A series of brief audio boos recorded live at today’s IDE Roadshow.
Although the gremlins prevented these from being uploaded live, the Audio Boo system did (thankfully) retain these audios recorded live at the IDE Roadshow earlier today.
Audio boos from IDE Roadshow…
Exclusive Audio – Forthcoming Legislation…
IDE vice-president John Woodward on forthcoming legislation and its impact on the demolition sector.
In the first of our exclusive audio podcasts recorded live at the last of the 2009 IDE Roadshows (held earlier today at the fabulous Mercedes Benz World in Weybridge, Surrey), IDE vice-president and Demolition News regular John Woodward gazes into his crystal ball at the legislation that is likely to impact upon the demolition industry in the coming months.
NOTE: This was recorded as a video (which may be posted later) but, given the timely nature of the content, we have uploaded this in its raw, audio format).
Bobcat layoffs hit community…
A small US community is feeling the effects of the latest round of Bobcat layoffs.
The entire world is feeling the effects of the current global recession. But it is the small communities that rely upon a local employer for their very existence that are feeling it worst.
Take for example the 800 residents of Gwinner in North Dakota, a town that is built around the local Bobcat skid steer loader plant. As this report from the local Bismarck Tribune reports, the latest round of redundancies at the world-leading skid steer manufacturer are having a major impact, despite the US government’s ongoing stimulus investment.
When crushers collide…
What happens when you use one crusher as a battering ram on another.
“…In the red corner, weighing in at an impressive 40 tonnes, the Powerscreen WARRIOR. And in the blue corner, weighing a measly 3.5 tonnes, the Dig A Crusher 900 crusher bucket…”
Word reaches us that a group of vandals broke into a Thames Valley C&D recycling site recently and decided to see which of the two crushers were the toughest: the old heavyweight; or the up and coming lightweight contender. Setting aside the Queensberry Rules, they used the Dig A Crusher as a battering ram against its much larger opponent.
On paper, this had all the makings of the most one-sided fight since Frank Bruno repeatedly head-butted Mike Tyson’s boxing gloves.
But anyone that is familiar with the story of David and Goliath or who has seen the movie 300 should know that size doesn’t always matter in these circumstances, as the following photo clearly illustrates.
The aptly-named Warrior lies beaten, reduced to so much mangled metal while the Dig A Crusher….
…well the Dig A Crusher isn’t in the photo because it’s actually back at work having required no repair or maintenance work!
Collapsed Shanghai building being demolished…
The Shanghai tower block that collapsed recently is now being demolished.
Following a lead from Safedem managing director William Sinclair, we recently reported on the collapse of a 13-storey tower block in the Minhang District of Shanghai in which the entire structure simply laid down, almost entirely intact.
Well, if that wasn’t surreal enough, the demolition of the fallen structure has now begun, giving rise to some very unusual-looking photographs.
Click here for more photos.
Armac joins the Twitter revolution…
Leading UK contractor Armac is the latest demolition company to join Twitter.
Midlands-based UK contractor Armac Group has become the latest demolition contractor to recognise the benefits of social networking and social media, joining the Twitter micro-blog service.
If oyu’re a Twitter user, please be sure to follow them at www.twitter.com/ArmacGroup. And if you’re NOT a Twitter user and would like to know what all the fuss is about, please check out this previous post.
Megastructures tonight (if you’re in the UK)…
Tonight’s episode of Megastructures looks at the demolition of the Sheraton Hotel in Miami.
We have set up all manner of fancy news feeds, monitor thousands of websites and RSS feeds, and regularly scour the Internet for new information to share with you. But it never ceases to amaze us just where we can draw information and inspiration from, and how unlikely some of those sources might be.
Take, for example, an email we received a few moments ago via Facebook, advising us that the TV programme Megastructures, (UK Channel 5 toight, at 8.00 pm) will be focusing upon the demolition of the Sheraton Bal Harbour Hotel in Miami, Florida.
Now, with all our contacts and fancy news gathering resources, you might think this had come from a fellow demolition person. But no. Instead, it comes from the managing director of Indigo Showers, a bathroom shower company who, as far as we’re aware, has no personal link with the demolition sector whatsoever.
However, by way of a thank you, we’re suggesting that you swing by his website , particularly if you’re the type that is so hooked on your Blackberry that you have considered ways of using it in the shower. Here you will find showers that are not only equipped with telephones but radios and TVs too. And if you’re exceptionally keen on post-site cleanliness (or your Portaloo has run out of paper….again), please also check out their range of electronic bidets too.
Thinking about it, if we’d pre-ordered one of these shower TVs, we could actually watch Megastructures from there!
Demolition City champion crowned…
Demolition News has crowned its Demolition City World Champion.
It was a tough battle and one that those of us of a certain age (and with a proper job to worry about) stood no chance of winning. The Demolition City World Championships has drawn to a close and our clear winner is “Hicko” who achieved an all-conquering score of 1,523,385 (that compares to the Demolition News high score, after umpteen attempts, of a measly $269,034)
We don’t know who Hicko is, where he’s from, or how he managed such an incredible score (although we’re trying to find out on all three counts) but his win is certainly timely. Ever since we launched our competition, the Internet has been alive with video guides to the best score and now there’s even a hack that allows you to complete the game using less explosve charges, earning yet more money.
So congratulations Hicko; we hope you’ll wear your crown with pride.
Deutsche Bank contract rumbles on…
Six times over budget, three years late and a major prosecution later, the Deutsche bank contract is still running.
The contract to demolish the Deutsche Bank building in Lower Manhattan, which was damaged during the September 11 attacks on New York’s World Trade Center, is still going on.
According to the Mesothelioma Asbestos Awareness Center, an organisation with a keen interest in the building that contained a huge amount of asbestos and other toxins, the last scraps of asbestos are scheduled to be removed from the building this week. And in another eight months or so, the ruined building will be entirely demolished, they say.
Read the full and fascinating story here.
Interestingly, this latest article coincides with a report on Sky News of a marked rise in asthma caused by inhalation of dust immediately after the 9/11 attacks. One of the key reasons for the delays in demolishing the Deutsche Bank building, aside from the presence of human remains ejected from the Twin Towers, was the presence of asbestos and other potential toxins.
Help us compile an implosion calendar…
Calling all explosives engineers; we want your help in producing a calendar of forthcoming implosions.
Implosion is probably the least-used method that demolition professionals have in their broad arsenal. And yet, judging by public demand and media appetite, it is also the most appealing aspect of what is still perceived by many to be a rough, tough and dirty business.
Here at Demolition News, we receive dozens of emails each month from TV production companies and researchers whose sole aim is to find the next implosion to film. We have explained the allure of high reach machines and the strategic beauty of a well-executed top down contract till we’re blue in the face. But they still want to see stuff “blown up”.
The problem is that we tend to hear about these implosions only AFTER they have taken place.
Now two things have prompted the next idea. Firstly, C&D Consultancy has taken the bold step of making public the dates and locations of the two implosions with which they will be involved in the coming months. And secondly, we had an email from the intriguingly-named Vlad, asking if we have a schedule of forthcoming implosions.
Now we’re aware that there IS a schedule at http://www.implosionfinder.com, but that is very US-specific.
And so we set to thinking. Could we compile our own Europe-wide list of forthcoming implosions? Well the answer is, we simply don’t know as the information for this will depend entirely upon you, our trusted readers.
We will gladly build an events calendar to display this information IF you are able to provide us with the raw data which, we believe, should comprise the following:
- Contact Name (not for public display)
- Contact email address/telephone number (not for public display)
- Location of forthcoming implosion (town, city or project name)
- Date of forthcoming implosion
- Brief details on the structure to be imploded (see http://www.implosionfinder.com/scheduled.htm for an indication of the kind of information required).
If we can get this information together, we will gladly build an implosion schedule function into this website.
Oh, and just one more thing. Although we know that these implosions are not an everyday occurrence, they do provide the demolition industry to demonstrate its professionalism and commitment to safety to the general public and to gain some high profile coverage for individual contractors and explosives engineers. So please help us to help you raise your profile and the profile of this industry.
