Demolition News is launching its first-ever photographic competition – So grab your camera!

Imagine our surprise then when we discovered that the photographer was a 14 year old boy with no links to the industry whatsoever! The person in question is Jack Westwood who comes from Walsall in the UK’s West Midlands.

Well, young Jack has inspired us to run our first-ever photographic competition with the winner receiving a 1:50 scale model of a Komatsu PC 450 LC high reach excavator for their troubles. The winning photo will also be featured here on www.demolitionnews.com.

So what are we looking for?

Quite simply, we’re looking for the most dramatic or downright unusual photograph depicting demolition. The subject matter might be men, machines or structures. It can be new or old, black and white or colour, and feature the very latest techniques or hark back to the ball and chain of days gone by – we don’t mind so long as it’s artistic.

Photos can be submitted, ideally in high resolution format, to manthony@markanthonypublicity.co.uk
Closing date is 1 May 2009.

And don’t forget; young Jack Westwood has set the bar high (and Jack, if you’re reading this, you ARE allowed to enter!!)

Happy Snapping!

Caterpillar will use the Intermat exhibition to launch a compact radius demolition excavator.

The Caterpillar 328D Medium Size Hydraulic Excavator is the first compact radius excavator specially equipped for demolition in urban or restricted areas. The machine was designed and prepared for demolition purposes by the French Caterpillar dealer Bergerat Monnoyeur.

“There is a growing interest towards the compact radius machines in the demolition industry. They are safer and practical, particularly when used in demolition projects where space is often confined. That is why we’ve built this machine; to offer our customers something that is currently not available in the market,” explains Jacques Gavillet, Demolition Manager at Bergerat Monnoyeur.

The concept of the 328D for demolition is simple. The standard reach boom of 6.15 metres was modified in order to allow two positions; boom cylinders can now be mounted either underneath or in the normal guide. In order to offer the maximum working height Bergerat Monnoyeur designed and built a special stick of 5 meters enabling a maximum reach of up to 14 metres.

Thanks to the boom cylinders, the 328D can work either with the demolition stick or the normal stick depending on the work carried out – a change from one stick to another is simple thanks to a quick release. This adds to the versatility of the 328D significantly. Moreover the 328D can be equipped with a blade.

“This is a good alternative also from the financial point of view. We’ve used a standard 328D excavator on which the modified boom and the demolition stick can be added with small adjustments. Compared to a true demolition machine, this is a very economic option,” Jacques Gavillet adds.

Italian manufacturer Promove will unveil a new heavy-duty breaker at next week’s Intermat show.

The Intermat 2009 exhibition in Paris will provide the international launchpad for a new heavy duty hydraulic breaker from Italian manufacturer Promove.

Designed for carriers in the 60 to 120 tonnes operating weight class, the new XP7000 weighs 6,800 kg and develops a blow energy of 17,700 Joules at the 210 mm diameter tool for optimum performance in a broad range of hard breaking applications.

According to Promove, the new mass-breaking hammer has been extensively tested prior to this official launch, and has already demonstrated positive features in terms of productivity and noise and vibrations level to the lowest level on the market.

In keeping with other models in the company’s XP range, the new XP7000 incorporates a number of proven features including combined gas and oil working principle, blank-firing prevention system, auto-greasing pump, adjustable frequency/energy, full “square-section” percussion body with tie-rods completely encased for extra long life and reducing risk of damages in the case of their breakage, high back pressure allowed, underwater operation kit as on option.

The latest edition of Independent Asbestos News is available to read online now.

Work is underway to dismantle the controversial “B of the Bang” sculpture in Manchester.

Manchester’s Key103 radio station is reporting that work is now underway on the dismantling of the piece. Click here for full details.

Video showing the demolition of oil tanks at Galway Docks.

Scottish prison demolition project exceeds recycling targets.

A Scottish prison demolition project, managed by contractor Carillion, has beaten its own recycling target of 98 per cent by hitting 99.5 per cent. Less than half a per cent of waste from the site was sent to landfill meaning the project was very close to achieving Scotland’s zero waste aspirations.

Read the full story here.

Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) to unveil a new high-reach excavator at Intermat.

Visitors to the Intermat exhibition in Paris later this month will be able to view the latest demolition offering from Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) N.V.

Key among the new products will be the ZX470LCH-3 equipped with a 27 metre, three-stage high reach boom and can carry a 2,400 kg tool. In standard 25 metre high configuration, the unit can wield a 3,000 kg tool.

The company will also display an articulated demolition/excavating front end equipment (pictured). This versatile equipment can be used for medium high reach demolition (16.5 metre) and tough foundation demolition and normal excavation duties. This unit can be used with tools of up to 4,500 kg.

Presence of red-tailed hawks delays light tower demolition.

In the past few weeks, I have written at length about the subject of demolition projects being delayed because of the presence of bats. However, they tend to do things bigger in the US so we were interested to read this story about an American project that has been delayed by the presence of a pair of red-tailed hawks.

Click here for further details.

C&D Consultancy has kindly provided a link to a preview video from the Detonators series.

Fans of demolition implosions – and let’s face it, who isn’t – should head over to the C&D Consultancy website where they have kindly posted a link to a new preview video from the forthcoming “The Detonators” TV series.

Featuring the controlled implosion of the Sighthill towers in Glasgow, the vide features some truly spectacular close-up footage.