6
MARCH-APRIL 2015
d
&
ri
WORLDNEWS
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UK contractorMasterton
Demolition, a division of the
Blackwell Group, has been
forced into administration.
Headquartered in
Grangemouth in Scotland,
the company employed
140 at peak, specialising in
industrial dismantling and
decommissioning. It saw
strong growth in 2012,
but unfortunately despite a
strong forward order book,
the contracts it had entered
into were not as profitable
as expected. A small number
of staff have been retained
by the administrator PwC to
service remaining contracts.
■
UK contractor DSM has
demolished one of that
country’smost unloved
structures, the Greyfriars
bus station in Northampton
Dubbed the ‘mouth of hell’,
in 2005 it came third in a
ranking of 12UK buildings
that should be demolished
as voted for by viewers
of Channel 4 TV series
Demolition. An example of
1970s brutalist architecture,
the structure was imploded in
just a few seconds.
DEMOLITION BITS
Speakers line up for
Summit conference
Leading industry figureDavid
Sinclairwill bekeynote speaker
at the2015WorldDemolition
Summit beingheld inAmsterdam
onNovember6, 2015.
Asoneof the founding fathers
of theUK’sNFDC, anEDApast
president andanNDAboard
member,David is among the
best known ‘elder statesman’ of
the industryonboth sidesof the
Atlantic.
InAmsterdam, hewill takeas
his topicALife inDemolition,
duringwhichhewill touchon
someof themoremomentous
developments and incidents that
the industryhas seen inhis years
of active involvement and takea
stabat predicting the future for
the industry.
Also taking to the stagewill be
Awards judgeHenrikBonneson,
whowill report on the findings
of a recent study inhisnative
Denmark entitledNational
investigationofPCB sources
inDanishBuildings. Thiswas
a study carriedout byCOWI
in conjunctionwithGrontmij
onbehalf of theDanishEnergy
Agency.Henrikwill outline the
potential impact of the resultson
demolitionprojects.
Waste recyclingwill bea topic
forCDEGlobal’sPeterCraven,
whowill outlinehis view that
European constructionand
demolition recycling targets are
actuallymisleadingandnot fit for
purpose.Hebelieves that targets
shoulddrive improvements,
increase efficiencyand encourage
David Sinclair (centre)was presentedwith the D&Ri Lifetime Achievement Award at
the 2012World Demolition Summit
innovationbut the70% recycling
target laiddown in theEuropean
WasteFrameworkDirectivedoes
noneof these things in its current
form.
Australia’sLiberty Industrial,
in the shapeofClintonDick,will
return toAmsterdam to report on
oneof its industrial demolition
projects, this timean innovative
approach to thedeconstructionof
thehistoricHammerheadCrane
locatedat theGarden Island
Naval Base inSydneyharbour
for theAustralianDepartment of
Defence.
■
Metso’s exclusive
Irish distributor
McHalePlant Saleshasbeen
appointedbyMetsoas exclusive
agent in theRepublicand
Northern Ireland for the latter’s
rangesofmobile crushingand
screeningproduct ranges.
Under thenewarrangement,
theBirdhill-based companywill
commence sellingMetsoproducts
with immediate effect,witha
primary focuson theLokotrack
mobile crushingand screening
plants, equipment thatMcHale
believeswill have significant
appeal for Irish customers.
Theappointment sees
McHale return to the crushing
and screeningmarket –one in
which the companypreviously
enjoyed success.Noting the
strong foothold that the company
haswithin thequarrying,
constructionand civilworks
sectors–dueprincipally to its
workasKomatsudistributors
– itsnew roleallowsMcHale to
plan for futuregrowthbuilt on
its considerable experienceand
knowledgeof the crushingand
screeningmarket.
Describing their appointment
asone that “rekindlesour long-
standing involvement in the
crushingand screeningmarket”,
McHalemanagingdirector
MichaelMcHale said: “theMetso
product linegivesus aproduct
offering that fitsperfectly intoour
operationandadds to thevalue
we canbring to customers.”
The expertise thatMcHale
Plant Saleshaswithin the sector
is seenbyMetsoas a feature
that shouldadvance itsmarket
position in Ireland. The Irish
economy is showing strong
signsof recoverywith somevery
significant infrastructural projects
currently in thepipeline.
■
Atlas
Copco exits
compact
crushing
business
Atlas Copco has decided to
end production of its Austria-
produced Powercrusher
compact crushing and
screening equipment during
2015. The equipment,
originally developed under the
Hartl name, ismanufactured
at St Valentin, Austria,
where some 70 personnel
are employed. In 2014, the
business had a turnover of
Euro 28million (US$31.2
million).
According to a
spokesman, the closure
will take effect inmid-2015
and there are no plans to
try to sell the business as a
going concern or relocate
production-related employees
elsewhere in the Atlas
Copco organisation. Service
and support personnel
will continue in their roles
following the closure although
it is possible that this function
in timemay be taken over
by a third party, to whom
these personnel will then be
transferred.
Johan Halling, president
of Atlas Copco’sMining and
Rock Excavation Technique
business sector, said:
“We are discontinuing this
business as it does not fit
strategically for us.We will
ensure existing Powercrusher
customers will continue to
have their equipment serviced
in the best way.”
