Demolition contractor bosses given bans
THREE directors of Glasgow-based demolition contractor George Hunter (Demolishers) Ltd have been handed a directors’ ban after a probe found they had allowed the company to continue to incur liabilities despite knowing a petition to wind the company up was before the court. George Beattie...
Scots youngsters urged to consider careers in construction
A new campaign has been launched to encourage youngsters to consider a career in the Scottish construction sector and fill the void left by the thousands of workers set to retire over the next decade. Statistics show that 20% of the sector’s existing workforce will...
CPA publishes guide on hydraulic pressurising tasks
THE Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has launched a good practice guide around the safety of pressurising hydraulic systems using an external energy source for diagnostic purposes. The move follows a death caused by a pressurising activity where failure of a hydraulic component from an item of...
New safety guidance published on unintended plant movement
NEW guidance has been published to help tackle the issue of unintended movement of plant. When machines move due to operators accidentally or unknowingly touching a switch, lever or pedal – or if a different action occurs to the one the operator was expecting –...
Kubota competition puts customers in the picture
KUBOTA has announced the return of its social media competition where fans can win a Virgin Experience Day worth £500 by posting pictures of themselves on their Kubota machine. The manufacturer said last year’s #MyKubota contest resulted in a record number of entries. Participants are encouraged...
Teamwork pays off for landmark excavator
THE “highest and most versatile high-reach excavator in the UK” has proved its worth in the demolition of Tottenham Hotspur’s White Hart Lane football stadium. Demolition specialist DSM teamed up with Finning, Cat OEM Solutions and Kocurek to produce the bespoke Cat 6015B machine, which...
Breedon announces acquisition of Hull aggregates firm
Construction materials group Breedon has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Humberside Aggregates in a deal totalling £9 million. The Hull-based independent sand and gravel quarry and aggregates merchanting business currently employs around 30 people and supplies a broad range of customers including...
Mini-digger to assist at Europe’s first elephant sanctuary
A used mini-excavator is set to play a role at Europe’s first elephant sanctuary. Hitachi Construction Machinery Europe (HCME) is donating a ZX38U-5 to help prepare facilities and carry out a number of important tasks at Elephant Haven, a site in southwest France which will act...
Silver lining for Scots firms at safety awards
TWO Scottish-based plant firms have received Silver Awards by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) for their commitment to health and safety. Motherwell manufacturer Terex Trucks and Glasgow’s GAP Hire Solutions have earned recognition at the annual RoSPA Health and Safety Awards, which...
A-Plant places £55 million JCB order
JCB has secured a landmark deal with equipment rental company A-Plant worth over £55 million. The manufacturer has received an order for more than 1,200 machines including over 600 Loadall telescopic handlers and 450 mini and midi excavators, as well as rough terrain forklift trucks,...
Liebherr unveils new course to improve site safety
LIEBHERR Great Britain has set its sights on tackling the issue of on-site accidents by launching a new product familiarisation programme, which will see demonstrators visit sites to educate customers about their machines. The programme, available to Liebherr’s UK customers, will initially focus on materials...
Perthshire firm on the right track with landmark purchase
A Dunkeld forestry specialist has placed a landmark order for Doosan’s DX180LC-5 HT 18.5 tonne high track crawler excavator. The machine, supplied by Balgownie, is the first in the world and will be used by J D Cox to carry out a range of projects....
Scottish builders’ confidence falls as fear over future work grows, survey finds
There is a growing fear over future work prospects among employers in the Scottish construction industry, the latest Scottish Construction Monitor survey has found. The quarterly survey of the membership of the Scottish Building Federation, which represents hundreds of building companies across the country, asks...
Morris Site Machinery hits the road with lighting tour
Morris Site Machinery is going on tour this summer to bring its lighting roadshow “directly to customers’ doors”. ‘Towers on Tour’ will begin in August and aims to showcase the company’s latest lighting towers and technology, as well giving practical demonstrations on the benefits they...
Tillicoultry Quarries goes large with latest loading shovel
TILLICOULTRY Quarries has snapped up its largest ever Volvo loading shovel after opting against models from other manufacturers. The 35-tonne L250H has been put to work at the firm’s Northfield Quarry on the outskirts of Denny and has been joined by two L120H machines, one of...
Volvo CE sees sales rise by over a third due to “increased market demand”
Increased demand in most major markets has seen Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) report an increase in net sales of over a third in the second quarter of 2017. The company has seen an increase of 36% compared to the same period the previous year,...
Breedon Group doubles revenue despite margin decrease
Construction materials group Breedon has doubled its overall revenue despite a decrease in its underlying EBIT margin, its unaudited half-year financial results have shown. The group generated revenue of £326.3 million, up from £163 million for the same period in 2016, with profits before tax...
Compact wheeled loader looks pretty in pink
THE world’s first pink Avant 635 compact wheeled loader has been unveiled to help raise money for charity. Hampshire-based equipment dealers BPMS Ltd produced the machine, which will be on display at all local shows the firm attends this summer before being sold to the...
JCB records “robust” financial results for 2016
JCB has reported a 34% rise in earnings for 2016 despite a dip in the global construction equipment market. The manufacturer said it had “defied challenging market conditions” as it announced its annual financial results for last year. Earnings on an EBITDA (earnings before interest,...
Loading shovel shows a touch of glass in Alloa
A new Volvo loading shovel has made its way to O-I Manufacturing’s Devilla silica sand quarry, based at Bogside near Alloa. O-I is a giant in the glass packaging manufacturing industry and has been operating Volvo machines at Bogside for more than 20 years. The Devilla...
