Building Briefs – May 8th

Clark Contracts opens new manufactured joinery facility

Clark Contracts’ Manufactured Joinery Division has moved into a new facility next to its Head Office on McFarlane Street, Paisley.

Due to a number of new customers and increased orders, a new, larger, modern workshop was required. Clark Contracts’ team has transformed the unit, which was historically a vehicle maintenance facility, into a fully functional manufactured joinery workshop.

The move has increased the capacity and size of projects the Manufactured Joinery Division can deliver. The new facility features office space, kitchen and canteen and 10,000sq ft floor area.

Clark Contracts’ dedicated Manufactured Joinery team, consisting of skilled setting out and bench joiners, have experience working with traditional hardwoods, modern sheet and solid acrylic surface materials to manufacture the following bespoke items:

The team can also provide assistance on practicality of design and CAD capabilities.

Angus stone supplier wins major flood contract

An Angus stone supplier is growing its team after a new industry alliance started to pay dividends.

Last year, Denfind Stone of Monikie joined with Tradstocks and Hutton Stone to form the Scottish Stone Group.

The aim of the partnership is to promote Scottish stone as a product and to increase its use within local projects.

Denfind Stone owner Brian Binnie and Peter Stewart of Tradstocks have now jointly won a contract to provide stone for a new flood protection scheme being constructed by Balfour Beatty on Riverside Drive in Dundee.

Although the value of the contract has not been disclosed, Mr Binnie said it was the largest ever won by Denfind, which has been trading since 2004.

The company has its own stone reserve in Pitairlie Quarry at Monikie and also has in-house processing facilities to cut and shape its rock ahead of distribution.

City Building announces support for SBH Scotland

Glasgow-based construction firm City Building is helping to provide vital support to hundreds of children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus by backing a specialist charity.

Over the coming months, the company’s workforce will take on various challenges to raise funds for Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland (SBH Scotland), which has been named as an official charity partner of the firm for the financial year.

City Building’s previous fundraising efforts have seen employees endure tough trials from back waxes to weight loss challenges and sponsored runs. The construction firm has set a target of £10,000 which will be used to provide personalised home and hospital support for families in Scotland with children who suffer from the lifelong complex conditions associated with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

In addition to providing vital funds for SBH Scotland, City Building will continue to raise money for existing charity partner Cash For Kids, an organisation supporting disadvantaged children in the West of Scotland. City Building’s charity partnership with Cash for Kids is now entering its third year.

Dundee construction workers take a break at health-themed event

Dundee-based subcontractors of Robertson Tayside enjoyed a free pop-up event designed to encourage a healthy and productive working environment.

SME contractors working on the new Baldragon Academy were invited to attend the Healthy Working Lives (HWL) event on-site.

The event was hosted by Robertson and organised by the NHS Tayside Workplace Programme team and Dundee City Council.

As well as several stalls offering expert information, attendees had the chance to try out the Sense Scotland exercise bike, which produces pedal-powered smoothies.

Also in attendance was People Asset Management Occupational Health (PAM OH), who offered confidential lifestyle health checks designed to support workers in adopting healthier lifestyles, delivered as part of Dundee City Council’s Community Benefits targets.

Physiotherapy sessions were provided by Working Health Services, with Discovery Credit Union offering financial advice.

Due to complete by the end of 2017, Robertson began work on the £25 million Baldragon Academy in early 2016. The site was awarded Gold at the recent Considerate Constructors Scheme National Site Awards, recognition of adhering to the highest industry standards for the site, community, workforce and environment.

Community group gets cash boost to help improve local area

The Morrison Construction team building the new Kelso High School has joined the 2017 campaign to make Kelso look blooming marvellous and are urging the whole community to get involved.

In recent years, Kelso has had a very impressive record in the Britain in Bloom competition and the contractor’s £300 donation will be used to buy seeds for creating flower beds along Jedburgh Road adding to the existing carpet of colour leading to the town centre.

Members of the site team will join community volunteers as they sow seeds and plant bulbs and bedding plants this month through to summer.

To date, the Kelso High School site team has engaged with a range of local community projects which include: in kind assistance for the Kelso Memorial Wall project and the Kelso Men’s Sheds as well as a pupil achievement award in woodworking.

Kelso High School is being delivered through Hub South East for Scottish Borders Council.

Scotland’s top civil engineering experts to tackle water crises

Some of Scotland’s top civil engineering and water management experts will gather in Dundee to devise crucial solutions to urgent global water issues.

Abertay University will host the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment & Society (SAGES) forum on May 11 and 12, where almost 30 delegates will come up with new and inventive research projects seeking to solve water crises across the world.

There will be a particular focus on nations in Africa and South Asia, which are the key elements of ongoing calls by the UK research councils, such as the RCUK Global Challenges Research Fund and the NERC India-India Water Quality call.

As one of the UK’s top water management research centres, Abertay is the lead institution for the event, which will be attended by academics from Aberdeen, Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh, Heriot Watt, Stirling and West of Scotland universities.

Representatives from the James Hutton Institute, British Geological Survey, SEPA, the Scottish Association for Marine Science, and the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation will also attend the high-level forum.