THE Scottish Government has been urged to ‘learn lessons’ over the procurement of large-scale construction projects in the wake of the Carillion collapse. The Scottish Building Federation (SBF) has also raised concerns about the potential impact of the firm’s liquidation on smaller subcontractors currently working...

2018 is off to a swinging start for Argyll-based TSL Contractors with the purchase of a new Volvo ECR2353. The reduced swing excavator represents a “new departure” for the construction business, which also plumped for a Steelwrist X26 tiltrotator to complement the new machine. TSL’s...

VOLVO Construction Equipment is to enter the rigid hauler market with its own four-model range of machines, manufactured in Motherwell. As a result, the manufacturer confirmed production of Terex Trucks rigid haulers will cease over time. The new range, which will initially be launched in...

BLUE Group has announced plans to break into the attachments market after completing the acquisition of Murray Plant. Murray Plant has been supplying equipment for almost 30 years under the leadership of founder Bruce Murray. The firm distributes products for a number of brands including...

A road planing business has become the first in the UK to utilise the new Cat PM620 cold planers. DP Cold Planing has taken delivery of the new units, supplied by Finning UK & Ireland, and plans to immediately put them into action. Anthony Prescott, managing director...

KUBOTA UK has described next month’s Executive Hire Show as the “ideal platform” to launch its new KX030-4 mini-excavator. The machine features two hydraulic variable pumps, along with a gear pump, which the manufacturer claimed allows “smooth, synchronised digging and dozing operations for improved output...

THE Specialist Engineering Contractors’ (SEC) Group said it is optimistic that the issue of cash retentions in the construction industry will be “properly debated” in parliament, ahead of the first reading of the Construction (Retention Deposit Schemes) Bill in the House of Commons. The Bill...

Astrak UK has announced the acquisition of the undercarriage parts division of Southern Plant Spares. The Kirkcaldy-based undercarriage parts supplier has also acquired the Southern Plant Spares (SPS) name. York-based SPS is a supplier of rubber tracks, undercarriage parts and other associated spare parts for...

JCB has announced a 3.9% pay rise for shop floor employees, with chairman Lord Bamford stating the industry is doing “very well” at the moment. The manufacturer said order books are at their “strongest” in the firm’s history. The 2018 pay rise, which is linked to...

RITCHIE Bros is set to host its first ever one-owner auction in the UK, selling hundreds of items for A-Plant. The one-day auction, being held on February 8 at the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, will feature surplus equipment from A-Plant’s rental fleet including boom lifts,...

JARVIE Plant equipment is playing an important role in the creation of Scotland’s first homeless village. Situated in Edinburgh’s Granton district, the development will comprise ten ‘nest houses’, aimed at providing a safe living environment for up to 20 homeless people each year. They will also be...

MCS is set to launch its latest RM Mobile app to help rental depot managers offer a more flexible way of working. Using their mobile phones, they will be able to access important information and oversee the running of the depot’s activities, even when working...

CASE Construction Equipment has scooped a top design award for its G-Series wheel loaders. The manufacturer picked up the Good Design Award in the industrial category from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies....

TEMPORARY power equipment specialists Mather+Stuart recently brought some Christmas cheer to revellers in Gloucester and Derby by supplying generators to power chillers for ice rinks. Two 200kVA JCB T3A emission synchronised gen-sets were provided at Gloucester Quays while two 150kVA gen-sets were delivered to Derby’s Market...

JCB has announced it is to reward its workforce with a festive bonus of £500. The plant giant is awarding over 5,500 of its UK employees the bonus, its biggest since 2012. It comes in a year in which JCB entered a new sector with...

AN expansion of Skene Group’s quarries has led to the Fife-based firm buying a Bell Equipment B30E articulated dump truck. Skene has been running a Bell B30D for the past seven years, which will remain in operation. Skene is a major supplier to the construction...

A Borders-based earthworks and civil engineering specialist has acquired a new Volvo excavator for a long-term crushing project. RJT Excavations Ltd of Jedburgh had added a 40-tonne EC380E to its fleet. The machine is equipped with mass excavation rig including a 2.6 metre dipper arm, a...

BREEDON has agreed to acquire four quarries and an asphalt plant from Tarmac in a £16.5 million deal. The move will be satisfied by the transfer to Tarmac of 27 of Breedon’s ready-mixed concrete plants and a payment £4.9 million cash payment. The deal is...

NEW Doosan crawler excavators and a wheel loader have been snapped up by Inverurie-based Miller Plant for the busy Aberdeenshire market. Supplied by Balgownie Ltd, the deal comprises DX225LC-5 22-tonne and DX255LC-5 25-tonne excavators and a DL420-5 wheel loader. Miller Plant’s range of services include earthworks,...

BELLSHILL-based Active Access has been ‘lifted’ by the purchase of 50 JCB Access electric scissors. Stewart Plant Sales (a Scot JCB group company) supplied the hire firm with the machines. The order includes eight out of the nine models introduced by JCB Access in its initial...