High reach, zero-tailswing excavator makes worldwide debut.

Here at Demolition News, we tend to avoid getting too involved in the equipment side of things. Frankly, there are others in the world that are better equipped to report on this side of things and the thought of getting excited by an additional 2kW of power and a new seat belt makes our eyes glaze over.

However, every once in a while, a machine comes along that is worthy of notice; and this new high reach, zero-tailswing machine – the result of a Volvo Construction Equipment GB and Kocurek Excavators joint venture – surely falls into that category.

To read the full details of this exciting new machine, please head over to DemolishDismantle who kindly brought this to our attention.

Your chance to own a limited edition DEMCON 2010 edition t-shirt and baseball cap.

Demolition News returned from the combined EDA Conference/DEMCON exhibition with bags bulging with business cards, paperwork and other goodies that included an exclusive DEMCON 2010 t-shirt and a limited edition DEMCON 2010 baseball cap.

Now, having been on a crash diet that has seen his weight plummet to that of a small kitten, an XL t-shirt is of little use to our editor Mark Anthony. And we have told him numerous times in the past that baseball caps make him look American.

With that in mind, we’re offering one lucky reader the chance to win both by answering one simple question.

During the gala dinner at the EDA Conference/DEMCON fair, a member of the Drilling and Sawing Association described the demolition business as which cartoon character?

A: Goofy
B: Mickey Mouse
C: Homer Simpson

Please send your answers to us via email (manthony@markanthonypublicity.co.uk). The winner will be drawn at random from the correct answers received. The draw will take place on 1 October 2010.

Nine months after a massive quake hit Haiti, only two percent of debris has been cleared.

The quake that his Haiti on 12 January 2010 gave rise to an international outpouring of concern and charitable donations. But according to an Associated Press article, nine months on the country is struggling to clear the debris left by the disaster, hampering recovery and rebuilding work.

From the dusty rock mounds lining the streets to a National Palace that looks like it’s vomiting concrete from its core, rubble is one of the most visible reminders of Haiti’s devastating earthquake.

Rubble is everywhere in this capital city: cracked slabs, busted-up cinder blocks, half-destroyed buildings that still spill bricks and pulverized concrete onto the sidewalks. Some places look as though they have been flipped upside down, or are sinking to the ground, or listing precariously to one side.

By some estimates, the quake left about 25 million cubic metres (33 million cubic yards) of debris in Port-au-Prince — more than seven times the amount of concrete used to build the Hoover Dam. So far, only about two percent has been cleared, which means the city looks pretty much as it did a month after the Jan. 12 quake.

Government officials and outside aid groups say rubble removal is the priority before Haiti can rebuild. But the reasons why so little has been cleared are complex. And frustrating.

Heavy equipment has to be shipped in by sea. Dump trucks have difficulty navigating narrow and mountainous dirt roads. An abysmal records system makes it hard for the government to determine who owns a dilapidated property. And there are few sites on which to dump the rubble, which often contains human remains.

Also, no single person in the Haitian government has been declared in charge of the rubble, prompting foreign nongovernmental organizations to take on the task themselves. The groups are often forced to fight for a small pool of available money and contracts — which in turn means the work is done piecemeal, with little coordination.

Read the full story here.

Exclusive video of IDE vice-president’s workshop at DEMCON 2010.

In addition to the presentations hosted by the European Demolition Association, the DEMCON 2010 exhibition in Stockholm played host to a series of seminars, the most interesting of which was the “Demolition Innovations – 2010 and Beyond” round-table workshop hosted by Institute of Demolition Engineers’ vice president, John Woodward.

Although the setting was hardly conducive to high quality sound recording, we managed to capture the key points on Woodward’s presentation and some of the key discussion points:

Demolition Innovations from Mark Anthony on Vimeo.

Video of the people and machines of the EDA conference and DEMCON show.

Late last week, delegates from more than a dozen countries descended up the Swedish city of Stockholm for a unique event; a combined European Demolition Association Autumn conference and the inaugural DEMCON exhibition of demolition equipment. And Demolition News was there to capture the action.

While we’re busily writing a comprehensive review for the next edition of Euro Demolition News and editing further video content to bring you here (hampered by a broken finger ironically sustained in a Swedish furniture store), here’s a brief video that captures some of the people and machines that made the event.

Stockholm Highlights from Mark Anthony on Vimeo.

Coleman & Co. start work on demolition of Phoenix Rise tower.

Work has begun to bring down the sixth and final tower block on a Black Country estate.

Birmingham-based Coleman and Co has been appointed by Wolverhampton City Council to knock down the 17-storey Phoenix Rise building in the Blakenhall area of the city.

The building is the last remaining tower block of sextet which once made up the Blakenhall Gardens Estate.

Read more here.

Bellaire Bridge debacle looks set to conclude in court.

The future of the Bellaire Toll Bridge soon could be determined in an Idaho courtroom.

Advanced Explosives Demolition – the demolition crew featured on the reality television show “The Imploders” – has filed a legal complaint in the Kootenai County, Idaho, court against Delta Demolition and KDC Investments, Delta attorney Jeremy Domoczik confirmed.

The complaint surrounds the issue of whether AED or Delta Demolition/KDC owns the bridge and who has the right to take it down. No hearing date has been set in the case.

Read more here.

Combined gala dinner proves that two into one sometimes doesn’t go.

Picture the scene. The European Demolition Association (EDA) has just completed the opening day or it’s well-attended and informative Autumn Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. Meanwhile, delegates and representatives the Drilling and Sawing Association (DSA) have emerged from the opening day of the first-ever DEMCON exhibition that is being held next door. The bar of the Infra City hotel is packed and it’s four deep at the bar; surely the perfect backdrop for a convivial, combined gala dinner; a meeting of minds in which representatives from both sectors could come together over some Swedish cuisine.

Sadly, things didn’t turn out quite like that; in fact, the apparent inter-industry animosity left some members of the EDA stunned.

Depending upon your viewpoint, the seating plan was either relaxed or chaotic, resulting in members of both groups being sat tooth by jowl. But within minutes of sitting down and initial introductions being made, EDA members were left amazed and angry after being told by a very senior member of the DSA that demolition contractors were little more than “a bunch of gypsies”.

A little later, the same individual described the demolition industry as “Mickey Mouse”, and not in a way that was intended to suggest the happiest place on Earth. Another then added that, to the drilling and sawing sector, demolition contractors meant credit checks because, supposedly, this industry never pays its bills.

Perhaps the harshest criticism, however, was the suggestion that “any idiot can demolish a building”. The irony of this was that just a few hours previously, the EDA had been debating the need for a licensing scheme to ensure that NOT just any person can demolish anything.

The fact that these views came from a senior official of an international trade association is disappointing in the extreme; equally disappointing is the fact that these views were aired in a forum that numerous people had worked long and hard to organise in order to fuel discussion and mutual understanding and appreciation.

But the lasting feeling is that by calling into question the professionalism and integrity of their fellow industry in such a crass, unwarranted and public manner, the individuals involved merely underlined their own lack of professionalism and social grace.

As many of you will be aware, Demolition News is currently in Stockholm, Sweden for the EDA conference and DEMCON exhibition. If you would like to follow the action live, please follow the Twitter feed to the left or check us out at www.twitter.com/demolitionnews

Scotland’s First Minister calls in Safedem contract.

Alex Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister, has visited a Safedem demolition site in the West Pilton area of Edinburgh to see first hand the Scottish Governments’ funding of regeneration projects across Scotland.

He took a great interest in the demolition process and was fascinated by the size of the machine and the skill of the operator. He also commented on the tidiness of the site but specifically complimented Safedem’s Community Liaison Team for their proactive approach in keeping the community up to date and informed about site operations. Salmond spent over an hour on site talking to Safedem staff about all that goes into a demolition project.

“The amount of planning and consideration that Safedem have put into this project is incredible, their work is a really positive start to the regeneration of West Pilton,” he said.

The West Pilton demolitions are being carried out by Safedem as part of their term contract with City of Edinburgh Council. To date, Safedem have demolished over 300 redundant homes in the area.