successful in driving the business forward and led to an extremely high level of staff retention.

Acorn’s willingness to take on challenging and varied projects has allowed the company to develop a diverse portfolio of projects. For example, Acorn is currently involved in the development of a large former

school and its extensive grounds in Bath. “The Bath site includes a listed Georgian Manor, the construction of a new build block of flats above a basement car park, three new build but different terraces of mock Georgian town houses all to be built in Bath stone and four ultra modern low build lateral houses set beneath sedum roofs. This is an incredibly varied project from a construction point of view and especially as the site is a natural sloping amphitheatre and this truly demonstrates our flexible approach to and our ability to construct complex projects.”

Melanie also reveals another example of Acorn business flexibility: “One of our projects in London is a collaboration with a 500-year old Charity whose prime aim is to increase its long term income and capital so they can continue with their charitable aims. We have developed a part of their portfolio giving back to them half of the completed units and the freehold reversion resulting in the Charity increasing both their annual income and the capital value of their investment. This joint venture was constructed entirely to meet our partner’s needs.”

With a diverse portfolio of projects and a culture of flexibility and collaboration, Acorn is keen to build on its current success and to distinguish itself as a unique property developer. “During 2016 we will focus on growing our regional business and brand as we complete some of the amazing sites within our development pipeline,” Melanie concludes. “We want to continue with our strong focus on partnerships and joint ventures and continue developing beautiful buildings with people who share our vision and passion.”

Acorn Property Group www.acornpropertygroup.org Services: Residential developer

profile: MEP Solutions

A neat

package With a market leading position already established, M&E module manufacturer MEP Solutions continues to develop in line with a growing market

F

irst formed in 2002 and now a part of the A-Belco group of companies, MEP Solutions has grown to become a market leader in modular mechanical and electrical service engineering, as

well as a specialist in integrated prefabricated solutions to the construction and building services industries. As one of the largest independent companies in the sector, MEP has become renowned as an innovator through the design and manufacture of insulated and pressure tested prefabricated multi-service modules, including, but not limited to, pipework, ductwork, medical gases and all electrical services. Over the years the company’s expertise has been applied to a range of significant projects up and down the UK including commercial and retail developments, hospitals, educational sites, hotels, and residential buildings.

“The main advantages of the modular format over traditional builds are numerous,” begins Commercial Director, Lee Brennan explaining the solution’s unique offering to the market.

“It leads to a reduction in capital costs, construction time, defect numbers, waste, on-site storage, site logistics and health and safety issues, and combines this with enhanced quality, productivity, predictability and profit benefits.

At MEP we are able to deliver these advantages to projects through the use of highly skilled engineers, working closely with the design engineers of the main M&E contractors to maximise the services fitted within the modular arrangements and also our skilled manufacturing team who are able to translate this vision into reality.”

It is this manufacturing excellence that really sets MEP apart in the market. It’s long standing expertise in the sector has rewarded it with a wealth of knowledge and experience which enables it to offer best practice by continually implementing proven technologies and innovations throughout all aspects of its business. Such a breadth of knowledge means that MEP offers a complete, flexible and practical solution from conception through to completion. This is supported by a state-of-the-art facility perfectly suited to offering this level of technical complexity.

“Our manufacturing facility applies the latest prefabrication design and innovation expertise in the production of our high quality, mechanical and electrical modules whilst our engineering function provides expert technical

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profile: MEP Solutions

and tendering support to our clients by utilising 2D and 3D drawing co-ordination support,” Lee continues. “We also operate the latest industry design software packages, which work in synergy with the patented bespoke modularisation software developed in house.”

Demonstrating the applicability of such a solution to the market, MEP has recently completed the delivery of 43 riser modules, the heaviest of which was over 8000 kilograms to a project in Shoreditch, London. “These modules created an immense challenge not only for the client, but also for the MEP team and our entire supply chain,” Lee outlines.

“The challenge in designing the structural steel modules was a new venture for our engineering team but they produced a stunning concept which allowed the structural modules to be

self-supporting whilst also coordinating all services within. This solution allowed our client to assemble, on site, two floors of service modules in two nights – a huge time saving compared to traditional on-site fabrication.”

In addition to this, the company will soon be completing a prestigious new hospital project in Edinburgh, and has a number of major projects throughout London and the rest of the UK coming up. In view of this, the market conditions for MEP look

Unistrut More than you imagine Unistrut has been the leading supplier of metal framing systems for over 60 years. It specialises in channel framing, cable management and prefabricated framing, and its products and services are synonymous with engineering excellence and reliability worldwide.

Unistrut began developing and manufacturing products during the 1920s, producing the original Unistrut metal framing system. Its extensive product portfolio now includes a variety of cable management solutions and advanced metal framing systems.

very positive, with Lee explaining that over the last 18 months there has been an upturn in the market with a number of big projects coming to market, due to start in the coming financial year. “Whilst this upturn is great news it also raises a number of challenges,” he says. “The greatest of these facing MEP is in developing how best to assist and guide both our current and potential clients to better understand how to fully embrace the modular prefabrication format.

However, this challenge also creates our greatest opportunity for growth as more and more clients utilise this exciting new technology.”

With the market picking up and demand for MEP’s services increasing, the decision was recently taken within the business to undergo an organisational restructure. Part of this included the addition of both a Commercial Director and a BIM Director to strengthen and support the existing management team.

“There have also been a number of project specific managers put in place to support the increase in workload,” Lee notes. “These new appointments will allow key members of the team to focus fully on their roles and offer better assistance to clients, ultimately resulting in a greater capability for growth.”

With this growth in mind the future for MEP Solutions is equally focused, as it continues to strive for excellence within its chosen projects, to offer a greater service to existing and potential clients, and to continue strengthening its engineering, fabrication and management teams. “We will also be focusing on driving forward our modular vision to the market place to ensure that the benefits of prefabrication are better understood and the concept more readily accepted,” concludes Lee. “The longer term strategic vision is to develop and grow alongside our chosen business partners. We will also be looking to invest in new technologies and innovations, which will allow us to compete within new business streams and in turn, offer our clients more flexibility within their projects.

“Ultimately, we look forward to continuing this journey of development together with both our clients and supply chain partners whose assistance and support throughout the years have been invaluable.”

MEP Solutions www.a-belco.co.uk Services: A leading provider of modular mechanical and electrical services 87

profile: Leca UK

Simple yet

effective Leca UK demonstrates how a close attention to innovation can make the simplest of products a lasting success in the construction industry

“

T

he Leca business is based around one product; an expanded lightweight aggregate that is sieved into a number of grades and then used for a multitude of applications,” begins Commercial Director for Leca UK, Lorraine Blundell. “Initially developed in America during the early 1900s, manufacturing began in Denmark in 1939 to provide lightweight aggregate for the production of lightweight bricks and blocks. By the late 1950s Leca® had been

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introduced into the geotechnical market and was being successfully utilised for the insulation and lightweight filling of roads and railways across Scandinavia.”

Coming under the Saint Gobain Weber umbrella in 2008, it was decided that the strength of the Leca brand, which is trademarked

by Leca Trading and Concession A/S in Denmark, warranted its own business attention and Leca International was formed to develop the business around the world.

“In the UK the primary

application is for use in lightweight block manufacture and civil engineering applications where weight, drainage or access is an issue,” Lorraine continues.

“However, its thermal properties also make it ideal for underfloor insulation, its nutritional benefits for horticulture, and its structural properties for a variety of applications like filtration.”

With its business model revolving around one product, Leca’s proposition is focused but has rewarded it with a robust reputation across Europe. Lorraine

Above This picture is from 1955, at the launch of Leca blocks in Norway. The location is the Norwegian trade fair Bygg Reis Deg. Pictured are from left to right: · Technical manager Ivar Sørli · Managing director Tor Idland · Sales Manager Leif Nafstad · Sales Manager Oscar Graf · The Norwegian King Olav (with hat in hand)

explains that no matter the size of a project, in order to achieve a building process that is costefficient and smoothly managed, building materials need to be easy to handle, easy to transport and flexible to work with. “Leca® is exactly that,” she says. “Whilst our product is simple, our solutions are innovative. Alone, it is a single expanded clay pellet, but by combining the pellets into an aggregate its possibilities become numerous – whether it’s laying the foundation for construction, building roads and walls or

Above Pneumatically delivered and placed Middle right Fast install Bottom right Credible used on many key projects

developing drainage solutions, the simplicity makes it flexible throughout the construction process.

“We have been around for a long time, so we know that our products work, and understand how they work. Yet we continue to develop and innovate ourselves and we are constantly looking for new partnerships and new business models that add value to Leca, our partners and the environment. Through these partnerships with engineering and construction companies, we

are able to develop innovative and sustainable solutions that meet a variety of needs, because together, we build for the future.”

In the UK, the core markets for Leca are in block manufacturing and construction, both segments that are currently creating remarkably favourable conditions for the company. Whilst around Europe the business manufactures its own blocks for supply into the market, in the UK it simply supplies aggregates to other block manufacturers, where there is currently increased demand.

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profile: Leca UK

Install and compact in one metre lifts

Coupled to the reduced supply of quality ‘ash’ the need for proven lightweight aggregate is high. “Being part of the largest expanded lightweight clay aggregate manufacturer in the world, and with access to all of our kilns across Europe, we not only possess strength in the quality of our materials but also in the guarantee of supply,” adds Lorraine.

Furthermore, an increase in infrastructure expenditure throughout the UK has been beneficial where Leca is in a position to provide multiple solutions to previously costly installations where weight, drainage, insulation and access are issues. Thanks to a continuous programme of development and testing the company is always pushing the borders of its understanding around the material’s operating parameters and in turn undergoes regular industry presentations and demonstrations to educate its

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customer base on new concepts.

“Our team are then able to work closely with engineers and constructors to discuss the buildability, delivery and installation methods available to them,” Lorraine outlines.

“Amongst its applications in construction the aggregate can be used en-mass within geotechnical projects, for reduced pressure on weak structures, can be blown into position in difficult to access areas, whilst green roof, attenuation and filtration applications can also benefit from the open voids and absorption parameters of the compacted fill.”

When Leca became part of the Saint Gobain Weber group in 2008, it was Weber that inherited the brand as a subsidiary.

However, being a company focused on producing the world’s best rendering solutions it has recently been decided to split the two business streams so that each can focus on its own specialities.

Leca International now operates as its own entity within the Saint Gobain portfolio, and is currently going through a process of rebranding and reunification with other national organisations to strengthen and share expertise and knowledge across the Leca group.

As far as the future is concerned, Lorraine highlights that on top of continued solutions development Leca will be tackling the environmental challenges with

Above Easy to track into place Below Inert and sustainable

a long-term focus to become a ‘blue’ company. “These challenges will always remain of concern to any manufacturing organisation,” she notes. “Whilst of recent years the aim for any business has been to be ‘green’, ‘blue’ is now the ultimate goal. Leca®, by its nature, is a simple and purely

natural product that you can find everywhere, it is all in one and can be used widely, it is longlasting and durable, and with more than 80 years experience and substantial data this can be proven. It has flexibility from production to construction and we focus heavily on resource efficiency including in the recycling and sustainability of materials. These are just some of the reasons why we here at Leca believe that we are very much a ‘blue’ company, and over the coming months we will set out our stall to prove this.”

Leca UK www.leca.co.uk Services: Leading supplier of lightweight aggregate

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profile: TROX HESCO Schweiz

The art of handling air

With roots dating back more than a century, since 1998 TROX HESCO Schweiz AG has been part of the TROX GROUP - a world-leader in the development, manufacture and sale of ventilation solutions 92

S

ince the company was established in 1863 as H. Hess & Cie, TROX HESCO Schweiz AG (TROX HESCO) has built a reputation as an industry-leading partner in the development, manufacture and sale of components, appliances

and systems for ventilation applications. The business was founded in the municipality of Dürnten as a locksmith’s workshop, producing door and window fittings and has since adapted and grown into a successful venture.

“TROX HESCO is a 152 year old

Swiss company, which makes it very special as many companies have not existed for such a long amount of time. The development of the business has been the result of having in all these years a management team that was able to adapt its sales and production capacity to address

existing market conditions,” explains Managing Director, Christian Frei. “Sixty-five years ago the decision was taken to work within the ventilation market, through the manufacture of air ventilation components and the business has continued to evolve in this sector. Presently we have a stable head count of around 120 employees in Switzerland.”

Today TROX HESCO delivers its products and solutions mainly to local companies and contractors but also globally to large businesses. The applied TROX production system excels through the application of advanced high-tech equipment that fulfils the highest demands of both the company itself and its clients.

This allows it to develop solutions that are of outstanding quality as well as being energy efficient.

TROX HESCO works in close collaboration with its suppliers to jointly develop and configure dedicated equipment that meets the demanding requirements of the company’s customers.

“We are very proud of the way that we develop new products to be ahead of the market and the company’s ability to manufacture these in-house which results in being able to offer a complete range of products ranging from air handling units to air outlets, including VAV controls, fire dampers and many more,” says Andri Nicolai, Head of Business Development. “We maintain a comprehensive range of standard solutions and are also able to create tailored solutions from this base.”

Christian adds: “We are a trendsetter that provides innovative products, systems and services in ventilation and air conditioning. We also have a lot of internal competences in offering expert consulting and service.

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profile: TROX HESCO Schweiz

This applies to training; we have a number of people ranging from clients to engineering houses that come to TROX HESCO for training in the application of our products.

We are a Swiss manufacturing company that embodies high product quality, reliability and rapid, on-time delivery times.”

The latest product releases of TROX HESCO include the residential air control unit (THWLB-C), which is a compact air control unit for distributing centrally prepared air as required in any residence like office or apartment buildings. Built-in supply air and extracted air controllers achieve the required volume flows in any living area and moreover, reduce the noise level. “The TH-WLB-C is a special system for the regulation of air,” Christian says. “This means that clients are able to manage the desired temperature and air condition in their office or livingroom. This is an important product because we were able to reduce its size without compromising its efficiency or acoustic protection.

It is a compact product that is still able to deliver exactly what the client needs.”

TROX HESCO also manufactures displacement flow diffusers that have been developed specifically for air supply in displacement flow ventilation systems. These displacement flow diffusers are not inductive and therefore used

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where good ventilation efficiency is very important for ensuring optimum thermal comfort in work areas and occupied spaces. A wide range of different shapes and cover designs ensures that they can be effectively integrated into the interior design.

Displacement flow diffusers are placed in prestigious projects around the world, like the new government building in Ankara, as well as in many airports.

To allow the company to develop bespoke air ventilation systems and to provide the

most effective and relevant components, TROX HESCO also employs consultation and close dialog with potential and existing clients to arrive at the best solution. “Part of the company’s service offering is to provide our clients with consultancy over the phone,” elaborates, Head of Procurement, Bernardo Agostini.

“Customers ask for our support and we can give them the best information so that they get the right technical solution. We can also develop a tailor-made solution for a customer’s specific building. This leads to better results and is an integral role of our sales staff.”

The development of these products in standard and bespoke configurations ensures that TROX HESCO maintains a leading position in the manufacture and

supply of ventilation solutions.

“Our vision is to solidify the company’s position as a leading supplier and manufacturer in building technology for userfriendly and energy-efficient systems designed to enhance the safety and ensure well-being in rooms for all kind of properties,” Christian concludes. “As long

as we remain flexible and reliable, TROX HESCO will continue to add value to both its customers and its own employees.”

TROX HESCO Schweiz AG www.troxhesco.ch Services: Develops, manufactures and sells components, appliances and systems for ventilation applications

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profile: Betafence

A secure

future

Betafence is the world’s number one perimeter protection specialist thanks to an enviable product portfolio that is merged with more than 130 years of operational excellence

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roud to protect property across the globe in a manner that helps customers feel safe while also respecting their desire for freedom, Betafence is the global leader in fencing solutions, access control and detection for perimeter protection. Focused on its strategy of enlarging its global presence by delivering security solutions and support, Betafence is committed to continuous innovation as a way to guarantee optimal solutions for the enduser that are cost-effective and delivered on time and to budget. With its products found around industrial buildings, public infrastructure and highly sensitive

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sites as well as agricultural properties, livestock and private gardens, Betafence has accumulated a broad customer base since evolving from its original operations as a fence manufacturer.

Today a total solution supplier for a variety of industrial applications with 1400 employees worldwide, a strong presence in 100 countries, ten plants and 30 sales offices across the globe, Betafence has continued this trend of diversification. As the UK arm of Betafence, Betafence UK has played an integral role in this strategy since it was previously featured in Construction & Civil Engineering magazine in July 2014, as Managing Director

of Betafence UK Christopher Morris comments: “Betafence UK has been through a difficult period over the last two years.

The recession has impacted our traditional markets and inevitably the company has had to respond with changes to our operation and production facilities here in Sheffield. We have expanded our capability with the addition of an in-house powder coating line and implemented further new equipment to support additional capability in wire production and agricultural products. Significant gains in productivity and OTIF performance have subsequently been seen over the last 18 months, which has positively impacted on our service levels to customers.”

Elaborating further on the company’s enhanced manufacturing capabilities, Christopher continues: “Betafence UK has seen significant development in recent years, thus making us capable of responding to customer needs across the market sectors we

serve. For example, the ability to convert steel rod raw material to finished high security fencing or agricultural wire/stock fence products in a short lead-time with all processes carried out on site - gives us a competitive advantage as this capability allows us to react faster than our competitors when it comes to meeting the needs of clients.

Furthermore, we have an inhouse product development capability that is backed up by significant group resources across several countries. We are able to respond to customer challenges and innovate to solve problems; this process will see several new product launches this year!”

This commitment to continuous improvements has ensured Betafence UK has remained competitive in a challenging market and resulted in the firm winning confidential high security contracts, as Christopher notes: “Although current market conditions are quite difficult due to pressures on price that are driven by currency fluctuation and the decline in metal prices globally, we continue to see a generally improving picture; this is a result of our ability to supply a recognised premium quality product that is competitively priced and has the security of the Betafence brand as well as the inherent guarantees of quality

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profile: Betafence

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Fastline Steel Services Fastline are currently the steel industry’s biggest movers, specialising in all areas of perimeter security from bow top railings to industrial cantilevered gate sets.

Their skilled designers and fabricators can certainly meet all of your fencing needs. Their philosophy is wholly based on providing first class products and service at unbeatable prices.

This fundamental ideal has led to the consistent growth of Fastline and is key in developing a familiarity and understanding of needs of their clients. Because of this, their impressive installations/client base ranges from Housing Associations, government buildings, major house builders, commercial agents and sports bodies.

set to continue as Betafence UK seeks out new opportunities while also strengthening its presence within the markets it currently operates in. “We are able to offer high quality and innovative products, which is backed up by class leading levels of customer service,” says Christopher. “It is our intention to continue to build true partnership relationships with our customers over the next 12 months, with the aim of building our market share across the sectors we support. Over this time frame, we will also launch new products that will open up markets that have not previously been supported by Betafence UK. “On top of this, we are developing several new products, which we will bring to market at an appropriate time over the

coming months. First of these will be a new residential range that will be launched in May 2016. Here too, we will seek to provide the same levels of quality service and value, which will enable similar growth of our market share and recognition of our brand. Strategically we are driving for growth and intend to achieve this via ever closer partner relationships, exceptional customer service and ongoing product innovation that is derived from listening to the needs of our customers,” he concludes.

Betafence www.betafence.co.uk Services: Total supplier of perimeter security

and service that go with this.

We currently have several large security projects for export to the Middle East and African continent, which involve protecting and securing high value critical assets.”

Indeed, as part of a larger global group, Betafence UK benefits from the support of its parent company when it comes to areas of the business such as product development and project management. This competitive advantage, merged with innovation, an ever-growing product portfolio and long-term expertise in a wide range of industries means Betafence UK has earned the trust of a wide range of clients, from oil and gas sites, windmill parks, military areas, medical facilities and correctional services to airports, race circuits and banks. However, Betafence UK is aware that these strengths also require a close working relationship with clients to establish trust and ensure the most suitable solution to a specific situation is found.

Looking ahead, this commitment to customers is

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profile: HDM Group of Companies

pipeline Plans in the

HDM Group of Companies is focused on the production of steel pipe solutions, with factories in both Turkey and Wales

S

ince its establishment in 2002, HDM Group of Companies (HDM) has developed a global client base and an average turnover of $100 million, with an extensive annual growth rate over the last six years. Focused on the production of steel pipe solutions, the group has two factories strategically located in Turkey and another in Cardiff, UK; the locations in Turkey enable the organisation to export 100 per cent of its products across the globe, with Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America and North America key growth areas, while the Cardiff factory was established to cement closer relationships with its growing

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Above Ozgur Fidanoglu, Chief Executive Officer at HDM Group of Companies

client base.

Discussing the two business lines within the group is Ozgur Fidanoglu, Chief Executive Officer at HDM Group of Companies: “For our global foundation pipe solutions business alone, we have a unique facility in Mersin Free Zone Port, where we focus on the production of tailor-made foundation pipe solutions. We can produce up to 4m OD, 35mm wall thickness and 63m length combi-wall piles with special coatings and special design attachments such as clutch, pile shoes, rings welding and so on. We are immensely proud of the extensive track record in global foundation solutions that we have earned over the years, which only continues to grow.

Within this business line we have grown an extensive track record for delivering foundation products to LNG and storage terminals, container terminals, refinery terminals, petrochemical plant terminals, crude oil loading terminals and ports, piers and harbours.”

He continues: “For the hollow section and ERW pipe solutions business line, we have our facility in Cardiff, which is based in ABP docks and focuses on the UK demand for hollow section and ERW pipe solutions; our services are delivered to industries in the UK such as construction, fencing and manufacturing. Within this business line we produce tubes from 19mm up to 120mm; these are round square, rectangular

tubes made of S325, S275, S355 hot rolled coils as well as galvanised, hot rolled, pickled oiled, cold reduced, aluminised type coils. Our main customers include stockholders, solution providers to different industries and end users that are active in the UK.” Since it was established in April 2013, HDM’s Cardiff facility has developed a strong presence in the market and reached 15 per cent market share in the last three years. Although the UK steel industry has faced challenges during this period, HDM maintains its focus on growing the business in the UK with further expansion plans coming up in June 2016.

“We will be launching a new spirally welded large diameter

pipe production facility in June this year and are currently in the process of installing the equipment. This will enable us to serve to foundation and construction industries in our Cardiff, ABP docks facilities and also produce and ship long piles in front of our factory to the UK, Ireland, Europe South and North America.”

Meanwhile, the group’s other facility in Turkey, HDM Spiral, initially focused on the delivery of a mobile mill concept for foundation projects in Turkey, as Ozgur notes: “We have developed our own solution to install a mobile mill at the project site for the production of long and heavy piles at the terminal project site; this has enabled our customers to

benefit from huge logistic costs.”

Having developed this concept, the company has completed more than 200,000 metric tonnes of pile production throughout its first ten years in operation.

With a production capacity of 100,000 metric tonnes at the Mersin Free Zone spiral mill, 40,000 metric tonnes at Gemlik spiral mill and existing 50,000 metric tonnes of hollow section at its Cardiff facility – alongside the extra 40,000 metric tonnes of spiral capacity at its new Cardiff facility, space and location is never a problem for the group when it comes to meeting the needs of customers. “We believe in the right positioning of the right products in the right markets with the right cost structure,”

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profile: HDM Group of Companies

highlights Ozgur. In addition to this, the group also benefits from being able to produce its own machinery and equipment, which enabled growth in the short-term when it was first established.

Strengths such as strategic thinking, vast capacity and modern facilities have resulted in an extensive number of notable projects for the group, as Ozgur states: “Some of our key projects over the past five years include delivering 55,000 metric tonnes of piles to DSTC/GS Engineering for the Ruwais refinery expansion project in Abu Dhabi; we also delivered 14,200 metric tonnes of piles to Saipem SA for the Port of Sohar in the UAE. Furthermore, we delivered 13,000 metric tonnes of piles to Arcelor Mittal Projects for the Republique Libanaise Gestion et exploration du port de

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while also sustaining its UK based hollow section business. Looking further ahead, the group’s plans for continued success are concise yet clear, as Ozgur concludes: “We aim to protect our existing global leading position in the foundation pipe market, grow our UK based production business and become a long-term partner for our clients.”

Beyrout project; Arcelor Mittal Projects is a leader of foundation projects that has an extensive knowledge and strong global network as well as leading sheet pile production capabilities, it is one of our main customers.”

With the establishment of a new facility coming up over the coming months, HDM will seek to strengthen its leading position in the foundation pipe market

Should you require more information from HDM Group of companies, contact: Ozgur Fidanoglu at ozgur. fidanoglu@hdmtubes.co.uk

HDM Group of Companies www.hdm.com.tr www.hdmtubes.co.uk Services: Producer of foundation pipe and hollow section tube solutions

profile: Innovaré Systems

The flexible

approach

I

nnovaré Systems is a specialist structural insulated panel (SIP) solutions provider, offering expertise from design and engineering, through manufacturing to delivery and installation. SIPs are perfectly suited to today’s pressured environment where speed of delivery, cost effectiveness and energy efficiency all pose major challenges to the build of any project. The lightweight prefabricated panels provide high structural and insulation performance, which leads to a very quick onsite installation process, and Innovaré has been successful in delivering solutions to a range of industries from social housing to education.

The company was first founded in 2005 to provide SIPs to the UK construction industry as part of a supply chain buying in panels from the continent. Two years later it took the decision to open up its own 33,000 square foot manufacturing plant in Coventry.

Timing wasn’t the best and a year later the construction industry was hit by the recession and a challenging period ensued with the business doing its best to provide work to a number of different market segments.

Innovaré Systems adopts an agile position in a construction industry that demands innovative and cost effective solutions However, as the economy strengthened, so too did Innovaré and a strategic review in 2013 led to the decision to focus more prominently on the education sector with a more defined, valueadding approach to its service.

“It obviously took a bit of time to get set up and establish a market position, but over the last 12 months we have delivered over 50 school projects alongside numerous different further and higher education projects as well,” explains Managing Director, Pete Blunt. “This new approach is based around a value proposition, offering rightfirst-time and on-time delivery, creating partnerships with key

customers and suppliers, and adding a level of innovation to push forward and understand technical requirements and add value throughout the process.

It’s all about making it easier for everyone, particularly in these financially challenging times.”

With a current annual manufacturing capacity of 50,000 square metres of SIPs, Innovaré occupies a strong position in the market, and this renewed value proposition is a key part of having achieved this success.

“The flexibility and adaptability of the company is a major strength of ours,” Pete continues. “We have spent a lot of time and money on our technical capability

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profile: Innovaré Systems

but also on understanding the requirements of the industries.

This allows us to see how we can flex our solutions to meet these needs. A lot of offsite construction is driven by standardisation, but this never quite fits with the industry requirements, particularly when it comes to architecture, so whilst we’ve tried to standardise some elements it is important that we maintain our flexibility as much as possible.”

Illustrating this innovative and flexible approach is Innovaré’s occupation in the education segment, by far its most active market. Pete explains that having been involved in so many projects now the company has quickly understood that functionality and design is higher on the priority list that the actual structure.

“The internal environment of the classroom is the most important feature of a school build, so it’s important that we understand day lighting, ventilation, thermal comfort and so on,” he says.

“Therefore, we’ve changed our strategy here to give as much flexibility to M&E, window and building service subcontractors as possible, so they can optimise their solutions without our structure getting in the way.”

Recent school project examples also serve to demonstrate the speed advantage of SIP construction. The company has recently finshed a three-storey secondary school, complete with large hall and atrium and formed from two super blocks of 6200 square metres and 7100 square metres. By applying this flexible yet optimised delivery approach combined with the company’s strength of understanding within the sector, structural work was completed by Innovaré in just 13 weeks. In addition, a small 200 square metre primary school extension was recently completed in just a day.

As a manufacturing company supplying into the construction

industry as an offsite constructor, Innovaré has had to develop a unique strategy to cope with challenging and ever changing demands. “Based in the West Midlands we’re surrounded by the automotive industry and we’ve tried to implement lean manufacturing strategies to the process that we operate,” Pete explains. “However, over the last year it has become quite evident that we need to be able to run with a much more agile methodology to cope with the industry’s peaks and troughs and also the different requirements from projects. In this environment being able to provide quick turnarounds and fast onsite delivery is key.”

Investing into its technical capabilities as well as its workforce will be a key part of Innovaré’s strategy as it moves forward. Pete points out that whilst financial pressures are putting strains on the construction industry at present, the opportunity to push offsite methods and innovation into the industry is evident. “There is a skills gap coming up, which, combined with a growing understanding for offsite construction methods, is very positive for us,” he outlines. “As we continue to grow and understand

different requirements more we are constantly looking at new innovations and opportunities that we can develop in the market. It’s an exciting time and by trying to maintain that innovative and flexible culture, which is underpinned by the quality of people that we have in the business, we have a massive opportunity.”

In this respect then Innovaré will continue to deliver on the value proposition that has defined its recent success. By developing key partnerships with both customers and suppliers, expanding its technical and delivery capabilities, as well as moving into new, larger premises over the next 18 months, the company looks set to achieve its vision of being a trusted partner for any energy efficient project.

As it looks ahead sustainable and organic growth will be the vehicle for continued success, and this solid commitment to flexibility and innovation will be a very focused driver.

Innovaré Systems www.innovaresystems.co.uk Services: The UK’s only SIP solutions provider to design, engineer, manufacture, deliver and install offsite manufactured systems 105

profile: Bourne Parking

Born of

innovation As the largest contractor for multi storey car parks across the UK, Bourne Parking is leading the way towards a new future defined by safer and more productive practice

F

ormed in 1995 as a division of the Bourne Construction Group, Bourne Parking has grown to become the biggest specialist car park contractor in the UK. Over this period the company has completed over 85 car park projects for clients across the country, but it is not just the volume of successful contracts that mark it out as a leader, it also offers a broad and innovative service. “We have an absolutely unique set of design and project delivery skills,” begins Bourne Parking Managing Director,

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Nick Hayes. “We are experts in the layout and operation of car parks including a full knowledge of compliance with all parking regulations and guidelines. On top of this we bring a complete and leading understanding of the structural design and construction of car park facilities, which allows us to offer full turnkey projects from piling to CCTV systems.”

At Bourne Parking’s core is its modular specialism, designing all projects around offsite manufactured, build technology systems, the most predominant being its Montex system.

Comprising a galvanised steel

frame with 2.4m wide, 110mm thick precast concrete floor units Montex provides very efficient parking bay modular layouts.

The system has a special joint detail that bonds the floor to the steel beam providing composite strength with the beam and the diaphragm action to the structure, a great example of lean construction. The floors and steelwork are self-finished and require no in-situ screeds or paint.

Keen to continue innovating, the team at Bourne has recently developed the use of fibre reinforcement in the pre-cast floor slabs, making them more robust

during the manufacture and transportation processes.

“It is a very robust, long life and maintenance free solution for car parks,” highlights Nick. “Plus, although it is a modular system, we can customise Montex to produce any shape of building, something which is greatly facilitated by chartered structural engineers embedded within our design team. Offsite construction brings huge advantages over traditional forms of construction. It is cheaper, quicker to build on site, less weather dependent and requires less systems on site making it inherently safer. The quality of the finished product is factory assured with denser concrete being more resistant to exposure, including to de-icing salts.”

This in-house, offsite construction competence extends right the way through to stairwell applications and cladding, making any architectural vision possible thanks to a range of architectural materials, which can be fixed to large aluminium or steel frames and bolted discreetly onto the main frame of the building installed as part of the primary build. Such a strength means that not only is Bourne Parking a leader in terms of quality and range of offerings, but is also one of the fastest constructors in the UK. Minimising disruption to clients is often core to its business case, and as such the firm is able to compete on projects ranging from small 100 parking space decks up to 5000 space multistorey projects.

One demonstration of this expertise in action is the recently delivered, six-storey, 800 space car park for Sky’s London headquarters. Complete with curved corners, high-spec finishes, four lifts, 80 car charging units and intelligent ANPR vehicle management systems, this was a landmark project being completed in record time. Constructed within the footprint of the building in the

middle of a very busy corporate business park, the overall construction period was 28 weeks.

“All targets were achieved through developing excellent collaborative teamwork with our client, Sky, and their team,” details Nick. “We appointed the very best subcontractors, including Rock and Alluvium for piling, Carey for groundworks, PDF for erection, Concast for precast concrete stair and lift cores, PB Electrics for M&E and HUB for vehicle management.

Customising our Montex system we were able to provide fivemetre radius curved corners and manufactured all the components offsite prior to erection meaning that it was never held back by material shortages. All this best practice was underpinned by a highly competent site management team, who achieved an Excellent rating on the Considerate Contractors scheme with not a single man day lost through injury or accident.”

Furthermore, Bourne Parking has also proven its expertise to work within highly regulated and complex environments such as the rail industry. “Working in this environment presents two key challenges,” explains Nick. “Firstly you are working within a very busy station environment with thousands of passengers passing through each day, so it is all about

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profile: Bourne Parking

minimising disruption and putting the safety of the public as the absolute priority. Secondly, it is about adopting working methods that eliminate risk to the rail asset.

To overcome these challenges we work very closely with Network Rail and station management to continuously plan and manage our working practices on site.”

Health and safety is a critical part of Bourne Parking’s

The company has also built up strong subcontractor relationships, bringing together a family of trusted and expert teams that have been absorbed into its own safety culture. This is supported by the encouragement of safety reporting and regular onsite briefings. Again, innovation plays an important role in safety.

Recent examples of this include the use of eight tonne capacity

continued success in the market and its focus on both its employees and the public is exemplary. This starts at the very beginning, when the design is integrated with safe methods and sequencing of construction. As Nick points out: “When you are constantly constructing the same type of building you get pretty good at it, yet we understand how important it is not to become complacent so we approach each project individually.”

battery powered vacuum lifters to lift concrete slabs, eliminating the need for workers to connect and disconnect slabs to slings or chains. It has also insisted on a two stage grouting process for holding down bolts, which goes against traditional methods but results in the immediate stability of a column. “Maybe more traditional practices should be challenged as we move the construction industry into the 21st century,” Nick suggests.

“Bourne Parking, along with the Bourne Group as a whole, is always seeking to be innovative and at the cutting edge of construction, always developing new products and practices,” he continues, and the future of the company is very much brought into focus by this attitude to lead the industry towards becoming safer and more productive.

Over the next 12 months the company will be delivering more complex projects, including one for Oxford University with Mace. It will also be concluding a development project to produce Montex slabs and joints that are fully water tight, thus eliminating the need to asphalt the top deck of car parks and bringing about significant cost and time savings to a project.

Looking even further ahead, Nick notes that the company will be developing its partnership with Swiss company, Skyline, to introduce large-scale automated car parks into the UK. In the spirit of Bourne’s cutting-edge approach, he concludes: “If the 21st century is all about technology including driverless cars, then the future of car parks must be fully automated parking facilities.”

Bourne Parking www.bournegroup.eu Services: The UK’s principal multi storey car park designer and builder 109

profile: Rudridge

Growing

reputation

Since it first started trading in May 2000, Rudridge Ltd has established a solid reputation as one of the UK’s leading specialist distributors of materials for groundwork, drainage and civil engineering applications

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he business was founded by Directors Robert Rudd and Alan Betteridge in Farnham, Surrey and today operates from four sites across London and the South East. During February 2015 the company’s board approved the sale of Rudridge Ltd to the Travis Perkins Group. Commenting on the sale in 2015, Rudridge Director Alan Betteridge said: “The professionalism, integrity, respect for the Rudridge brand and, perhaps most importantly, the people we met at Travis Perkins, left us in absolutely no doubt that they were the right organisation to take the business to the next level. During the sale process it became evident that being part of a bigger organisation would be a very positive step for both Rudridge and our employees.”

Rudridge was previously profiled by Construction & Civil Engineering magazine during August 2015, only a few short months after the acquisition of the business by the Travis Perkins (TP) Group. While Rudridge continues to maintain its own identity under the management of both Robert and Alan, integration

Marshalls Marshalls is the UK's leading hard landscaping manufacturer and has been supplying superior natural stone and innovative concrete products to the construction, home improvement and landscape markets since the 1890s.

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Marshalls believes that the better our environment, the better we can be and strives to create products that improve our landscapes and create happier and healthier communities.

between the two companies continues at a rapid pace. “All Rudridge staff recently moved over to Travis Perkins contracts, which is a very positive step for both the business as a whole and for all colleagues involved as the new contracts reflect more accurately the benefits associated with being employed by a FTSE 100 company,” observes Group Operations Manager, Darren Price.

“Rudridge will continue to trade as its own brand and there is no plan for this to change moving forward. TP Group recognise the strength of the Rudridge name in the geographical area that it operates in and the intention moving forward is to continue to strengthen and grow the Rudridge name and reputation.”

Further to its on-going integration with the TP Group, Rudridge continues to invest in and improve its business practices and equipment to ensure that the company maintains an industry-leading level of service.

“We are constantly investing in all areas of the business. In the last few months specifically we have made an investment in our mechanical handling capabilities in our branches and have ordered

hydraulic squeeze attachments for our fork lift trucks for all branches,” Darren elaborates.

“From March 2016 every Rudridge branch will each have two of these attachments, which we estimate will reduce manual handling by up to 70 per cent. It will also improve our service proposition by reducing waiting time in our branches for the customers that collect goods from us.”

While Rudridge has maintained an enviable position within the market with its acquisition by the TP Group and continued investment into the business, the last six months have proven challenging for the industry as a whole. A general softening in the market during the second half of 2015 resulted in less construction work going ahead and increased competition between contractors and suppliers. “Slow trading conditions meant that we have needed to focus on both our service proposition and ensure that we show our customers value to remain their merchant of choice in what has become an even more competitive market.

“2016 has started off much more positively for us. January saw like-for-like growth and forward

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profile: Rudridge

projections and our quotation pipeline suggests that this is likely to continue into the year,” Darren reveals. “The challenges within the industry sector previously mentioned have made the market more competitive and subsequently given us some margin challenges. We approach these challenges by aiming to give our customers something different from the competition and trying to add value to our offer wherever we can. Our unique transport and haulage model and the relationship we have with our hauliers allows us to offer a next day delivery service for all orders received before midday

MISSION RUBBER As the world’s number one manufacturer of rubber flexible couplings, Mission Rubber works closely with its customer Rudridge Ltd. It ensures it supplies and specifies the best possible solution when connecting Sewerage & Drainage Pipe connections.

Its technical expertise & exemplary customer service ensures the advice and products Rudridge requires to continue with this level of service are readily available on a same day or next day delivery option.

Rudridge, being a leading civil construction supplier, offers products to a variety of customers including ground workers, housing developers & civil engineers. The company needs to make certain its supplier partnerships are built with suppliers that maintain the latest Water Industry Standard certifications BS EN 16397 & WIS 4-41-01 - as with Mission - ensuring the products supplied are fit for purpose.

The strategic aim of Mission is to remain clearly focused on the coupling market meeting customers’ product and service requirements.

regardless of how busy we get and in most situations we can even offer next day deliveries late into the afternoon. None of our competitors are in a position to do this.”

Throughout its history Rudridge has established itself as a trusted supplier to small, medium and large residential builders as well as to contractors for several prestigious and highly publicised projects. As a result of having successfully delivered material for the Horse Guards Parade project earlier in 2014 for example, the company was subsequently asked to participate in another prominent project in Australia Gate and Spur Road at the Queen Victoria Memorial in an area adjacent to Buckingham Palace.

The main contractor requested that the same sandstone that had been provided for the Horse Guards Parade project be used, as it had proved perfect for the area. As a result the client asked Rudridge to supply the same materials and finish as it had done previously.

Furthermore, the company was later asked to match some existing edging for the project - it took several templates and

the same supplier of the paving, Woodkirk Stone, produced and supplied the stone. It was clear that the Buff Sandstone, a durable material of excellent quality from Britannia Quarry, was just right for the area, and that it had been worth the time taken to research the materials for the initial project.

Finally Rudridge also received a further enquiry asking for the fine grained sandstone to be used inside Buckingham Palace itself and was also specially selected by English Heritage to work on another restoration project in North Yorkshire. “We have worked on a number of prestigious projects over the past 12 months, including natural stone for Horseguards Parade and the US Embassy,” Darren says. “None of these would have been possible without strong relationships with all of our customers, suppliers and manufacturers alike.”

Throughout the remainder of 2016 and beyond, Rudridge Ltd will continue to focus on finalising its integration with the TP Group, as well as with leveraging the benefits of being owned by the group.

“Our focus remains on being the specialist civils and groundworks materials distributor of choice for our customers, whilst standing out from the crowd and offering the best value and service in the industry,” Darren says. “Rudridge is now in a unique position to offer the flexibility and personal service of an independent merchant whilst being backed up by the biggest merchant of them all! This clearly is the best of both worlds and we fully intend to take advantage of this - the Rudridge brand will continue to build on the reputation it has built over the past 15 years in the years to come.”

Rudridge Ltd www.rudridge.co.uk Services: Distribution of groundwork, civil engineering and drainage materials 113

profile: DYKA

Position of

success

Leading piping solutions provider DYKA demonstrates its ability to deliver cutting edge innovation, whilst at the same time ensuring it continues to serve its many customers with best in class service

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n 2017 DYKA will be celebrating its 60th year in business since its two founders, a chemist and a plumber, joined forces in the Netherlands to provide plastic solutions for plumbing and groundwork applications.

Success followed the company’s establishment very quickly, as the pair took a different approach to other manufacturers by serving the end customer directly.

Since then DYKA has grown an expansive network of branches and local manufacturing sites in Europe, predominantly across the Netherlands, UK, France, Poland and Belgium. As such, today the business occupies a leading position in the plastic pipe industry, with an offering made up of PVC, PP, PE and bio-plastic

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products backed up by a portfolio of value added services.

“The company’s origins are in plumbing and this means we really know and understand the applications that we are serving,” begins Commercial Director at DYKA, Eric Jan Rutten. “It also means that our solutions are the best in the market.” The company has invested heavily over the years into ensuring its service has both the competence and the capacity to support such a successful range of systems. In its main markets a plumber is never 20 minutes away from a DYKA branch with availability of a full range of all piping systems, knowledgeable staff, and an in-house consultancy and engineering department means that the company is able to

provide a much more expansive breadth of support. “For the larger mechanical service contractors we also provide prefabricated piping solutions, which involves engineering and producing a complete customised piping system and delivering just-in-time to the construction sites,” adds Eric Jan. Apart from a strong service offering, DYKA has also built itself a robust reputation for innovation and product development.

By working closely with both customers and research centres, the company is able to operate at the cutting edge of the market delivering new innovations and systems designed to meet current trends and demands.

One recent and hugely successful example of this is the launch of a new plastic piping system for ventilation applications.

“The idea of this product came from one of our largest customers who, like all other companies in the market, were using traditional metal piping systems for ventilation, but were having a lot of difficulties applying metal to their working methods,” explains

Eric. “They told us that they saw an opportunity for a plastic version and so we set about developing a solution. The result is a more robust, silent and lighter system than a metal alternative, which is easier and quicker to install for the plumber who would have normally had to outsource the work to a metal specialist. Its aerodynamic properties also make it more energy efficient. Furthermore, we don’t just provide the piping system, but a total solution covering everything from the ventilation box to all prefabrication and calculation work.”

Launched into the Dutch market two years ago, this new plastic ventilation system, which now includes both in- and out-flow applications, has experienced extraordinary success. Eric Jan notes that in the Netherlands a large portion of the plumber industry has decided to change from metal systems to apply DYKA’s total solution. The system will also be launched to the neighbouring Belgian market in 2016.

More recently the company has launched a new bio-plastic range in response to growing calls from

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profile: DYKA TECE TECE is a prominent German manufacturer of smart installation systems, such as flushing technology and push plates for WCs and urinals, shower- and universal drains for drainage, installations for grease separation and synthetic pipe systems for drinking water, central heating, compressed air, gas- and floor-heating systems.

In 1992, TECE set the trend with its TECflex piping system – the first synthetic piping system with an integrated, 100 per cent, oxygen-tight aluminium jacket. The TECEflex connections are based on an axial compression, rigid tube system, whereby the piping is stretched and slid over the fitting. Contraction is kept to a minimum, as is reduced resistance. Reduced resistance is sustainable because it requires less pumping capacity. Less stagnation and high speeds prevent the accumulation of contaminants and the development of Legionella.

As an alternative, TECE can supply the TECElogo pushfit piping system. With this piping system all connections are made manually. That makes everything much easier and saves 30 per cent working time. Moreover, it is sustainable because the tools do not require environmentally-unfriendly batteries. Because the fitting does not damage the tube, both the fitting and the tube can be reused. This simplicity and unambiguousness also makes TECElogo an ideal system for prefabrication.

DYKA distributes TECEflex and TECElogo in Belgium and the Netherlands. In many other countries, you can count on local service from TECE’s own branches or agents.

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is committed to expanding its branch network throughout Europe, and will be focusing on reaching out to its thousands of smaller customers with more targeted marketing and sales programmes.

“Ultimately, by remaining committed to the values and business formula that have driven the company to its current position of success, we hope to be able to achieve our vision of becoming the preferred partner for the plumbers and groundworkers across Europe,” concludes Eric Jan. Jan it is clear that there are lots of developments in the pipeline and that the coming years for the company, particularly from a solutions perspective, will be very fruitful. Beyond this, the company

DYKA www.dyka.com Services: Leading European piping solutions provider

the market for more sustainable solutions. “Sustainability is very important for our company and for our customers,” Eric Jan expresses. “We have been working with a bio-plastic material partner for few years now, developing the applicability of this plastic to our systems and we very recently formulated a successful solution. It was then a case of deciding which segment to launch this into first and we believe that rainwater is the most suitable.”

Whilst coming at a slight price premium to PVC options, DYKA is confident that customers are prepared to pay that premium for a more environmentally friendly system. After assessing the success and positivity of reception for this rainwater application, Eric Jan notes that he hopes to be able to roll this technology out across other business segments over the coming years.

As far as the future is concerned for DYKA, continuing to develop and innovate in line with customer demands and foreseeable future trends is very much at the top of the agenda. Speaking with Eric

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profile: KLH UK

Progressive

production

As a provider of consultation, design, supply and installation services for cross laminated timber (CLT), KLH UK is at the forefront of driving the construction into a new age thanks to its innovative techniques and unique build styles

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perating as a subsidiary of Austrian KLH Massivholz GmbH, KLH UK was founded in 2005 and specialises in offering a full design, supply and installation service for cross-laminated timber (CLT) superstructures. Thanks to its unique position in the market as a CLT provider and manufacturer, the company has been involved in a number of ground breaking and award winning projects, such as the UK’s tallest timber tower, Murray Grove, and the UK’s largest CLT structure, William Perkin C of E High School in Greenford;

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the latter of which used 23,000 square metres of CLT. On top of this, the company was involved in providing structural consultancy and the formatting of the design

and supply for the world’s tallest CLT tower, the Forte Building in Melbourne, Australia. KLH UK has furthermore enjoyed strong success in the education sector, with an impressive portfolio of successfully completed schools and colleges across the UK. Tried and tested on in excess of 500 superstructures in the UK , CLT is a truly sustainable modern method of construction that offers an impressive range of benefits to customers: this includes cost and time savings due to the speed of construction, design flexibility thanks to CLT’s structural (bi-axial) performance

that allows architectural freedom and precision thanks to panels being manufactured through the utilisation of CAD/CAM technology and state-of-the-art CNC manufacturing techniques. In addition to this, CLT also boasts tough structural capabilities that are similar to concrete in material strength as the cross lamination process results in dimensionally stable panels and stiffness, which thus ensures significant robustness. Furthermore, this light weight form of construction offers savings in foundation design and provides a truly sustainable way to provide a high performing thermal and air tight building envelope.

Since last being featured in Construction & Civil Engineering in April 2015, KLH UK has enjoyed continued growth and demand despite challenges within the economic market and political changes, as Managing Director of KLH UK Nic Clark explains: “From May 2015 onwards we saw significant growth in enquiry levels, which is likely largely due to the election as confidence is coming back to the market

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profile: KLH UK

and we have seen a real shift to more residential enquiries for mid-rise or high rise multi-family residential buildings. Throughout 2015 we enjoyed a very buoyant year, however we have noticed a slight slow-down within the construction industry over the last six weeks. I think this cooling down, particularly in the London residential market, is again to do with the changes in government policy and possibly the effects of the economies of the Far East.

There is also uncertainty triggered by the ‘Brexit’ debate, in particular the effect this is having on the Euro exchange rate; where we have seen fluctuation between 1.40 and 1.26 in a relatively short period of time. This can lead to some tricky conversations with customers on the verge of placing orders about the slippage in the

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exchange rate: no one wants to hear they may need to find another £5000 for their project!

This has led to us developing options to provide the customer with fixed price certainty. Despite these challenges we have a positive outlook for the rest of 2016 and are already getting some interesting enquiries for 2017 and beyond.”

Although residential enquiries have increased, a remarkable project for the company has been in the educational sector.

KLH UK was involved in the construction of two new student accommodation buildings providing 520 new bedrooms for the University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich. The project came with its own set of peculiar challenges and in particular the lack of walls offering stability.

This led to the engineers to develop a significant number of high capacity fixing designs which generated an innovative engineering solution and gave the building its required stability. “This was a great project with a highly professional site team that was well organised and driven with regards to the programme. They created a safe, clean & efficient environment in which to work. The project design team all had prior CLT experience so were 100 per cent in tune and the project was delivered to BIM Level 2.

“The project was quite challenging from a logistical perspective as it was a relatively confined site in terms of the building footprint and layout space for materials. However, we managed to fit & co-ordinate four cranes, installation crews,

deliveries and lay down areas into the space provided. Up to four cranes were operating concurrently and were situated on each ‘leg’ of the building.

Precise and efficient coordination was required when it came to delivering and erecting all of the materials, not just CLT but also steelwork as well as off-loading and positioning of the bathroom pods,” explains Nic. Having developed a reputation for excellence in the market, not only for quality but also for its ability to overcome major construction challenges, KLH UK will continue to develop its product so it can expand into different sectors such as retail or the hotel industry with the vision of CLT becoming fully recognised as a mainstream

insurers and warranty providers; by bringing these stakeholders on board, KLH UK hopes to change perceptions and increase its presence in the construction industry further. Nic explains: “As an active member of the Structural Timber Associations we are actively engaged in a number of forums which will provide clear and positive guidance to the industry and would welcome enquiries from any interested client or stakeholder with regards to collaboration on potential CLT projects.” construction material. Indeed, despite the known benefits of using CLT, more conservative industries hold the perception that timber poses a potential risk, which can cause problems when it comes to mortgage providers,

KLH UK LTD www.klhuk.com Services: Services: One-stop-shop crosslaminated timber supplier

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profile: LSC Group

Facing

success LSC Group continues to deliver outstanding service and quality projects to a range of high profile buildings up and down the UK

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ver the last 25 years LSC Group has built itself a reputation for providing high quality and innovative façade solutions to a range of building projects around the UK. A propensity for the innovation and delivery of new ideas has been part of the company’s blood since it began when it was one of the first companies to identify opportunities for rainscreen cladding finishes in the UK market. Ever since, by bringing on board highly skilled personnel, industry-leading expertise and an

ever-developing understanding of diverse material capabilities, LSC Group has steadily grown to become a leading figure in the UK Façade industry.

At around 50,000 square feet, LSC Group’s fabrication and manufacturing facilities are one of the largest in the UK. Having its own factory means quality, accuracy and efficiency run right through the heart of the business. The company has total control of virtually the entire façade, a unique position within the industry as it fabricates both aluminium and steel glazing items including bomb blast and

fire rated systems. Brackets, cill, copings and flashings are also fabricated in-house. To enhance levels of service and quality LSC has recently introduced an apprenticeship scheme in one of the units. Furthermore the factory is independently audited to ISO 9001 standards, giving its customers even greater peace of mind and confidence in receiving the highest quality, tried, tested and technically correct products.

Perfectly illustrating this customer-centric approach to doing business, the group splits into two highly focused branches: LSC Façades, which uses its

Above LSC Factory Left Thurston Road

historic expertise to deliver large scale construction projects across all sectors, and LSC Special Works, which focuses on more specialised and niche contracts.

In recent years the LSC Facades division has demonstrated its capabilities in a number of highly prestigious projects. For one such contract, Thurston Point with main contractor Denne (Bouygues UK), LSC Facades was commissioned to design, supply, manufacture and install the full envelope – consisting of 14,000 square metres of Metsec SFS, 6500 square metres of Keratwin terracotta, 4000 square metres of Trespa, 1700 square metres of Zinc standing seam and 2000 square metres of Technal curtain walling, and also installation of Velfac Window Systems.

The division has also previously delivered a 10,000 square metre façade project for Volkswagen’s Milton Keynes Headquarters.

Again, working closely with

its construction partners the company was able to design and manufacture over 500 ACM Alucobond cassette unique panels, Metsec SFS, and Schueco FW60+ and deliver the project on time and on budget to meet the building’s cutting edge and futuristic design characteristics.

In addition to this, LSC Special Works played a key role in delivering Bournemouth Council’s first Seafront Strategy projects – part of an ambitious 20-year plan to rejuvenate the city’s seafront.

The works were commissioned to help deliver a unique, tourist information building complete with facetted glass, which surrounds the whole building and culminating in a point. Employing highly-technical 3D modelling solutions, the company was able to overcome a number of complex design challenges as it delivered a complete solution from design and manufacture to the installation of Technal

Top right Thurston Road Right Bournemouth Pier Approach

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profile: LSC Group

MXSG curtain walling, doors and Schueco Brise Soleil.

Success for LSC Group continues for 2016/2017 as it has already secured three significant contracts. The first, for the LSC Façades division, is to deliver a scope of Hueck curtain walling and Trimo insulated panels to Cornerstone Office Scheme alongside main contractor, Kier Construction. The project is worth £4.2m to LSC Façades. Similarly, LSC Façades has also recently secured work at Beckley Court with Kier Construction. At 78 metres and 22 storeys, the block of 496 student flats will tower over the Civic Centre and once completed will be Plymouth’s tallest building. LSC’s scope of work will include, SFS framing, render, Hueck curtain walling, glazing and doors, the project is worth £4.4m to LSC Façades.

LSC Special Works is also securing larger projects, such as Southampton’s Cancer Research Centre for Cancer Immunology with Kier Construction. The new centre will be home to world-class research facilities. LSC Special Works will be designing, supplying and installing Alucobond cladding and Schueco curtain calling for a project worth £1.5m.

Central to being able to offer this breadth and depth of service is the company’s focus on its people. By always encouraging its teams to take ownership of projects, and rewarding them accordingly, LSC has become

Above Delaware Drive Below LSC Factory

an attractive prospect for new employees. A dedicated apprenticeship programme, which is growing from strength to strength, is a key part of this and provides a lot of young talent a solid route into the construction industry. Underpinning this attention to people is a committed health and safety attitude that places the wellbeing of all employees as paramount –

July 2016 at Grosvenor House in London.

LSC Group is always looking to the future – for the next opportunity, the next innovation and new ways to ensure success for its business and for its clients.

The company is working even more closely with customers – being more collaborative, more committed and more can-do, and recognises that it needs to

a zero incident record in 2015 is testament to this.

Such is the expertise and achievement of LSC Group over recent years that it is currently a finalist in 2016’s Construction News Awards in the Specialist Contractor of the Year (turnover up to £100m) category. Shortlisted from among a record number of entrants, the company’s performance will be judged by a 61-strong jury before the winners are announced on 14

continue to evolve, challenge and change in order to move its people, business and industry forward. With a commitment to aiming for larger wins and greater successes, the coming years look fruitful.

LSC Group www.thelscgroup.co.uk Services: Providers of complete, specialist façade solutions 125

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profile: TMCA

Safety

first The TMCA continues to play a leading role as the traffic management industry looks towards a future of zero accidents

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ormed in 1989 with the encouragement and support of the DfT, the Traffic Management Contractors Association (TMCA) has spent the last two decades working closely with its industry to overcome the challenges of maintaining high safety standards for workers and the general public at major traffic management sites.

Sharing Highways England’s ‘zero accidents’ goal, health and safety informs the main activities of the TMCA and over the years the organisation has been instrumental in driving improved safety throughout the industry. Whilst the organisation only has 13 members, they account for 90 per cent of the major works carried out on the Highways England network.

Above This no longer happens on the carriageways

“We’ve been going now for 26 years and over that time we have built up a level of trust and encouragement with the industry and have always been at the forefront of the practices that have been introduced,” begins long-serving Chairman and now Secretary of the TMCA, Richard Pearson. “Just over a decade ago the ‘roadworks’ industry was going through a very bad time and there were 11 deaths in one year. This resulted in an industrywide crackdown from the HSE, and since then a number of safety forums have been set up, many of which have covered traffic, to which we have had a major input, with a goal to improve these figures.”

As such, the general trend for these figures has been positive and in 2014 only two worker fatalities occurred on UK’s roads, neither of which involved traffic management operatives. In fact in 2007 and 2011, no deaths were reported. “The introduction of these new safety forums changed the industry beyond recognition,” continues Richard.

“The IPVs (Impact Protection Vehicles) that you see on the roads now, for instance, weren’t in existence back then. It is a fact that working on the highways is dangerous and some things are easier to safeguard than others when operators are working within a few feet of live traffic.

The slightest thing can go wrong to put workers at risk and we continue to do everything we can to minimise these risks as much as possible through various initiatives.”

One such initiative that Richard points out as being highly effective is the removal of central reservation traffic management signage for overnight ‘relaxed’ works. “It was only very recently that operatives were still crossing carriageways on foot to put out signs on the central reservations,” he says. “We have now helped implement a change in procedure that eliminates the need for anybody to cross. This is part of the wider strategy that no operative is to be on the carriageway on foot at all, unless protected by an IPV. We are also

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profile: TMCA

now in the process of removing road danger lamps so that workers don’t have to be placing lamps right next to the traffic.

There are initiatives like this being trialled by various TMCA member contractors at present.”

One other area where the TMCA has been keenly focused at present is on labour. “We have been setting up a system to record the testing and results of drug and alcohol tests,” outlines Richard. “Unfortunately, we identified a steady rate of failures month on month so this is a problem we are working to improve.” One solution currently being supported by the association is the introduction of a worker’s passport, similar to the type of system operated in the rail industry, whereby a worker’s training, testing and work is recorded.

As Richard points out: “At present an operative can fail a drugs test one day and then go to work on the roads for another company the next. However with this system if they fail a test, it is recorded and that keeps them from going back on the road. This

isn’t in our hands as it is ultimately the decision of Highways England, but we are keen to support it as it will be a big step forward for the industry as a whole.”

Another initiative being managed by the TMCA to protect the safety and rights of labour is its Labour Agency Charter, which came into affect on 1st October 2015, and requires all members to use only the approved agencies that have signed the charter.

The charter lays out 11 points to be followed by a labour agency covering everything from training, development and employee rights, to equal opportunities, drug use and disciplinary procedures. So far, the TMCA has 39 agencies signed up to the charter and Richard is keen to bring more on board in order to provide a wide network of support and protection for both employees and employers.

Over its time in the industry TMCA has consistently proven itself to play a prominent role in representing its members and ensuring safety is continually driven throughout the country, and its vision for the future is

unfaltering in this approach.

“It’s about making sure there is a better, well-trained workforce out there, and ensuring the procedures are there to protect them whilst working on the roads,” says Richard. “Safety and best practice in the industry are what the TMCA is all about and this will continue well into the future.” Highways England currently aims to achieve a target of a 40 per cent reduction in the number of KSIs (those killed or seriously injured) on its network by 2020 with a vision to cut this to as close to zero as possible by 2040. In such an unpredictable and risk-laden working environment this is a big challenge, and the dedication of the industry, illustrated by the TMCAs commitments, will be key to achieving this.

Traffic Management Contractors Association www.tmca.org.uk Services: Association supporting safety and best practice within the traffic management industry 129

profile: Abbey Pynford Geo Structures

A structured

approach

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ince its creation in 1988 Abbey Pynford has built its reputation on providing high quality and innovative ground engineering services, an approach that over the years has seen the Group go from strength to strength and expand throughout the South East of England. The same high standards are shared by Abbey Pynford Geo Structures, a subsidiary that recently celebrated three years of operation and is gaining industry award recognition due to its outstanding work.

“Geo Structures was created to provide a focused underpinning and basement service as a consulting contractor with the same core principles of integrity,

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With a number awards to suit, Abbey Pynford Geo Structures focuses on quality, health and safety to remain a leading force in a competitive industry honesty and flair for innovation that Abbey Pynford has become renowned for,” explains Lewis O’Connor, Managing Director. “In addition to these principles we have placed robust health, safety and well-being management practices at the heart of all our business processes. One of our key themes is to ensure the elimination of avoidable harm.”

This ethos was recently reflected in the achievement of RoSPA Silver award for the company in 2015 as well as a RoSPA Guardian Angel Award for Mr O’Connor himself and a nomination in the Construction News Specialist Awards 2016 within the Health and Safety Excellence and Training Excellence categories. “The positive feedback

we’ve received encouraged us to put ourselves out there by entering the awards. It’s not often in our industry that you gain this kind of conspicuous recognition from your peers,” adds Mr O’Connor. “It’s important to us because we’ve completed our third year of trading as a company and this is a clear demonstration of our achievements in such a short period of time.”

As for how the Abbey Pynford Geo Structures company has been able to hit the ground running so successfully, Mr O’Connor explains that youthful exuberance coupled with experience has been a fruitful formula. “We’re a dynamic team combining the enthusiasm of nascent engineering careers with the wisdom of empirical

Ace Minimix As Tarmac’s regional brand in the South of England for small load deliveries of readymix concrete and screed, Ace Minimix prides itself on 20 years of experience and a friendly and professional service.

With a fleet of over 30 vehicles throughout the South of England including London, each truck has the capacity to supply loads of up to 4m3 out of its BSI kite marked plants. Solutions are available for anything from small-scale DIY projects to major civil engineering contracts.

This fleet not only offers solutions to site access problems, but the unique load size pricing mechanism enables the business to be extremely competitive on small loads of concrete, combating the ever increasing cost of part loads.

Ace Minimix offers a free technical service and can offer advice on the use of its special concretes such as waterproof, high strength, fibre reinforced, foamed, coloured and self-compacting mixes.

Southern Conveyors Southern Conveyors is a specialist conveyor hire company dedicated to helping construction companies move materials or spoils on site; especially in challenging access situations.

It has played a significant part in assisting Abbey Pynford Geo Structures with their success over the years. Tim Casalis de Pury of Abbey Pynford recently said: “Southern Conveyors provide a consistent and high quality collaborative service which helps them to ensure that projects are priced accurately, run smoothly and meet with our clients’ expectations. Their staff are friendly, knowledgeable and always keen to assist with projects, no matter of size or complexity and with teams in London every day they are quick to respond to any problem.”

Now recognised as the UK’s No.1 conveyor hire company, based in Bristol the company is ideally located to quickly access all parts of the country. Its fleet has a conveyor for virtually any material – such as sand, stone, clay or demolition rubble etc.

The reassuring element of Southern Conveyors service is its free site surveys and designs, which ensures the operational success of the proposed conveyor system before it’s installed. If it won’t work, the company will say. For Southern Conveyors, it’s all about minimising disruption and increasing efficiency for the contractor. knowledge. We’re therefore very much of the mindset that there isn’t anything that can’t be done provided we work as a team and put the maximum effort in. We’ve also been keen to empower everybody in the team to be part of the decision-making process and ensuring that every member of the team treats each project with a shared sense of ownership. This ethos has enabled us to achieve much more than what might have otherwise been possible and has allowed us to quickly overcome any hurdles that may have occurred, particularly in terms of thinking outside of the normal constraints. We share the challenges just as we share the successes.

“As Managing Director I strongly

believe in creating a role to suit the individual and enabling the team to work to their strengths.

This kind of free-thinking and open-mindedness has enabled us to achieve so much more than if we’d taken a more traditional approach placing everyone within the confines of a generic job description.”

Although there has been a lot to be positive about there have been some challenges that Abbey Pynford Geo Structures has had to contend with: “In the last few years there’s been an influx of companies into the London refurbishment sector that have not previously operated in the area nor undertaken the works we do. Competition for projects has consequently increased significantly. To counter this we changed our strategy and tailored our service to likeminded companies that have the same expectations of high standards regarding quality, health and safety,” Mr O’Connor explains.

This approach has assisted Abbey Pynford Geo Structures to grow by 63 per cent and secure

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profile: Abbey Pynford Geo Structures a number of prestigious projects showcasing state-of-the-art geotechnical engineering. “We have the capabilities to carry out projects across the foundation engineering spectrum; from complex retrofit basements below the phreatic surface requiring soil stabilization to underpinning projects and lifting houses with all of the ground engineering work in-between. The emphasis I have placed on the team is to capitalise on this and diversify the projects that we take on,” says Mr O’Connor. “This diversification enables us to be dynamic to changes in our marketplace.

“The potential offered as a result of our diversification is limited by a shortage of competent operatives with the skills and proven experience we require to undertake the works on site. We are therefore investing in organically developing our existing workforce with a training plan extending throughout our workforce for every individual and team.”

In 2015 Abbey Pynford Geo Structures invested significantly into training with an expenditure increase of 2683 per cent from 2013 to 2016. “Investment in the development of our team, both onsite and in the office will continue to be a major area of concentration,” he continues. “We will also be making sure that we raise the base competency threshold for health and safety from everybody.

“We’re committed to maintaining the quality of our product so our focus is to enhance our capabilities

continually to enable sustainable growth next year without undermining our core principles.

At the same time we’re also investing in the development of our health and safety management procedures by digitalising our system.

“The new target for the company in 2016 is to complete the implementation of this health and safety system that links work tasks, to documentation, required competencies and generates a H&S file automatically together with identifying those competent to undertake the work on site.”

With such a wide-ranging and forward-thinking approach it is easy to see how the award nominations have been achieved and it will continue to set the business in good stead moving forward.

Abbey Pynford Geo Structures www.abbeypynford.co.uk Services: Leading ground engineering solution providers 133

profile: Arkoni

Anything is possible with

Arkoni

Founded in 1991, Arkoni Metalwork of Brighouse in West Yorkshire is facing its silver anniversary in a rude state of health with burgeoning demand from across the UK for its fire-rated glazing systems and architectural metalwork

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ormed by current MD Mark Prentice and former business partner Tony Paget, Arkoni derived its identity from a conglomeration of the first names of its founders and initially focused on manufacturing and supplying architectural and bespoke metalwork including staircases, balustrades, canopies and balconies.

In recent years the company’s focus has shifted to fire rated glazing systems, bulletproof security glazing and stainless steel window and door sets, and business has never been better.

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Five consecutive years of 25 per cent plus growth have helped cement Arkoni’s position as one of the fastest growing manufacturing firms in the north of England.

“We came through the recent recession successfully and have thrived as a result of a contraction in the post credit crunch market,” explains Mark Prentice. “There are far fewer suppliers out there to service the commercial construction sector with metalwork and glazing systems.

We are a good bellwether for the state of the manufacturing and construction industries across the UK and boast excellent

relationships with glazing system suppliers including Vetrotech, KMS Forster and Schueco Jansen.

“Arkoni is in a perfect position to continue its expansion but we have had to be very careful and diligent in how we manage our operations as runaway growth can present major challenges,” adds Mark, who currently employs 60 full time staff.

Accessing available grants has contributed to Arkoni’s increase in business with a perfect example being a recent £250,000 expansion in workshop space and investment in machinery thanks to £30,000 of financial support

from the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Mark goes on: “A new 1600 square metre workshop was opened in 2014 incorporating hitec CNC cutting machinery and a machining centre. After 12 months of running at almost 100 per cent capacity this gave us space to breathe and it helped to deliver even more potential for growth.

As a result, we featured in a LEP video aimed at fast growing firms across West Yorkshire.

“More recently we invested over £100,000 in a new Morgan Rushworth Pressbrake and Guillotine, supplied by Bison

Machine Tools. It is helping us to deliver increased capacity and has the ability to process up to four metre long pressed metalwork in response to customer demand.”

Arkoni has adopted a similarly enlightened approach to its administration and management with a number of key, strategic appointments and full engagement with industry accreditations such as ISO 9001, Construction Online and the Achilles Building Confidence programme.

Mark adds: “It’s vital that our day to day office operations mirror the growth in our manufacturing capabilities. It not only means we can offer peace of mind to customers but it’s a reassurance to ourselves that we are doing it right behind the scenes.”

Proof, if it were needed, comes in the form of a long list of prestigious and significant, recent contracts including the new Alder Hey in the Park children’s hospital on Merseyside, the brand new Broadway Shopping Centre in Bradford, Derby’s recently opened and iconic Sports Arena and Forbury Place, a landmark commercial development in Reading.

“It is the largest butt jointed fire-rated glazing installation in Europe covering eight floors around a stunning atrium area. We recently completed the first of the

two new build office complexes and expect to be back on site for Number 2 Forbury Place in the very near future.

“It was a £1.5 million contract that represented our biggest job to date and recognition has been forthcoming in the form of the Construction News 2016 awards.

Forbury Place has been named as a finalist in the Project of The Year (sub-contract up to £2,000,000) category,” continues Mark whose firm has picked up a number of regional and national accolades in recent times.

Arkoni has also recently expanded into Ireland with a distribution partnership secured with Dublin-based Linham

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profile: Arkoni

Construction. Arkoni Ireland is already successfully tapping into demand from across the Irish Sea. “We foresee only growth across Ireland in the short to medium term with our profile set to expand in partnership with Linham,” Mark exclaims.

“We are very much on the same wavelength!”

The company also engages closely with the local communities around Brighouse and Bradford, sponsoring a number of local sporting teams and getting behind Team Arkoni motorcycle racer Dave ‘Brooky’ Brook who competes nationally at Thundersport GB level. Up and coming Bradford indy band Kascarade have also benefited from Arkoni’s generosity with support for their soon-to-bereleased, self-produced debut album and studio facilities.

“All businesses should engage in sponsorship and support of their local communities,” explains Mark. “Our backing of Brooky and Kascarade have proved very fruitful for all concerned. It’s exciting to be playing a part in their achievements.”

Looking forward, Mark is eyeing up further managed growth for Arkoni. “Demand for fire-rated glazing systems continues to grow and we are well placed to take full advantage with our extensive CAD design resources, manufacturing capabilities and installation expertise making us

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the ‘go to’ guys for architects and construction firms,” he says. “Long may that continue but we will never get too big for our boots or take our eye off the ball when it comes to providing a high quality product that fulfils its function for our clients.”

Arkoni Metalwork is an example to construction and manufacturing businesses across the UK as to how to effectively

manage rapid growth. The only way is up, it seems, for this ambitious Yorkshire firm.

Arkoni www.arkoni.co.uk Services: Specialists in the design, manufacture and installation of innovative and practical metalwork solutions

profile: Commercial Marine and Piling

success Watertight

Recent work on the Canary Wharf’s New Phase (formerly Wood Wharf) re-development programme proves Commercial Marine and Piling’s leading approach to delivering high quality, innovative and cost effective solutions

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ommercial Marine and Piling Ltd (CMP) was founded in 1986 and has quickly established a reputation in the piling field for expansive expertise and the use of modern technology to achieve results,” begins QHSE Manager at the company, Adam Kiely.

“Whilst piling remains a core part of the business, the acquisition of Branford Civil and Marine Ltd in 1999 has assisted the company’s controlled expansion and diversification into the field

of marine civil engineering and specialist marine piling.”

Based on the South Coast of England and with a key base on the River Thames, CMP is able to deliver projects across the UK, with the capacity to act as Principal Contractor on projects up to £7 million and as a specialist sub contractor on anything larger. With this unique position established, CMP has successfully completed projects for a diverse range of clients from individuals to government authorities. All work carried out by the company

is underpinned by an unrivalled reputation for quality, safety and environmentally friendly results at competitive prices.

Perhaps demonstrating CMP’s comprehensive experience and set of capabilities most aptly is its recently completed work for Canary Wharf Contractors on Canary Wharf’s New Phase, a nearly five million square feet mixed development project to the east of the existing estate in London. The project, which involves the reclamation of 9000 square metres of land from West

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profile: Commercial Marine and Piling

India Dock South, will eventually host more than 30 new buildings, including high rise towers, providing modern residential and commercial space at one of London’s key economic hubs.

“We were awarded the designand-build contract for a new cofferdam as part of the scheme,” explains Adam. “The design was for a combi-wall to be constructed with 160 1200mm diameter, 20m long tubular piles in-filled with H1807 sheet piles. It was then divided into two cells to allow dewatering to commence early and for the client to occupy the space after only 28 weeks. The remaining cofferdam had another 12 weeks to complete.”

Awarded in December 2014 with work starting in February 2015, CMP’s work began by clearing the pile line of obstructions with the use of a barge-mounted 60-tonne longreach excavator, and later a larger 100-tonne excavator and breaker.

“The combi-wall itself was designed by Byrne Looby and

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Partners who were very proactive throughout the project,” continues Adam. “It was installed using in-house designed, purpose built piling gates suspended from temporary piles to position the 1900mm casings, which were vibrated into the clay to create a seal. A second gate was installed on top of the casings and used to accurately guide the 20m long piles as they were lowered

into position. This methodology ensured the tubes were accurately positioned enabling the infill sheet piles to slot into place later in the programme.”

CMP’s work on the development also illustrates the firm’s ability to transfer its years of experience into innovative and flexible solutions, particularly relating to how best to deal with the dock’s silt layer. “The silt varied between

one and three metres and it was originally planned to relocate it to a different area in the West India dock,” outlines Adam. “We proposed to leave the weak silt in place and install a grid of wet soil mixed columns in the silt from barge mounted rigs. During the pile line clearance it became evident there was more debris and obstruction in the silt than originally anticipated.

“The final solution was to leave the silt in situ and install overlapping panels of geofabric on top. These panels were installed using poles mounted on long-reach excavators to hold the fabric on the bottom as the ballast was evenly spread over them. A one-metre thick capping layer of ballast was installed to contain the silt and then the ends of the fabric were folded back down. The bulk fill of the remaining ballast was installed using the Scelveringhe sea dredger that only just fitted into the lock. This ship discharged 7000-tonnes of ballast in four hours, which meant it was able to enter the dock on the flood tide, discharge its cargo and exit on the ebb tide. This eliminated over a thousand lorry movements to deliver ballast.”

Eliminating this amount of road transport from the project was only one example of CMP’s careful consideration of the environment and surrounding infrastructure.

Working closely with a number of local and national authorities, the company was able to mitigate risks associated with working so close to the Jubilee Line tunnels, continuously monitor water quality, and safely relocate over 800 fish during the dewatering process. Its health and safety record was also exemplary, thanks to its proactive approach to H&S. Underpinned by the strap line, ‘Keep your family in your heart, keep your mind on safety’, the firm implements regularly updated and fully comprehensive RAMS documentation, daily site

meetings, an incentivised positive intervention scheme and a familial communication channel that runs throughout the company encouraging open feedback, progress reporting and briefings.

Overall, successful completion of the cofferdam was a result of CMP’s innovative and highly collaborative attitude. “Canary Wharf Contractors were a great

client, supporting us and very much working with us to jointly deliver a successful cofferdam in seven months,” adds Adam. In line with CMP’s progress the project will stand the company in good stead as it looks to maintain its current position in the market.

With this in mind, continual investment into its operational capabilities will enable it to explore new opportunities in new markets, particularly in wind farm maintenance, over the coming years.

Commercial Marine and Piling Ltd (CMP) www.cmp.uk.com Services: Design and build specialist in piling and marine construction

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profile: RAK Ceramics

Solid innovation, solid

performance

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ith an annual production capacity of 110 million square metres of tiles, five million pieces of sanitaryware, 600,000 faucets and 24 million units of porcelain tableware it is clear to see that high volume, large scale production is a particular success for RAK Ceramics. Put into context, the company achieves this with 14

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Fast becoming one of the world’s leading ceramics manufacturers, RAK Ceramics continues to innovate and invest in order to deliver to a range of iconic projects across the globe

Above Abdallah Massaad Group CEO, RAK Ceramics

state-of-the-art manufacturing plants in the UAE, plus additional facilities in India, Bangladesh and Iran. This allows it to supply through a distribution network to countries all over the world and, in 2014, turnover sales worth around one billion US dollars.

Founded in 1989 by H.H. Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE, the company has

grown rapidly, supplying to an extensive portfolio of high profile and iconic projects around the world. Included amongst these are the Burj Al Arab, Ferrari World, Wembley Stadium, The O2 Arena and Atlantis on The Palm, as well as multiple airports, showrooms, residential developments and shopping malls. It also occupies a significant market within the hospitality industry, selling 24 million products a year to

ambition and operational excellence. “We are known for our wide product range and ability to produce bespoke ranges for both small and large scale projects, enabling our clients to bring their ideas to life,” explains Group CEO, Abdallah Massaad.

As Abdallah highlights, at the heart of the company’s philosophy is its approach to innovation, both into its technical capabilities and, in turn, its product offering. “We have always invested heavily into research, development and the latest technologies to ensure that we remain at the cutting edge of ceramics production globally,” he says. “Our innovative approach has made us one of the largest players in the field, evolving from being a manufacturer of functional ceramics products to becoming a comprehensive producer of quality lifestyle solutions. It is this commitment to innovation that has been fundamental to our clients in over 135 countries with names such as J.W. Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and Sheraton featuring amongst a list of starrated hotels that exceeds 15,000 in number.

However, whilst these facts may indicate how RAK Ceramics is able to occupy the market as one of the largest and leading manufacturers in the world, it falls short of representing the scale of the company’s overarching

success and something I plan to continue as part of our long term strategy.”

In recent years RAK has been awarded a number of accolades recognising this approach to leading the industry regarding innovation. In 2015 it achieved Superbrand status for the seventh year running, at the International Business Stevie Awards of the same year it won silver for the ‘Most Innovative Company’, and at the World Branding Awards, ‘Brand of the Year.’ Realising this in terms of its product portfolio, the company has recently become the first manufacturer in the GCC to introduce SACMI Continua+ technology enabling it to produce large format porcelain surfaces such as the Maximus Mega Slab, a gigantic 135x305cm super sized slab. “This is our most versatile product yet and will allow the company to compete in new markets,” Abdallah notes.

“Other innovations we have invested in include Luminous, our glow in the dark series – a technology which unlocks the potential for a wide range of applications – and Antimicrobial – a hygienic, easy to clean tile especially suited for use in schools, healthcare facilities and the hospitality industry.”

Illustrating a similar level of focus within its production facilities, all of RAK’s plants

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profile: RAK Ceramics

are equipped with state-ofthe-art high pressure casting machines and robotic spraying technology, allowing it to produce high quality pieces with a consistently impeccable finish. “This investment into new technology also means that we are able to constantly produce quality products on a large scale,” Abdallah says. “Over the next few years we are expecting major improvements and innovations in our corporate and production strategies and will be focusing

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on improving profitability and increasing capacity in our highest margin sanitaryware business.

Production capacity is set to increase in India by 52 per cent, Bangladesh by 25 per cent and the UAE by 22 per cent.”

Such targeted production growth comes in response to strong positivity across the global market. Abdallah quotes a research report by Frost and Sullivan, in which it is forecasted that the ceramics market will be worth over $125 billion by

2020. This amounts to 21.8 billion square metres of product compared with 12.3 billion square metres in 2013. “On top of this, construction growth in BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), where there is increased spending on infrastructure improvement, is expected to contribute to demand for residential and commercial structures, significantly boosting the market,” he says.

Despite this positivity, however, he remains aware of the impact

Internally this means fostering a culture committed to our vision of becoming the world’s leading ceramics lifestyle solutions provider by utilising our expertise and focusing on our core markets where we are strong.

Over the years we have applied this expertise in some of the most prestigious and innovative

projects around the world, and we aim to continue pushing the boundaries in new and exciting projects as we move forward.”

RAK Ceramics www.rakceramics.com Services: One of the world’s largest ceramics manufacturers

that some challenges, like falling oil prices, could have on the global economy and is keen to continue developing the company’s Value Creation Plan – a strategy to exit non-core and expand core businesses. “This plan helps to unlock value across the business, and in line with increasing margins and enhancing production operations, is key to becoming more profitable,” Abdallah concludes.

“In the long term, our vision is to continue building a well respected global organisation.

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profile: VIACON GROUP

Structured

growth

By merging long-term experience with innovation, ViaCon Group delivers competitive advantages to customers requiring corrugated steel structures and geosynthetics in road, rail and landshaping projects 144

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ounded in 1986 in Sweden and Norway, ViaCon was originally focused on the sale, engineering and manufacture of corrugated steel structures. Today comprised of 30 companies spread across

18 countries in more than 45 locations, the globally operating ViaCon Group is a well-reputed manufacturer of flexible corrugated steel and plastic pipes as well as corrugated steel structures. Although its core manufacturing plant is based in

Rydzyna Poland, where corrugated metal plates, metal and plastic pipes are produced, the group also manufactures metal pipes in six plants in Sweden, Finland, Belarus, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.

Plastic pipes, meanwhile, are also manufactured in Kaunas, Lithuania.

“ViaCon Group’s products and solutions are used in the construction of roads and railways throughout the world and mainly used for the building, strengthening and reconstruction of culverts, bridges, viaducts, tunnels, agriculture passages, animal crossings and bridges,” begins Henrik Perbeck, CEO of ViaCon Group.

“Our core products are flexible steel structures as well as plastic, steel pipes and geosynthetics,” he continues.

“For our steel structures, coiled steel is cut, pressed, roll-formed and galvanised in different processes, depending on product and application.

Because of the sectors we operate in, high precision and quality throughout production is a key value driver, and thus ensures installation is both fast and safe. Our product portfolio also includes a large range of geosynthetics, which are widely used in hydraulic engineering, drainage, construction, landfills and forestry. The plastic pipes are made from polyethylene or polypropylene and are manufactured on our site; these are used for culverts, gravital sewage systems, storm water and sanitary drainage. We also offer innovative solutions such as underground retention and advanced corrosion protection in addition to comprehensive investment services, ranging from technical advice through design, delivery and installation. Our people are ultimately our strength as they are well educated, loyal, professional and friendly. Many of them are also young, so our strength lies in the ability to combine experience with the desire to continuously improve.”

Benefiting from three decades of experience, ViaCon Group has become a European leader in its

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profile: VIACON GROUP

field and is the sole producer of signature products such as large span structures. A recent example of the group’s capabilities is its participation in creating the A2 motorway in Poland, as Henrik highlights: “This is one of the key transportation routes in Poland, 85 per cent of which runs through forest areas; this includes the ones listed in the European ecological network of protected areas Natura 2000. The project divided the natural habitants of flora and fauna and the challenge of this project was to maintain the continuity of the forest environments as well as enable free migration in the ecological corridors. We delivered on these challenges and erected 13 passages for animals made of steel structures and corrugated plates.”

On top of this, the group is launching the world’s strongest corrugation plate, UltraCor, into the European market, which will allow it to offer bridge

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spans and cover heights of 30 metres. “We are also expanding our sales and rental stock of temporary and permanent Acrow bridges to service our customers’ need in special situations,” adds Henrik.

Because of its strengths, the ISO 9001, ISO 14001 certified group has an enviable customer base, including large multinational

contractors, national road and railway agencies and small local businesses. However, not a company to rest on its laurels, the group remains focused on the design and engineering of new innovations. This tradition has already resulted in the group’s expansion into the aforementioned plastic pipes, geosynthetics and a range of products for water and

sewer systems. “ViaCon Group is constantly striving to bring new ideas and technologies on to the market that could improve the production system,” confirms Henrik.

An integral part of the group’s expanding product portfolio is its R&D activity, which includes active co-operation with governments and universities to create cutting-edge products and solutions. “ViaCon has contributed a great deal to the development of new technologies and has performed more than 20 research programmes on engineering structures to continuously modernise its products in terms of capacity, cost optimisation, quality improvement, new shapes and technological solutions,” says Henrik. “Furthermore, ViaCon in Poland is the co-organiser of the European conference of flexible structures of corrugated steel plates in engineering communications. It has been held twice so far and we have already started to invite everyone to visit Poland for the event in 2017. On top of this, the continuous skills improvement of the current and future engineering staff is allowed by the broad-based educational activities that are focused on an engineering and academic environment. It is supported by a number of scientific engineering publications that have been signed by ViaCon employees in collaboration with scientists around the whole world.”

Committed to becoming the market leader in all markets it is present in, ViaCon will remain focused on influencing authorities, designers and construction companies into understanding the competitive advantages of corrugated steel structures and the use of geosynthetics in road, rail and landshaping projects.

“We will also achieve a leading position by delivering superior engineering skills, supporting our customers and finding the best

solution for their requirements.

We deeply nourish our tradition of local entrepreneurship to find new products and solutions suitable to our customers, first in a single market, then across the whole of ViaCon’s geographical footprint,” concludes Henrik.

ViaCon Group www.viacongroup.com Services: Manufacture of flexible steel structures, plastic pipes and steel pipes.

Design and sales of geosynthetics solutions

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profile: Premier Modular

Piece by

piece

Premier Modular (part of the Waco International Group) is experiencing strong growth as it looks to take new opportunities and expand its footprint in a number of sectors

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hen Construction & Civil Engineering last spoke with Premier Modular back in June 2015, Divisional Director David Harris, spoke about the positive growth trajectory the company had been on and outlined its plans for the future, which generally involved diversifying the business offering and capitalising on new opportunities. Eight months on and David retains his positivity, reflecting on a number of successes over the second half of 2015 and is confident about the future. “Our growth levels have continued in terms of turnover and profitability across the whole business in both the hire and new

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build segments,” he says. “This has been helped by our presence in a diverse mix of sectors. We are more active in the student accommodation market, we have reignited our history in healthcare and education continues strongly.”

Speaking about market conditions, David sees that some buoyancy has returned to the market despite a noticeable slowdown in order intake before and after last year’s General Election. However, he maintains that legacy fallout from the recession still exists placing pressure on pricing and subsequently depressing margins. “I don’t really foresee this changing,” he says. “However, it just means that we have to be more slick and efficient in taking

new growth opportunities to continue a strong performance.”

One particular area of opportunity that Premier Modular has begun to take advantage of over the past few months is the housing sector. In our last feature we covered the three-day event that formed the launch platform for the company’s innovative modular housing system, also noting the successful award of its first social housing scheme in Hull.

Since then it has added another project in Glasgow to its portfolio and its outlook going forward is bright.

“I think there is quite significant growth potential for us in the housing industry with a lot of this driven by the government agenda to build more homes

combined with the skills shortage that plagues the traditional market place,” David comments.

“In addition to the two housing schemes already delivered we have secured positions on three modular housing frameworks, which I have no doubt will start delivering schemes for us over the next three to six months. We have also partnered with a key house builder in the North West, who is very keen to bring modular solutions onto some of its sites.”

Premier Modular has also made some serious inroads into larger schemes up and down the country. In London, for instance, its hire business has provided several buildings to the Battersea Power Station redevelopment, including its first six-storey hire building. However, set to prove highly instrumental to its future growth strategy is its preferred bidder status on EDF Energy’s Hinkley Point C (HPC) project, the UK’s largest modular construction project to date.

With the contract in the final stages of negotiation, the prestigious £40 million accommodation project will help to firmly cement the business as a leader in the UK industry. A number of permanent modular buildings with a combined floor space of 38,000 square metres and made up of almost 1000 steel-framed modules will be constructed off site and installed at Hinkley for the nuclear power

plant’s ten-year construction cycle. After this time most of the buildings, which will be providing office and welfare facilities for the project, will be relocated to other areas of the EDF estate whilst one will be reconditioned to remain in place.

“For me, HPC is a real feather in the cap having been working on it for over three years now,” explains David. “The challenge will be the huge time pressures as when the button gets pressed the client will want a workforce on site as soon as possible. Overall it will take around 16 months from manufacture to handover, with about a year of that spent in the factory. In terms of its significance, it will have a major impact on the business’s continued success helping to increase our turnover around 50 to 60 per cent annually over the two-year project cycle.

This fits in nicely with the growth trajectory that we’ve been on over the last couple of years, so the objective will be to maintain this new level beyond the project.”

Other successful projects from the past few months include a

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profile: Premier Modular

recently completed children’s centre in Westminster, which combines a multi-tiered rooftop section, two-storey open hall area, laser-cut façade and traditional brick finish to create a building that goes beyond the expected possibilities of a modular system.

“The fact that we’re using systems here that you wouldn’t have thought possible with modular construction really demonstrates just how far we have come with it over the past few years,” notes David. Similarly, it has recently

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finished a two-storey school (one of seven for Brent County Council near Wembley), which hosts a MUGA (multi-use games area) on its roof. “This involved pouring concrete on to the top section and required us to look closely at the building’s structure to take such big loads, but again shows how far the technology has come,” he adds.

Another significant focus for Premier Modular over the past couple of years has been its people. “We have spent quite significant levels of money on different levels of leadership and management courses through the business from team leadership right up to executive development,” David says.

“We’ve just had five of our senior managers go to GIBS Business School in Johannesburg on a leadership course, which will be a big step towards our future planning.”

In terms of the future Premier Modular is well placed to overcome many of the challenges it foresees relating to managing growth with training and recruitment, regenerating capital expenditure to grow its hire capacity and managing capacity with a newly opened factory. “The three core focus areas as we move forward then are firstly, investing further into our hire fleet and ensuring we keep that utilisation high. Secondly, driving growth into new growth areas like housing, retail and student accommodation whilst maintaining our normal business-as-usual sectors, and finally attracting more people to facilitate this,” David concludes.

Premier Modular www.premiermodular.co.uk Services: Leading UK modular construction company

profile: AB2000

Planting

opportunities With over 20 years in operation, AB2000 Limited has grown to represent Scotland’s largest privately owned business in the field of operated plant and equipment hire

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rom its head office and main workshop facility at Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, AB2000 Limited works as a trusted partner in the hire of operated plant and equipment ranging from plant and crane hire to specialist rail and machinery movement solutions. Managing Director Adam Bruce, who has over 40 years of industry experience in the operated plant hire industry, founded the company during 1995 and AB2000 has grown into Scotland’s largest privately owned operated plant and equipment hire business with depots throughout the country.

Its Cambuslang head office and workshops provide excellent

access to the motorway network in central Scotland, while the company’s depots at Tipperty, Aberdeen and Nairn service the North of Scotland. Over the course of two decades, AB2000 has continued to grow from strength-to-strength and earned a reputation as a reliable and experienced industry player.

“AB2000 Limited today operates four ‘trading divisions’, comprised of its core construction plant and equipment; mobile crane hire, as well as test weights and equipment moving; railway; and its northern business, including Ellon Plant Hire Limited, Phoenix Weights and Phoenix Marine as trading subsidiaries of AB2000,” explains CEO Jim Houstoun.

“The company’s turnover, profit, and operating margins have grown steadily since 2013 following the economic downturn and continue to increase in the current financial year as a result of expansion and investment in the plant and equipment available for hire. In 2014 AB2000 was awarded Scottish Business Insider’s fastest growing SME award and was ranked in 2015 as the second most successful SME in Scotland.”

The AB2000 core plant hire division has over 300 units of operated and non-operated

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profile: AB2000

plant for hire from 1.5 tonne mini-excavators to heavy equipment including dozers, tracked excavators of up to 55 tonnes, wheeled excavators, articulated dump trucks of up to 30 tonnes, soil stabilisation equipment, rollers, 180 degree machines, road brushes, telehandlers and rotators. The division supplies plant and equipment to civil engineering contractors, public authorities, ports, builders, quarries and energy companies for use on construction projects extending from motorways, commercial and retail developments, house building to earthworks, ground stabilisation, coastal and flood protection, water, drainage, foundations, roads, bridges, wind farms, electricity substations, overhead cables, railways, power stations, rock crushing and bulk muck-shifting projects.

“AB2000 is on Scottish Water’s framework agreement in each of the geographical areas in which it has depots and Scottish Water

recently extended this agreement for a further five-year period. The core plant hire division also has long-term hires for forklift trucks and access platforms and further owns a range of tractors, HIAB’s, flat-back lorries, and low loaders, which are hired as well as being used to deliver and collect the company’s plant and machinery from customer’s sites.”

Jim says all of AB2000’s 225 plant operators hold CPCS accreditation for the equipment they operate and many also

have quarry passports and PTS railway accreditation.

The company’s crane division has 14 mobile cranes ranging from 35 tonnes to 200 tonnes plus ballast and includes a test weight subdivision with over 250 tonnes of certified metal test weights from 0.25 tonnes to seven tonnes, as well as test weight cradles from 30 tonnes to 100 tonnes.

This division undertakes contracts for lifting, rigging, and machinery movement by appointed persons, lift supervisors and qualified riggers. Its Phoenix Weights subsidiary located in Aberdeen has 250 tonnes of test weights and cradles for hire or sale on and offshore.

AB2000’s rail division includes road/rail vehicles (RRV) and excavators, mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPS) and has a wide range of trailers, specialised equipment and attachments for use on railways. The plant of this division is operated by CPCS and PTS certified operators and hires to Network Rail, BAM Nuttall, QTS, TRAC Engineering, Balfour Beatty, AMCO, Babcock Rail, Story Contracting and Stobart Rail.

In the north of Scotland, AB2000’s northern division supplies all of the equipment owned by the company from its depots at Nairn and Aberdeen.

Ellon Plant Hire Limited and

Phoenix Marine companies based at Aberdeen are managed, operated, and reported as separate limited companies.

The geographical coverage, investment, industry knowledge, acquisitions, new depots, people, and ideas have been key factors in the growth achieved by AB2000 throughout its operational life.

“AB2000 annually invests over £10 million in buying new equipment to extend our range of plant to replace equipment. This has been essential in achieving the growth and development of the business. Recent investments include soil stabilisation systems, rotators, tele-handlers, a range of Kobelco and 20 tonne SANY tracked excavators,” Jim concludes. “In its present format AB2000 is capable of further increasing its turnover, profit margins and profits over the two or three year period to 2018. Market challenges include recruiting and restructuring the business to allow it to continue to progress further and to take the opportunities that a growing economy provides.”

AB2000 Ltd www.ab2000.co.uk Services: Hire of operated plant and cranes, plus specialist rail and machinery movement solutions 153

profile: Egyptian Steel Group

Man of

steel Egyptian Steel is displaying tremendous growth within its domestic market and is doing so as a shining example of social and environmental responsibility

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hilst only established six years ago, Egyptian Steel has experienced significant success in penetrating the country’s steel industry.

Focused on producing safe, high quality products in line with the high local and international standards, the company makes use of the latest state-of-theart and eco-friendly technology whilst taking a very healthy approach towards environmental sustainability. Under the group

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Above Ahmed Abou Hashima, Egyptian Steel Group’s CEO

sit three subsidiary companies: Industrial Investment Company (IIC) for steel plants management, National Port Said Steel (NPSS) and Egyptian Steel for Building Materials Trading, which operates four primary factories.

The core of Egyptian Steel’s product offering revolves around rebar, wire rods and billet manufacture. At the heart of this is a strong and infinite steel rolling capability, that enables the company to save energy and increase scrap efficiency whilst producing a product that meets

international quality standards in mechanical properties. Continued development efforts focus on reducing costs even further by applying the latest effective technologies in energy saving and production capacity. By working with some of the leading innovative companies in the field, the Group looks to maintain this focus through the acquisition of new technologies.

When it comes to its rebar offering, Egyptian Steel’s leading facilities are able to transform scrap into rebar within two hours

thanks to its endless rolling capacity. Due to a thorough process of chemical analysis, melting and casting, a range of steel rebar products is available under a variety of international standards and in numerous diameters. Supporting the production process is a rigorous quality assurance programme, which makes use of cutting edge chemical and mechanical property analysis techniques.

Demonstrating this commitment to continuous improvement within the manufacturing process,

in December 2015 Egyptian Steel completed the successful installation of a new rebar production line at its Alexandria plant. Running in parallel to the existing wire rod line, the new installation is designed to produce products in various sizes. A DRB (direct rolling and bundling) system was chosen for this particular application, enabling the cutting of high tensile final commercial rebar length directly before the bundling process in order to reduce the process costs.

In terms of figures this translated into a five per cent increase in annual production and a ten per cent reduction in electrical consumption, critically without compromising the high quality of the finished product. One of the advantages of bringing these two lines together in one plant is the decreased transportation cost for customers who can now be supplied both products in the same site shipment.

Over the coming years Egyptian Steel anticipates the opening of two new state-of-the-art plants to continue this growth. The first of these, the Beni Suef plant, is currently under construction and will be opened in June 2016. With an annual production capacity of 830,000 tonnes, thanks to innovative Danieli technology, which depends on 100 per cent recycled scrap, reduces emissions by 30 per cent and saves around 60 per cent of required energy.

Not only does this make Egyptian Steel the sole provider of green

steel in the region with the first of this kind of plant in the Middle East and Africa, but it is also the largest in the world. Only two other similar plants exist, in Arizona and Greece, both of which have a capacity of 250,000 tonnes a year. A second plant in Ain Al Sokhna is also being developed to the same standards and is due to become operational in 2017.

Beyond its operations, Egyptian Steel is highly active in corporate social responsibility and it demonstrates an exemplary approach to this. In December 2015 the Group’s CEO, Ahmed Abou Hashima, was recognised as a Quality Knight for Humanitarian Purposes by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). Upon awarding the recognition, the organisation highlighted Ahmed’s pioneering role in serving the community and achieving sustainable development. In particular it praised the company’s initiative to revamp the neediest villages of Upper Egypt, which was launched in 2014 and has so far helped seven villages.

A month earlier the CEO was also awarded the Euro-Arab Environment Organisation’s Shield for Excellence for Egyptian Steel’s compliance with environmental standards thanks to its use of eco-friendly technology across its plants. In fact over the last year Ahmed has repeatedly been recognised not only for his CSR activities, but also his leadership and innovation that has seen him take Egyptian Steel to the forefront of the market’s steel industry in a matter of years. He was named Best CEO in the Steel Industry in European CEO magazine, was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador by the Multipurpose Inter-parliamentary Union, awarded Young Arab Entrepreneur of the year by Murex D’or Honors and the Responsible Leadership Award from BNC Publishing’s Entrepreneur Middle East awards.

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profile: Egyptian Steel Group

Amidst this the company was also awarded Rising Star of the Year at the 2015 Platts Global Metals Awards and was listed one of the Middle East’s most powerful 60 companies by Construction Business News magazine.

It is a set of credentials that sheds light on the remarkable growth shown by Egyptian Steel to become one of the leading steel manufacturers in the country in such a short period of time.

The company currently targets a market share of 20 per cent in Egypt with a strengthened ability to export quality products around the world. In a visionary message published on the Group’s website, Ahmed highlight’s Egyptian Steel’s commitment to the continued development of both its own production capabilities, and also the economic strength

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of the national economy. His ultimate vision is expand even further by setting up similar steel plants in East African market where competitive gas prices, attractive investment laws and skilled labour can provide good opportunities. Further still the company currently has a cement plant license pending as it looks to become a one-stop-shop for all building materials.

Looking forward under this light, there is no doubt that rapid and solid growth is the defining feature of Egyptian Steels future, but it is that this is underlined by a relentless mission to do so in a sustainable and responsible way that is particularly commendable and that will stand the company in good stead as it becomes a major player in the global construction industry.

European Metalrecycling Handling around 10 million tonnes of material each year, EMR (www.emrgroup.com) is a global leader in the recycling and recovery of valuable commodities from waste streams. With 160 collection and processing facilities covering Europe and the USA, it produces recycled metals, aggregates, high quality polymers and energy from the gasification of non-recyclables. This all comes from end of life infrastructure (construction and demolition), transportation (road, rail, sea, air), industry (plant, manufacturing waste) and consumer goods. With its network and investments in technology the company can deliver the highest quality recycled products, with the minimum carbon footprint and industry leading recycling rates in excess of 98 per cent.

Egyptian Steel Group www.egyptian-steel.com Services: One of Egypt’s leading steel manufacturers

profile: Travis Perkins

A united

division

In recent years Travis Perkins has been investing in improving its customer propositions and optimising its network of stores and branches. Over £200m of capital has been deployed during 2015 with the Contracts Division benefitting from investments to better track new construction projects and to provide a more integrated, customer focused service

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enowned as one of the biggest suppliers in the UK, the FTSE 100 listed Travis Perkins has 19 industry-leading brands in its portfolio, an excess of 100,000 products available to trade professionals and a turnover in excess of £6 billion.

Keen to strengthen operations in all areas of the group, Travis Perkins made the strategic decision to realign its businesses into four divisions at the beginning of 2014: General Merchanting, Consumer, Plumbing and Heating and Contract Merchanting. Comprised of businesses with both a common customer type and common service requirements, the divisions have put vital support functions closer to each business unit, which in turn has increased efficiency in making decisions.

As one of the four business segments, the Contract Merchanting Division brings together BSS, CCF and Keyline, the three businesses that supply products to high spec construction firms and project contractors. As a division, it has been involved in

the majority of major commercial and infrastructure projects in the UK, such as Crossrail and iconic buildings such as the Shard.

Since the restructure of the group in 2014 the division has been evolving, says Frank Elkins, divisional Chief Executive Officer of the Contract Merchanting Division: “Within CCF we have seen an opportunity to grow in dry lining and insulation; if you look at our position in the market 18 – 24 months ago we were at number four in the market place but we are now a strong number two.

“We see opportunity to continue to grow, which is why we had 32 branches at the start of the year following major expansion of eight new branches during 2015; these new branches are in Aberdeen, Colchester, Crawley, Didcot, Gloucester, Manchester East, Northampton, and Redruth.

This expansion is part of our strategic objective to be an hour from any site covered by local branch network and is also why we have further plans to expand in 2016 and 2017. Our proposition is to be close to our customers locally and to understand their needs and requirements so we

can be their destination of choice for ceilings, partitions, dry wall and insulation.”

Previously not well known for insulation distribution, CCF has also boosted its reputation as a destination of choice for insulation services by having a comprehensive product range readily available from stock and ready for delivery nationwide, competitive prices, deliveries you can depend on and a reliable service from a friendly and knowledgeable team.

Alongside these developments, the company has also launched its own ceiling range Sektor to complement its partitions offering and been training its internal and external personnel in insulation as well as their technical expertise in partitions.

Meanwhile, Travis Perkins has continued with its strategy of making Keyline the leading civils and drainage and heavy building materials supplier in the UK, as Frank explains: “We have rebranded the business and also focused on ensuring that no matter what branch our customers go to, there will be a strong range of products

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profile: Travis Perkins

available; in line with this, we have developed some new supplier partnerships with companies such as Polypipe. We also acquired Rudridge in February 2015 from the two owners, Alan and Rob, who have since stayed on in the business and helped it grow with us. This acquisition has given us a stronger presence in the southeast as Keyline wasn’t well covered in this area but the four Rudridge branches have been a great fit for us and have progressed very well.”

The final part of the Contract Merchanting Division, BSS Industrial, a specialist distributor of pipeline, heating and mechanical services, already has a strong presence with 61 branches spread across the UK. Because of this, the division has consolidated to one branch in Leeds while also opening a new 45,000 square foot facility on the side of its industry-leading Magna Park National Distribution Centre (NDC) in Leicestershire. The latter development provides customers with a whopping £50 million worth of stock as well as delivery options that no other supplier can offer, with guarantees of next day delivery from seven AM when ordered from BSS or HireIt branch before five pm. “This additional space enhances our

Pegler Yorkshire Group Ltd Pegler Yorkshire is well known and highly respected as a world leader in the manufacture of advanced plumbing and heating products and solutions. Pegler Yorkshire’s reputation has been earned through a total dedication to quality, innovation and customer service that has been the hallmark of the company since it was established in the 1890’s. The company’s unrivalled list of market leading product brands include Yorkshire integral solder ring fittings, Terrier radiator valves, Tectite push fit fittings, Performa tap solutions, the XPress press fit system, Francis Pegler luxury taps and Pegler valves.

central distribution operations as we have 15,000 product lines distributed out of Magna Park on a next day basis; it is a fantastic service,” enthuses Frank.

On top of this, an engineering assembly station and machine workshop has been developed to ensure seamless product delivery as well as enhanced product testing capabilities; these developments mean customers get faster dispatch times across a range of grade A, fully machineconditioned stock and ‘to order’ items. To complement these developments, the company has focused on enhancing its IT capabilities with new systems and applications, as Frank notes: “We brought the Project Tracking System onto a Google platform two years ago, which means we can collaborate and share information throughout the division; we have also developed other tools such as the quote management system, which allows us to download all of the quotes from our points of sale system. This allows us to provide information to the customer via a tablet or phone.”

While these improvements are integral to ongoing growth, Frank says the company is also continuing to focus on enhancing its safety culture: “To us the

concept of safety within the workplace is never a completed job as we want everyone within the business to go home safely at the end of the day. Because of this, we are looking at the root cause as to why accidents happen as it is easy to blame people when things go wrong.

Also, from a cultural point of view we are driving for equal responsibility so all colleagues are aware of safety and look out for one another. Although we have made strong progress we will never become complacent and will continue to invest in the safety arena.”

Alongside the many steps forward that the Contract Merchanting Division has taken to further cement its leading reputation in the market, the company is also securing its future through creating its own training development programme and management apprenticeship. “Our industry is not good at recruiting the next generation coming into the business but as a Group, as well as within this division and business unit we have spent a lot of time and energy on our trainee scheme. We have also looked at technical training and have developed an academy in Keyline, CCF and BSS to help train and develop both our colleagues and our future managers. For us this means we are embedding technical training deeper into our business as we develop our leaders of the future.”

Having covered all angles for future growth, the future looks positive for Travis Perkins and the Contract Merchanting Division as it continues to lead the way in delivering building and DIY products to its broad customer base.

Travis Perkins www.travisperkins.co.uk Services: UK’s leading timber and builders’ merchants 159

profile: ATG Access

Secured for the

future British company ATG Access is not only a global leader in perimeter security solutions, but is also playing a key role in ensuring international standards support such critical infrastructure protection

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TG Access started from humble beginnings,” says its MD, Mark Clegg. “We have always built upon a very solid engineering reputation and as such were responsible for the UK Highways Agency’s first automated bollards and the first automated impacttested bollard for anti-terror use in the UK security market.”

Through a consistent programme of innovation and product development, supported by CPNI (Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure) approval, “

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ATG has today evolved into a global engineering solutions company for perimeter security.

In recent years it has experienced considerable growth thanks to the successful completion of London 2012 Olympic and the Qatar NDIA (New Doha International Airport) projects – the latter of which is the world’s largest perimeter security project to date.

Bollards, road blockers, barriers and gates form the core of the company’s security offering, and its market focus is split into two separate divisions, commerial security and high security. It is

this high security division (where all of its products are impacttested) that ATG focuses much of its attention, having maintained its position at the very front of the market as innovation leaders with the widest portfolio in the market. It is in the robustness of this offering that Mark sees the foundation of ATG’s success: “We believe our core strength comes from the fact that we offer a full turnkey service,” he highlights. “This extends from the development of products to the manufacture, installation and servicing of them. We are also the

lead company in the market to offer corrosion protected systems and these are secured by patents in key regions of the world.”

The company’s approach to innovation is also a key part to this successful market leadership.

“It is very much customer-centric and market led, in that we work closely with our customers to develop solutions for their unique needs and then assess that product for wider market appeal,” Mark continues. “The vast majority of our products are developed and brought to market in this way, with a small proportion

coming from looking ahead and anticipating future trends. This is what we have done with the recent Stealth bollard, which is a fully certified and test-approved retrofit solution for certain kinds of existing casings already installed within high security sites.

These allow customers to upgrade very quickly in areas that are very high security and cannot afford any downturn. We have had some early contracts with this around London but I think we will really see it develop over the next five to ten years.”

Other recent innovations include a state-of-the-art shallow road blocker, which has just passed the highest level of testing, and a column protection system made up of a series of bollards protecting critical supporting columns from inadvertent traffic incidents. ATG also works closely

with architects to develop highly discrete HVM (Hostile Vehicle Mitigation) systems, allowing them to blend into a site unnoticed.

By either creating aesthetically pleasing sleeves or integrating them into bench structures, lamp posts, flagpoles and even planters Mark points out that you can walk past these everyday in capital cities round the world without realising their true purpose. Completed contracts at the London Shard and on going work at the Heart of Doha are key examples of these systems.

It also provides obvious HVM systems to military and other high security sites, and as such holds a framework contract for a major international oil company operating in Iraq.

ATG is present around the world with its biggest markets in the UK, Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Manufacturing partners across these regions enable it to react quickly to customer needs right around the globe, and a network of independent security consultants help support and influence the route to market for new innovations. Despite such a farreaching footprint having already been established, expanding this further is a major strategic focus for the company as it moves forward. In particular in South America and India, where it has already developed manufacturing partnerships, as well as in China.

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profile: ATG Access

However, Mark points out that when it comes to ATG’s security products high quality is absolutely critical and ensuring this is recognised around the world is a particular challenge.

“We have the British PAS and American ASTM standards, and there is an attempt at the moment to consolidate these into the European IWA standard to create an internationally utilised and familiarised set of regulations,” he outlines. “International standards, when they are in place and are enforced properly, give us a great opportunity for our high-end quality and innovative technology.

Yet when they are not enforced we are faced with the problem of lower cost, lower quality imports as competition. This threatens the integrity of a market that is supposed to ensure the highest levels of security.”

To try to overcome these pressures and influence the wellregulated international adoption of such standards, ATG is playing a vital knowledge-based role in supporting the security industry.

“We do this firstly by working closely with key governmental bodies, like the CPNI in the UK, and then through various technical seminars that we hold in British Embassies around the world with the support of the UKTI,” Mark highlights. “Recently we have held these in places like Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai and have a couple coming up in Abu Dhabi, Trinidad and Tobago, and London. These are knowledge based and not entirely geared towards our products with independent security consultants speaking with general advice and updates being offered. It is all about raising awareness in parts of the world where threats inevitably exist and where adopting an integral regularity system will be key to protecting national infrastructure.”

Supporting this global system of quality standards will clearly

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play a significant role in ATG’s future as it also looks to expand its global presence with a further 15 new manufacturing partners over the next five years. As with the success it has already achieved much of this growth will continue to be driven by product development and innovation.

“We’re also going to carry on developing the commercial security division where we have provided significant traffic management systems around the UK, and we also see the personal residential market opening up here,” concludes Mark. “Ultimately, by bringing all of these growth and support streams together the future is very positive for ATG. At present we have a pipeline of around £60 million and we would be looking to increase this by 100 per cent over the next four to five years.”

ATG Access www.atgaccess.com Services: The world’s market leading perimeter security solutions provider

profile: Bouwbedrijf Van de Ven

success The breadth of

Long lasting relationships are the result of Bouwbedrijf Van de Ven’s broad scope of expertise and total commitment to a quality service

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tarting out in 1927 as a small local builder, Bouwbedrijf Van de Ven has grown to become one of the Netherland’s foremost construction companies encompassing a vast range of market segments and service capabilities. Covering the spectrum from design to build and restoration, the Dutch firm has expertise ranging from residential, educational and healthcare to industrial, commercial and public spaces. “Put simply, everything that can be done is part of our normal scope of work,” highlights Project Manager, Kees Fransen.

It is this ‘normal’ but clearly vast scope of delivery that really

defines Bouwbedrijf amongst a competitive domestic market, and which is allowing it to break into new markets such as the UK. “We cover everything from the very start of the project to the very end and even beyond,” Kees continues. “This includes the architectural and design stages right through to hand over and maintenance once a site is in operation. There is no hiding from the fact that the market in Holland is very challenging at the moment, with lots of companies competing under very low price levels. However, as we can offer this complete package, both in terms of service and project capability, we have been rewarded with a number of long term relationships and we are now a preferred supplier to many of these of thse clients.”

Names such as Lidl, Scania and Mars all count amongst Bouwbedrijf Van de Ven’s client list who continue to use the firm for their needs within Holland and surrounding European markets.

Whatever the clients’ demand may be – warehouse, office, retail unit,

extension, refurbishment and so on – Kees assures that Bouwbedrijf can continue to support them. “We always assign the same project manager and project team to

these clients so we form a very close working partnership with them,” he says. “This way we fully understand what they want, and they also know what they are getting from us.”

This strength has been illustrated particularly well in the past few years with European retail giant, and key client, Lidl - with whom Bouwedrijf Van de Ven has been able to enter into the UK market for the first time. In August 2014 it completed its first project, a 40,000 square metre distribution centre in Northfleet

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profile: Bouwbedrijf Van de Ven

where it managed all construction and associated sub-contract work.

Complete with a returns centre, washer, freezer rooms, cold rooms, storage ADR, scaffolding, bulk storage, 112 docks, utility room and several offices, plus an external gatehouse with two weighbridges and access control system, the project perfectly demonstrates the extensive breadth of the company’s expertise. Furthermore, the warehouse was delivered with a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ Certificate and a second facility in Southampton is currently under construction, due for handover in September 2016.

With such an impressive portfolio of work and skill accounting for a robust reputation amongst its clients, it is perhaps no surprise that Bouwbedrijf Van de Ven is able to deliver into the UK. However, Kees points out that managing the transition from European to UK health and safety practice has been a big challenge.

“The procedures and regulations are very different in the UK, by no means are they any more or less effective than what we have established in the rest of Europe, but they are unique in the way they should be approached,” he

says, commenting on a slightly more bureaucratic system.

“We are able to manage this quite well with an onsite health and safety manager, supported by two accompanying officers, as well as an in-house health and safety officer here in Holland.

They are, in turn, monitored

and supported by an external specialist to ensure we continue meeting such high standards in new markets. I think it would be very difficult to enter into the UK market without this knowledge and we make sure we maintain this with all the relevant training and certification at all levels of the business.”

Another significant strength of Bouwbedrijf Van de Ven is its approach to investment and its commitment to developing its internal capabilities. This manifests itself in both people and materials.

“We want to have as many of our own employees working for us in-house as opposed to having to rely on self-employed or agency workers,” Kees continues.

“Similiarly, we invest in our own plant. In the UK it is quite common to use plant hire companies, but we possess everything from scaffolding and site offices to

trucks and excavators ready for when we need it.” What results is an incredibly reflexive company, ready to serve the needs of its clients quickly in order to meet every promised handover date.

Despite a challenging market with lots of competition, Bouwbedrijf Van de Ven’s strong reputation and numerous lasting client relationships puts it in good stead as it moves forward. Kees points out that the more one-to-one, preferred supplier relationships it can establish and maintain, the fewer tendering processes have to be endured amongst stiff, lowpriced competition. Therefore, concentrating on its level of service and quality will be central to its ongoing progress.

“By keeping the client as our main priority and assisting them as much as possible, whilst ensuring that we can continue delivering a very high level of quality, we are confident that we can expand on our strengths and secure further success as we move forward,” says Kees, thinking about the company’s position in the Dutch industry’s future. “It is about consolidating all the key features of our competitiveness that we have established over a history already spanning eight decades, and making sure that we can use this as a solid foundation to continue long into the future.”

Bouwbedrijf Van de Ven www.bouwbedrijfvandeven.nl Services: One of Holland’s top construction companies 165

profile: Walter Lilly

Of the highest

standard Operating in a niche where nothing short of perfection is expected, Walter Lilly’s position at the top of the super elite residential construction industry is the result of decades of experience overcoming the most complex and demanding challenges

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ounded in 1924 when Walter Gent Lilly won the freehold to a builder’s yard near Westminster over a game of cards, the eponymous construction company has grown to become one of the leading builders in the UK’s super prime residential market.

also completed construction and renovation works on Southwark Cathedral, The Wolfson Wing at Kew Gardens, Chiswick House Conservatory, Café Royal, Cadogan Hall and many other iconic and listed sites.

“We are considered to be the foremost contractor of choice for high end residential building in Central London,” begins Chief Engineer, Derek Brattle. “This is founded upon an enviable reputation for delivering projects requiring the combined expertise of both complex structural engineering refurbishment works, together with top quality interior fit out.” Experienced, highly skilled and well-trained staff are central to maintaining the strength of this reputation, as is its commitment to the highest quality, which considering its market, can’t fall far short of perfection.

Blended with extensively detailed project management right the way through the construction process, the foundation of expertise within the company results in a highly capable builder with the ability to overcome numerous construction, engineering and logistical challenges.

At present Walter Lilly is demonstrating its unrivalled services, in the borough of Westminster with a major redevelopment project on Marylebone High Street. Currently a year into its programme the scheme has involved the demolition of an existing 1960’s building to the rear of the site, together with the demolition and extensive temporary façade Often to be found working across some of London and the Home County’s most elite and sought after districts, including Belgravia, Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Kensington, Berkshire and Surrey, Walter Lilly has delivered a host of prestigious and high profile projects over the years.

Working closely with some of

the world’s leading architects and designers, the company has proven its ability to deliver everything from classical opulence to the very latest in contemporary and innovative design. In addition to the super prime residential projects, ranging in value from three quarters of a million pounds to £40 million, Walter Lilly has

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profile: Walter Lilly

retention works to the front.

When completed a six-storey superstructure and new double basement area will provide 19 apartments and five townhouses, as well as additional retail space.

“This is a large project requiring significant engineering works in close co-operation with our project design team and subcontractors,” explains Derek.

“It includes the installation of a perimeter steel sheet pile cofferdam and associated temporary propping for the basement excavation extending within the ground water table; temporary façade and party wall retention structures; underpinning of the perimeter party walls and load transfer of the façade support columns onto the new RC raft foundation. The new RC frame is currently progressing, whilst we manage the decommissioning and relocation of an electrical substation serving surrounding properties.”

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Another complex and on-going project being carried out can be found on the prestigious Eaton Square in the heart of Belgravia.

Set in a Conservation Area towards the Western boundary

of Westminster and bordered

by Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Buckingham Palace, Pimlico and Hyde Park, the square dates back to the 1830s and is considered to be one of the finest residential

addresses in London. Work on the Grade II listed property involves the amalgamation of two separate apartments into one single-family dwelling; a new three-storey extension across the rear, and the construction of a new deep basement below the courtyard garden.

“In total the proposals provide five levels of high end residential accommodation comprising of four en-suite bedrooms, several large reception rooms, staff accommodation, catering facilities and a pool hall at basement level with swimming pool, Jacuzzi and treatment room,” Derek outlines.

“As specialists in temporary works design and engineering, Walter Lilly were engaged to carry out this complex 102-week development over two phases.

“Phase one has involved major engineering challenges including: the construction of the underground double basement containing the pool and associated plant room below a shared garden; the installation of a new reinforced concrete frame to the rear elevation to form five room-sized openings over three levels, without disturbing the residences above; and finally, the extensive floor strengthening and re-modelling of the internal space. Particular expertise was required in planning the sequence and method of works

to ensure ground movement and disturbance was kept to a minimum for the surrounding sixstorey buildings. All this was done whilst the property’s neighbours living in the three floors above the works, as well as those in the surrounding properties, remained in place throughout.”

A third project to note, involving the full refurbishment of a detached residence at Sheffield Terrace, received bespoke, high quality finishes including stone and timber staircases and a new conservatory. “Whilst the general shape of the new building was not significantly different from the existing, it was rebuilt with new floors, room layouts and the entire roof replaced,” highlights Derek. “Furthermore, the road on which the residence is situated is

a typically narrow, busy residential road that provided significant logistical challenges.”

It is not just this relentless competence to overcome complex engineering and logistical challenges that sets Walter Lilly apart in the market, but also its ability to do so in the confines of such a highly exclusive and quality demanding niche. A long history delivering to such standards has afforded the firm with this leading position and in continuing to do so looks set to secure its position at the top, well into the future.

Walter Lilly & Co Ltd www.walterlilly.co.uk Services: Industry leaders in the design, build and renovation of luxury properties

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profile: CEMEX UK

Cementing a market’s

success

As nationwide growth rewards the UK construction industry, CEMEX’s UK business is committed to continuous improvements to help support such success

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EMEX’s story begins over a century ago as a local cement plant in Northern Mexico. What ensued was a long and successful period of organic and acquired growth to become one of the world’s leading companies, today turning over around $15 billion thanks to the efforts of more than 40,000 employees. In the UK, CEMEX has been a key player in the market for over 80 years supplying an extensive range of products from concrete, cement, mortars, screeds and aggregates to asphalt, concrete block pavings, rail products, and bespoke precast and concrete blocks.

Courtesy of 230 local mixing plants, 63 quarries and a large logistical capability CEMEX UK is able to deliver a complete range of market-leading solutions to meet every application throughout the UK by road, rail, sea and inland waterways. With around 3500 people operating within this network, the UK subsidiary generates close to £775 million in annual sales.

VIGGARS BROS LTD Viggars Bros Ltd are proud to have supported CEMEX over the last decade providing crushing and screening services for aggregate production and fill materials throughout the UK. The company specialise in providing solutions for clients ranging from materials handling, processing / blending, dockside activities including ship loading and processing materials in the steel and coal industries. Viggars Bros are involved in the production of recycled aggregates, including demolition materials and asphalt, for re-use. An extensive range of plant is also available for hire.

“At CEMEX everything we do is geared towards ensuring that we remain the supplier, employer and solutions partner of choice,” begins Aggregates Operations Director in the UK, Rob Doody.

“To this end we have a very strong customer focus and we are constantly evolving in order to become more flexible in our operations, more creative in our commercial offerings, more sustainable in our use of resources, more innovative in conducting our global business, and more efficient in our capital allocation.

“Not only do we endeavour to provide the most reliable and comprehensive array of building materials but we also tailor our products and services to suit our customers’ specific needs across all sectors.” By working closely with its customers CEMEX places great value on developing vertically integrated construction solutions, fostering long-term relationships and constantly innovating to ensure it can offer the best product and finance options available in the

UK market.

Such is its scale and leading position in the UK market that CEMEX’s performance is a key indicator of current market conditions, and Rob is able to highlight national growth as the economy continues to rise out of the recession. “The market has been mixed as it grows from the lows of 2007 and 2008 to a more successful year in 2015,” he says. “There is some geographical variation with higher growth in London compared to some conurbations further north. On balance, however, we have seen reasonable growth over the last few years.”

It won’t be news to anybody in the industry that London is currently a bustling hive of construction activity from new high-rise developments and massive redevelopment projects like at Battersea Power Station, to citywide infrastructure upgrades like Crossrail. With the market in such a state of growth, CEMEX has been prompted to expand its offering to the Capital’s

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marketplace. With a number of sites located right along the River Thames – major ones being Angerstein in Greenwich and Northfleet – all of which have been running at full capacity, the company has recently opened up a new site in Dagenham.

“Despite running at full capacity along the Thames our customers in Central London still needed additional supplies and we identified a particular need to increase sand and gravel capacity further East in Dagenham and north of the river as our major existing sites were all located to the south,” explains Rob. “Whilst the site has been in our ownership for many years importing and distributing modest quantities of aggregates, this is the first time that we have installed a full processing plant to import marine aggregates (using our own dredgers) to produce sand and gravel for our customers.”

Around £48 million of capital is now tied up in the operation of the site, which took 12 months to undergo this recently completed conversion. At full capacity the processing plant is able to produce over 500,000 tonnes of aggregates over the course of the year thanks to an hourly rate of 200 tonnes. “This facility is ideally placed to receive raw materials and distribute finished sand, gravel and hardstone products to a variety of customers in that vicinity. It is the most important aggregate site development in recent times and we are very proud to be able to improve what was an old industrial area into a professional production facility offering a range of products,” Rob continues.

The new Dagenham Wharf site will also form a key part of CEMEX’s national network of production sites, as it provides the ability to import aggregates from other sites around the UK via sea and river and export its own marine dredged materials

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back out. Putting it at a further logistical advantage within the city of London the site is installed with a new conveyor system, meaning it can load materials on to barges to be transported to some of the key supply areas around the centre of London.

Whilst the Aggregates team in the UK have been busy in the foreground maintaining production quality and expanding capacity, in the background it has been heavily focused on improving its operations in terms of health and safety. In relation to this 2015 was a very successful year with a number of high profile and competitive awards adorning CEMEX UK’s top shelf.

In November it was awarded the MPA John Crabb Memorial Trophy, the industry’s highest award for health and safety. The jury particularly commended the team’s approach to leadership and proactive culture. The UK business also won the international CEMEX award for the Best Aggregate Operation out of 53 countries and in December 2015 it achieved its fourth year with zero lost time injuries incurred.

Much of this has been down to its ongoing Step In campaign.

“We are very proud of this innovative but very simple initiative,” Rob explains. “It is

a concept that encourages everyone to intervene if they see or experience something unsafe.

Critically, this is something that impacts every location, every employee and every visitor or contractor that shares our sites.

We have pursued Step In with a very extensive campaign to publicise, train and encourage adoption of the scheme by focusing on leadership, training and marketing. All with the specific intention of improving our culture.”

At all levels of the organisation the culture of Step In, which encourages active intervention rather than just personal protection, has been instilled in an attempt to move CEMEX further towards total interdependence when it comes to health and safety. This is facilitated throughout the annual calendar by a number of major training events including its Safety Day Training, to which nearly 100 per cent of its employees have attended, and its Back to Work Training day, which takes place in January and involves closing the business down to continue the discussion as the team looks towards another year.

“This is reinforced with more Stand Down days throughout the year, where we close the

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business on all sites for a fixed period to communicate and discuss workplace safety even further,” notes Rob. “In addition to this a targeted marketing campaign, which involves widespread branding, has been implemented to ensure that everyone is familiar with the initiative and what it means.”

With such success being experienced from both an operational and commercial standpoint, the future for CEMEX in the UK is defined by even more improvements.

Rob highlights that further expansion into various markets around the country will be key to the company’s success over the next 12 months, as will its comprehensive efficiency programme that has been underway for the last four years already. “Called JUSTCI this is a continuous improvement project that has driven phenomenal efficiencies over the last few years with more to go at in the next few years,” he adds. “Our aim is to be the most efficient operator in our market.”

This ambition very much echoes the longer-term strategic vision for CEMEX both around the world and in the UK. As Rob concludes: “We aim to serve the needs of our customers and create value for our stakeholders by becoming the most efficient and innovative building materials company.

CEMEX is dedicated to ‘Helping Build a Greater Britain’ and couples financial achievements with a firm commitment to sustainable development.

Ultimately, it is very satisfying to be able to grow and deliver better results a far cry from the downturn in 2007 and 2008, and we look forward to continuing this over the coming years.”

It is clear that whilst CEMEX continues to operate successfully on a global scale, it is committed to not losing sight of its local commitments. Its Aggregate

DUO Manufacturing Whatever the size of your engineering project, DUO Manufacturing offers a complete package solution for the quarrying, recycling and bulk handling industries. Within excess of 40 years of industry experience they provide a customised design solution, high build quality, fabrication, assembly, and installation for the entire project, including full support for the life of the plant. Specialising in material handling systems, including aggregate and waste, DUO Manufacturing will accommodate even the more unusual requests.

Their more diverse recent projects have included the construction of large filter presses and glass recycling systems. Congratulations to CEMEX and their new Dagenham plant.

division in the UK illustrates this as it continues to trail blaze innovative operational strategies at the same time as keeping up with growing demand and upholding the solid reputation CEMEX has established for itself since 1906. With the UK industry showing little sign of slowing down in the near future, particularly in London, and the company’s many sites across the

capital running close to capacity, the coming years look set to cement it even more firmly into such a critical marketplace.

CEMEX UK www.cemex.co.uk Services: Global building solutions company supplying cement, readymixed concrete and aggregates

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Editor Libbie Hammond libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Sales Team

+44 (0) 1603 274130 Schofield Publishing 10 Cringleford Business Centre Intwood Road Cringleford Norwich NR4 6AU

www.ccemagazine.com