Scaling the Bauma mountain

Bauma is a mountain. It is not an event you attend or a place you visit. It is a thing you conquer. Rising to the challenge of Bauma requires grit, resilience and endurance. But when you have scaled the peak, the view is amazing; the feeling is euphoric; and you will have memories that will last you a lifetime.

10 times I have visited Bauma; and ten times it has defeated me. I have always returned with regrets: regret that the show didn’t last just a little bit longer; regrets at the things I should have seen but didn’t; regrets at the people I planned to meet but couldn’t. But not this time. This time I arrived in Munich with a very long and very detailed list of tasks. And now as I sit in the Munich apartment that has been my home for the past week, my suitcase packed and waiting by the door, my list of tasks is a sea of ticks. Every machine I wanted to see; every person I wanted to meet; every stand I wanted to visit. Done.

Of course, I am not kidding myself. I am sure there were dozens of hidden gems that I didn’t stumble upon; maybe there were enlightening conversations to be had while I was otherwise engaged. But I will return from the Messe Munchen safe in the knowledge that I gave it my all.

And trust me, the equipment manufacturers did likewise. Bobcat, Hitachi, Kobelco, Komatsu, Liebherr, Volvo, Wacker Neuson and all the others brought their A-game; their engineers made possible the impossible, producing equipment not of today but of years to come.

This article continues on Demolition Insider. Please use the link below to access this article FOR FREE.

The Break Fast Show #914

In today’s show: We take an exclusive look around the Liebherr demonstration area just up the road from the Bauma exhibition ground; Hyundai embraces hydrogen – But will everyone else? Volvo electrifies Bauma 2025; and, in our new Break Fast Show at Bauma segment, we will be touring the stands of both Kubota and Steelwrist.

PLUS in Mark’s Morning Monologue: Scaling the Bauma mountain and creating memories that will last a lifetime.

Join host Mark Anthony LIVE for The Break Fast Show – the ONLY daily LiveStream built exclusively for demolition, construction, and equipment fanatics worldwide.

Breaking news. Expert views. Unmissable videos. Raw opinions. If it matters in the industry, we’re talking about it – LIVE.

Test your knowledge with the Mystery Machine, have your say in the Question of the Day, and don’t miss Mark’s Morning Monologue – a no-holds-barred take on the hottest topics.

And when the show’s done, the conversation’s just getting started. Stick around for The Craic, our legendary after-show chat!

Set your alarm. Grab your coffee. It’s time to break fast, and to break new ground.

We could be heroes…

They go where others fear to tread. They face danger each day. They sacrifice everything for the good of their families, their communities and their country. They are the backbone of civilisation, the ones who build the foundations of our world, yet their names rarely make the headlines. They do not march into battle. They don’t receive medals. There are no statues in their honour. But they do stand on the front lines of progress. They are the men and women of the demolition and construction industry.

For generations, they have shaped our cities, our infrastructure, and our way of life. Roads and bridges, homes and skyscrapers, tunnels and stadiums; these marvels of engineering exist because of their labour. They rise before the sun and work long after it sets. Their hands are calloused, their backs ache, and yet they press on, because without them, the world stands still.

The dangers they face are real. A moment’s lapse in concentration can mean the difference between life and death. A miscalculation, a slip, a falling beam; each day is a test of skill, discipline, and awareness. The weight of responsibility they carry is immense, knowing that one mistake could have catastrophic consequences. They work under strict safety regulations, but the reality is that their job will always carry risks. And yet, they return to the job site, day after day, because they know the importance of what they do. This isn’t just a profession; it is a calling.

This article continues on Demolition Insider. Please use the link below to access this article FOR FREE.

The Break Fast Show #913

In today’s show: Taking Liebherr’s latest wheeled excavators for a spin; Develon’s Next Generation excavators revealed; John Deere’s latest diggers; and Yanmar unveils the world’s least corporate corporate film.

PLUS in Mark’s Morning Monologue: We could be heroes – High time to honour those that toil in the demolition and construction industry.

Join host Mark Anthony LIVE for The Break Fast Show – the ONLY daily LiveStream built exclusively for demolition, construction, and equipment fanatics worldwide.

Breaking news. Expert views. Unmissable videos. Raw opinions. If it matters in the industry, we’re talking about it – LIVE.

Test your knowledge with the Mystery Machine, have your say in the Question of the Day, and don’t miss Mark’s Morning Monologue – a no-holds-barred take on the hottest topics.

And when the show’s done, the conversation’s just getting started. Stick around for The Craic, our legendary after-show chat!

Set your alarm. Grab your coffee. It’s time to break fast, and to break new ground.

The silent sacrifice

Somewhere, right now, a man is packing his bag. He folds his work gear, tucks in his toiletries, and checks his phone for the final time before heading to another week, maybe another month, away from home. He’ll kiss his wife, hug his kids, and walk out the door, knowing full well that when he returns, something will have changed.

Life doesn’t stop when you’re away. It adapts.

At first, it’s small. Your wife figures out how to pay the bills without checking in with you. The kids get used to eating dinner without your stories from the day. The family dog stops waiting at the door in the evenings. Then, after a while, it’s not just small changes; it’s the big ones. A first step taken without you there to see it. A bad day your wife handles alone. A school play where there’s one empty seat in the front row. You tell yourself it’s temporary. You tell yourself it’s for their future. But one day you walk through the front door, and you realise they’ve learned to function without you. Not out of choice, perhaps. Out of necessity.

You’re a provider. That’s the role you were given, the role you took on with pride. You break your back for the paycheck that keeps the house warm, the fridge full, the kids clothed. And yet, for all that you provide, the one thing your family really wants; the one thing money can’t buy is the one thing you can’t give them: presence.

This article continues on Demolition Insider. Please use the link below to access this article FOR FREE.

The Break Fast Show #912

In today’s show: We get a sneak preview of the next generation Develon excavators; we’re going underground to see an all-new diesel electric mining truck from Sandvik ; Bell makes the grade; and JCB takes us behind the scenes to see the building of its largest Loadall.

PLUS in Mark’s Morning Monologue: The silent sacrifice of demolition and construction workers.

Join host Mark Anthony LIVE for The Break Fast Show – the ONLY daily LiveStream built exclusively for demolition, construction, and equipment fanatics worldwide.

Breaking news. Expert views. Unmissable videos. Raw opinions. If it matters in the industry, we’re talking about it – LIVE.

Test your knowledge with the Mystery Machine, have your say in the Question of the Day, and don’t miss Mark’s Morning Monologue – a no-holds-barred take on the hottest topics.

And when the show’s done, the conversation’s just getting started. Stick around for The Craic, our legendary after-show chat!
Set your alarm. Grab your coffee. It’s time to break fast, and to break new ground.

Time to pull the cord…?

I’d like to tell you a story. It is a story that can trace its origins back to a Toyota factory in Toyota City, Japan in the 1950s. Our tale centres around an engineer named Taiichi Ohno, who is remembered as the man who shaped Toyota’s production system.

Now, as in all factories, there was a constant pursuit of ever-greater efficiency at this particular Toyota factory. And that was a problem. You see, efficiency and output climbed higher every day, but mistakes piled up too, with minor defects snowballing into costly recalls. The workers noticed these issues, but stopping the production line was unthinkable. And yet, good old Taiichi Ohno spotted a solution to these growing problems. And that solution was the workers themselves.

He proposed a simple solution. A solution he called The Andon Cord. Any worker, at any time, could pull that cord and halt the entire line to fix an issue or a defect on the spot, rather than allowing it to progress down the production line.

The Andon Cord worked. It didn’t just change Toyota; it changed manufacturing around the world. The success of the Andon cord was not due to technology but rather the culture of ownership it fostered.

Successful though the Andon Cord concept was in the sphere of manufacturing – and then later in software development, health care and customer service – it would not and could not work in the UK demolition and construction sector, even though the industry is plagued with defects that cost it upwards of £20 billion per year in reworks.

This article continues on Demolition Insider. Please use the link below to access this article FOR FREE.

The Break Fast Show #911

In today’s show: We’ve got a pre-Bauma sneak peek at a new Wacker Neuson wheel loader; we’re taking a special delivery from LiuGong; and we have a battle of the Bauma beasts between Komatsu and Liebherr.

PLUS in Mark’s Morning Monologue: Is it time to pull the cord?

Join host Mark Anthony LIVE for The Break Fast Show – the ONLY daily LiveStream built exclusively for demolition, construction, and equipment fanatics worldwide.

Breaking news. Expert views. Unmissable videos. Raw opinions. If it matters in the industry, we’re talking about it – LIVE.

Test your knowledge with the Mystery Machine, have your say in the Question of the Day, and don’t miss Mark’s Morning Monologue – a no-holds-barred take on the hottest topics.

And when the show’s done, the conversation’s just getting started. Stick around for The Craic, our legendary after-show chat!

The sting in the CMA tail

Industry braced for feeding frenzy.

Quite why it has taken more than two years, I have no idea. Maybe if your company has a market capitalisation of almost £11 billion, the recovery of a trifling £2.4 million is something you do when you have some spare time on your hands; when you are bored; a mere bagatelle.

But the news that Hong Kong-based developer Circadian Limited has launched a legal action against Carey Group will have sent shockwaves through the UK demolition industry this morning.

Circadian alleges that it was overcharged to the tune of £2.4 million for demolition work in 2014 at its scheme to redevelop Lots Road Power Station in west London. This project was one of a number of contracts in which the Competition and Markets Authority uncovered evidence of bid rigging, collusion and cover pricing.

This article continues on Demolition Insider. Please use the link below to access this article FOR FREE.

Waze to avoid financial fallout

When construction giant Carillion collapsed in 2018, it did so with debts of £2 billion owed to more than 30,000 suppliers. By the time that ISG folded in 2024, it had amassed debts of more than £1.1 billion. At the time of the collapse, it was about to post a pre-tax loss of £138 million. Closer to home, when demolition contractor Squibb Group went under, it did so owing more than £24 million.

In each instance, creditors had little prospect of recouping any of the monies owed.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Over the course of the past year or so, around 5,000 UK construction companies have slipped beneath the surface. Many of these will have done so with debts, some of them hefty. Those debts will have had a significant impact upon the entire supply chain, from plant hirers and scaffolders to piling contractors to recruitment companies.

Now I could ramble on about how this typifies the boom and bust cycle of construction. I could hold forth on how this is a reflection upon the wafer-thin profit margins within the sector. I could wax lyrical about how none of these major collapses has led to any kind of shift in the way in which this industry does business. And I could also question just how many of the directors involved in all of this bounced back, seemingly unscathed, to start afresh while their supply chain was left to carry the can.

But I am going to take a different approach in this instance. And for my inspiration, I am going to use the satellite navigation app, Waze.

This long-form article continues on Demolition Insider. Please use the link below to access this article and many more besides.