Advanced Explosive Demolition in negotiation to implode Kentucky’s Executive Inn.

Demolition News understands that negotiations are continuing between explosive demolition specialist Advanced Explosive Demolition and Denney Excavating, the company charged with demolishing the Executive Inn in Owensboro.

Although details remain sketchy, we understand that Denney has given AED till tomorrow to decide which method to use. Apparently, AED is currently deciding between a straight implosion or “tripping“, a method the company has used with varying degrees of success in the past.

The news comes hot on the heels of concerns expressed over the level of debris that the contract will create, and its impact upon local landfill facilities.

Further news can be found here.

More than 500 delegates from Europe and the Middle East attend JCB Waste Day.

Waste and recycling specialists from the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Norway, Denmark, Austria, Hungary and the Middle East descended on JCB in Rocester, Staffordshire, over two days.

The centre piece of the two conferences was a keynote speech from Nick Herbert, MP, The Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Delegates were also given an update on new legislation facing the industry and the latest product launches from JCB for waste and recycling. Guests were also shown behind the scenes of the new £40 million JCB Heavy Products factory in Uttoxeter.

James Richardson, JCB’s General Manager for Waste, Recycling & Demolition said: “The sheer scale our 2009 Waste Days and breadth of information covered re-affirms JCB’s position at the forefront of this crucial sector. We have addressed the burning issues and legislation affecting the market, identified and demonstrated emerging industries and best practice from around the globe and showcased our industry-leading range of purpose built products for the sector. The interest shown from such a vast number of delegates demonstrates the value of these informative events.”

After the presentations, visitors watched a live demonstration of JCB Wastemaster machines involved in waste and recycling handling applications alongside a full range of processing equipment from other leading suppliers to the industry. The tasks re-created included: kerbside collection, wood waste processing, green waste composting, metals recycling, end of life vehicle disposal, WEEE operations, tyre recycling and aggregate recycling.

Contractors could bar HSE inspectors from entering sites under plans from the Tory party.

UK trade magazine Contract Journal reports that shadow business secretary Ken Clarke is vowing to curb the powers of the HSE by allowing firms to arrange their own externally audited safety inspections.

Construction companies passing the tests would then be able to refuse entry to HSE inspectors.

The system is similar to the “earned autonomy” scheme in America, which allows companies to earn immunity from official inspections by passing a strict set of safety standards.

Read the full story here.

PDI publishers launch DemCon, a new international demolition exhibition.

SCOP AB, the publisher behind the Professional Demolition International (PDI) magazine has announced that it is to host a new international demolition exhibition in its native Sweden in September 2010.

The show will take place at the business and exhibition centre InfraCity, located in the Stockholm suburb of Bredden between the city centre and Arlanda International Airport. The DEMCON show will take place on 9-10 September 2010 and will focus on demolition, concrete sawing and drilling, concrete floor preparation and polishing, clean air and recycling.

“What we mainly do is produce construction related magazines, including the magazine PDi. We organised the show in 1998 and 2000 and it was an instant success. Many in the demolition, recycling and concrete sawing industries have since asked when we are going to organise a similar show again. So in response to industry demand we will be back in 2010 with the new show DEMCON and I am really looking forward to it,” says S.C.O.P. AB President Jan Hermansson.

Further information on the new exhibition can be found here, while Facebook users can follow progress between now and September 2010 at the show’s own fan page here.

CNBC reports that low bidding on stimulus projects may stifle recovery and threaten jobs.

Contractors may be bidding themselves out of business for highway and infrastructure projects included in the U.S. economic stimulus plan, as they low-ball their proposals in hopes of winning much-needed work.

For now, bids have come in for as much as 30 percent less than what state agencies had projected and been welcomed as examples of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s success, as the federal government spends leftover funds on additional projects.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama said the low project costs, “means we can do more. We can create more jobs and launch more projects with every taxpayer dollar.”

That, in turn, could help realize Obama’s promise that the stimulus will create or save more than 3 million jobs, the bulk of them in a construction industry that has suffered tens of thousands of layoffs during a severe housing slump.

But the low bidding may have the opposite effect. Contractors could bid at such steep discounts that they are unable to cover the costs of completing projects.

Read the full story here.

Wring Group sets sail on unusual overnight possession contract.

One of Bristol city centre’s most recognisable landmarks is being pulled down after it was found to be dangerous. The wooden sail structure, standing opposite the Hippodrome on the Centre, is being dismantled after engineers found serious weaknesses in its structure.

Council contractors started removing the metal benches beneath the sail on Friday, and Wring Group worked through last night and this morning to dismantle the remaining structure.

Faults in the sail’s eight wooden masts were first found three years ago, and work was carried out to stop them decaying. More repairs were carried out in 2007 and last year to address splits in the timber and decay around the bolt recesses.

Read the full story here or watch the video below.

Lancaster-based Mitchells has announced plans to demolish its old brewery buildings.

The redundant buildings, in Brewery Lane, form part of the plans by developers Centros for the regeneration of the canal corridor site. The £150 million scheme is currently under consideration by the Secretary of State, with a decision likely to be made in January.

However, Mitchell’s this week gave the city council a Notice of Intended Demolition under Section 80 of the Building Act 1984 for the demolition of the buildings. The proposed demolition does not require consent under current planning law, and under the Building Act the council cannot refuse such a notice, although limited conditions can be applied.

The legislation does not permit demolition to begin until the council has agreed conditions (to ensure proper treatment and sealing of services, and safety measures for demolition), or a period of six weeks has elapsed without response.

More details here.

JCB donates $250,000 worth of equipment to Indonesian quake relief effort.

JCB, the world’s third largest manufacturer of construction equipment, is donating equipment worth $250,000 to help the disaster relief effort in the city of Padang following the devastating earthquake that struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra on 30 September 2009.

The donation of a 20-tonne JS200 heavy excavator and a 3CX backhoe loader was offered by JCB Chairman Sir Anthony Bamford in response to an appeal from the Indonesian authorities for foreign aid to help the relief effort.

The machines are being made available to Satkorlak, the disaster response unit of the Indonesian authorities by PT Altrak 1978, the JCB dealer in Indonesia. Three Altrak operators and a mechanic accompanied the machines from Jakarta to Padang to ensure rapid deployment with service and parts support. They will also provide any training that might be required by local operators so that the authorities leading the relief effort can secure the full benefit of the machines’ versatility.

Sir Anthony said: “Thousands of people in West Sumatra have been affected by this dreadful earthquake and there is a desperate need for heavy equipment to assist in the clear up operations and to help alleviate large-scale human suffering. The excavator and backhoe loader will be put to use straightaway in Padang and will hopefully help local people to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of this awful disaster.

“JCB machines proved invaluable in the aftermath of the Asian Tsunami and I do hope that this donation will make a difference in the same way.”

The contribution to the aid effort follows a series of other JCB machinery donations in recent years to other parts of the world hit by natural disasters, including the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province in China, when six backhoe loaders worth over $600,000 and a team of operators were sent from the company’s factory in Shanghai to help the clear-up effort in the region.

Demolition company hit by fine following fall from first floor.

UK trade magazine Construction News is reporting that Stoke-on-Trent based demolition firm G Baskerville has been fined £8,000 at Newcastle-under-Lyme Magistrates’ Court after an employee suffered life-threatening injuries falling from the first floor of a building under construction in October 2008.

The unnamed man was using a power saw at Barnfields Industrial Estate in Leek, Staffordshire, when he fell through the side of the building to the ground on 30 October last year.

An investigation showed the walls of the building had been removed and there was an inadequately positioned steel girder around the sides.

Click here for further details.

New video captures the demolition of 100-year old fuel tanks in Portland, Dorset.

These old naval oil tanks have dominated the entrance to Portland for 100 years. The last one was demolished May 2008.

To celebrate the demolition of the last of these tanks, 99 years-old Portlander George Davey – born the same year the first tanks were built for the Royal Navy – got behind the levers of the excavator charged with the demolition. The video captures superbly the ease with which the excavator slices through the skin of the tanks.

The area was previously a natural tidal flat land “The Mere” which was later filled in to become Europe’s largest Naval Helicopter base, which closed in 1999. The entire site is now “Osprey Quay” and includes the National Sailing Academy. This site is being cleared as it is the venue for the 2012 Olympic games sailing events.

DEMOLITION – Portland’s Last 100-year-old Fuel Oil Tank – Click here for this week’s top video clips