City officials finally give green light to Deutsche Bank demolition.

The toxin-tainted Deutsche Bank building, a constant reminder of the 9/11 terror attacks, can finally be cleared from Manhattan’s skyline, with the city’s approval yesterday of a long-sought demolition plan.

While the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. has declined to set a timetable for the project, documents included in the Buildings Department’s demolition permit shows the expected completion date as Dec. 31, 2010 — far later than what had been promised.

LMDC officials recently conceded that the latest plan for demolishing the tower would take longer than their earlier estimate of six months. But they have refused to set a timetable, saying only that it would be well before the end of next year.

Read the full story here.

Initial feedback on the AT&T Danville contract suggest a wide bid spread….again.

Demolition News understands that Danville city officials have now opened the bids from some nine contractors, all eager to land the contract to demolish the AT&T building. And, as we suggested yesterday, the bid list shown exclusively to us highlights yet another broad bid spread.

The handwritten document clearly shows that there were nine bidders vying for the contract and that Brandenburg looks to be the high bidder at $253,000. The bids then range right down to just $111,000 and $128,000 from two as yet unnamed contractors.

It is, of course, possible that these initial bids will require clarification as the days go on. But, based on recent experience, it would come as no surprise if the contract were let for half the value put on it by the highest bidder.

Trade magazine Contract Journal names EDS UK demolition contractor of the year.

Euro Dismantling Services earned the judges’ praise for striving to do things differently. “They are really applying science to demolition and it is a reflection of their approach that they call themselves a dismantling contractor,” said one judge.

Further details here.

Sellafield seeking bids for £140 million decommissioning and demolition work.

Sellafield is advertising for up to four contractors to take on its £140m decommisioning, demolition and waste streaming framework.

The four year deal is split into three lots and contractors are invited to bid for all or individual disciplines with work expected to start in June 2010 and be complete by 2014.

Demolition work, worth £4m, includes waste segregation.

Further details here.

Is the demolition trade media serving the industry it purports to cover?

First of all, a quick lesson in how trade magazines work. For every page of “news” that you read, there is about a page of advertising, the revenue from which pays the wages of the editor together with the cost of the paper and postage required to bring his/her words to your desk.

OK, so now you understand the inter-relationship between the news and the commercial side of international trade magazines, perhaps you’ll have a better understanding of why these magazines (and, increasingly, websites and forums) have continued to put a positive spin on an industry in turmoil.

Sure, there are reports about equipment manufacturers cutting workforces and reporting financial losses. But, in truth, these are merely a symptom of a wider and largely unreported problem within the global demolition industry; a problem that is most polarized in the world’s largest demolition market: The United States of America.

For months – in fact, since the recession first sank its rabid teeth into the raw flesh of this industry – Demolition News has continually reported on the fact that US contractors were submitting suicidal bids merely to keep men and machines working; that demolition projects were attracting the unwelcome interest from non-demolition companies seeking to do likewise; that city officials were celebrating when these low bids left money on the table….money that should rightly have been in the pocket of the demolition workers risking life and limb to undertake the work.

And yet, the trade media – the same parasitic trade media that grows fat on the growth of the industry during the good times – has stood idly by and watched as that same industry has imploded. Low bids and ridiculous bid spreads have gone unchallenged, as have a recent spate of accidents and aborted implosions, and industrial action in Nova Scotia.

An unwillingness to upset their paymasters or to undermine the commercial confidence of its potential advertisers has rendered the demolition trade media toothless and devoid of influence at a time when the industry needs guidance, perhaps, more than ever before.

There may be victims along the way but the demolition industry will survive the current recession.

If, however, the demolition trade media does not make it out of the recessionary woods, they will have no-one but themselves to blame.

Oscillation option provides greater coverage from larger DustBoss models.

Dust Control Technology has announced the introduction of a 180 degree oscillation option on its two largest designs, effectively quadrupling the coverage area of each machine. With this breakthrough, the company is now able to deliver effective particle control over more than 80,000 square feet of area from a single location with its flagship model, the DustBoss DB-60, allowing users to cover nearly two full acres with a powerful dust-trapping mist.

“These new options mean that customers can suppress dust and odor particles over a far greater area without having to move the equipment,” commented DCT president Edwin Peterson. “That contributes to even greater payback, either by reducing the number of machines needed for a given job or avoiding the need to relocate the DustBoss to cover additional areas.”

When equipped with the expanded oscillation option, the revised designs require that engineers change to a center water feed to accommodate the increased range of motion. They also install a larger motor on the DB-60 or its cousin, the DustBoss DB-45, to handle the additional work. The machines will have four different settings, and users can select from 45, 90, 135 or 180 degree options to suit the specific job requirements on any given day.

US Department of Energy requests proposals for £$907 million of work.

The US Department of Energy today released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for demolition and remediation works with a total cost ceiling of $907 million.

With proposals requested by December 15, 2009, the unrestricted RFP is open to small and large businesses and will include:
· Environmental Remediation Services
· Deactivation, Decommissioning, Demolition, and Removal (DD&R) of contaminated facilities services
· Waste Management Services
· Regulatory Services

Further details here.

Final moments of casket company smokestack captured on film.

After surviving one of Oneida’s fiercest fires in recent memory and the demolition of the old National Casket Company factory, the 90-foot smokestack on North Warner Street finally came down Tuesday morning.

Read the full story here or watch the video (with exceptionally poor sound) below.

Missouri Department of Transportation says Miami River Bridge will fall Thursday.

Explosives will be used to partially demolish the Miami River Bridge later this week. Explosive charges will be strategically placed along sections of the bridge to maximize clearance of the steel structure without damaging the concrete piers. The piers will be used to support the new bridge once constructed, MoDOT officials said.

Last year explosive charges were used successfully in the demolition of the Glasgow River Bridge, which was a project nearly identical to the Miami Bridge project.

Further details here.

Discussions over methodology and TV coverage push back demolition of Executive Inn.

NEWS 25 reported on Monday that the subcontractor, Advanced Explosives Demolition, had until today to decide on how they will implode the hotel.

AED Director of Operations Mark Wilburn told us the decision has been delayed.

Read more here or view the video below: