Changes to Midlands Regional Meeting Dates and Venues

Following discussions with Adrian McLean and Richard Dolman the IDE have decided to make the following changes to the Midlands Regional Meetings:-

Tuesday 17th January: Venue is changed from Armac Group to an AR sponsored venue. Details will follow but date remains the same.

Wednesday 5th April: Date is now Thursday 30 March at Armac Group Quarry to coincide with the launch of the new Volvo Demolition Range at the venue on the following day.

Watch the old Bermondsey railway viaducts get demolished (video)

Network Rail decided to film the demolition of the old railway viaducts at Bermondsey, with the work being carried out by C&D customer Armac Group. The video above shows the work as it happened in timelapse form.

Once fully removed, the viaducts are being replaced with a dive under, which will allow many more Charring Cross trains to pass beneath Thameslink services, appearing on the other side and then having a clear run into the centre of London. The project is meant to be completed in 2017.

Source: ITV News

C&D customer Armac Group working hard at Bermondsey

Below is a two-minute video of both real-time and timelapse captured footage of Armac working at Bermondsey, part of the Thameslink rail project:



Armac has also been tweeting out pictures from the job, with this panoramic shot of the site being a highlight:

C&D customer Armac Group make short work of phase one of Coventry Ring Road

Armac Group are well known in the demolition industry for bridge demolition in very tight time frames, so it was no surprise to us that they were awarded the contract to demolish the first section of the Coventry Ring Road during a weekend closure last week.

The "Bridge Busters" moved in with a full team of men and machines and soon reduced the bridge to rubble.

Details of the work can be found via this link to BBC Midlands Today.

Midlands Regional Meeting tomorrow in Solihull

The Midlands Regional Meeting is happening tomorrow at:

Armac Group
Arden Brickworks,
Coventry Road,
Bickenhall,
Solihull B92 0DY

The meeting is being sponsored by Powerscreen and will include a 20 minute presentation by Powerscreen representative Tony Weir. It will cover how demolition drives mobile crushing and screening design and it will be accompanied by a Crusher demonstration and Q&A session.

The meeting begins at 5pm tomorrow, with refreshments available and a chicken curry meal for all at 7pm. To book your place contact the National Secretary Maureen Tong-Ralphs at info@ide.org.uk or phone 01634 816255.

IDE bestows two new Fellowships

At the recent IDE Membership Committee meeting the committee decided to bestow Fellow status to Adrian McLean of Armac Group and Stella Wright of Total Reclaims Limited and our congratulations go out to both.

Stella's Fellowship is in recognition of the work done for the IDE as a Council of Management member for many years and for seminar organisation during that time.

Adrian's fellowship is in recognition of the great work done when on the Council of Management, the constant promotion of the IDE and its core values to major UK clients, organisation of regional events on a regular basis for the last four years, and his work with many manufacturers on innovation of demolition plant and attachments.

Stella and Adrian become FIDE from the 20th June 2013 and they will collect their Fellowship certificates at the annual luncheon which will this year be at "Altitude", Millbank Tower, Westminster on Friday 15 November.

Demo Expo visitor numbers continue to grow

The first UK Demo Expo jointly arranged by the IDE and the NFDC has seen ticket sales increase over the last few days as the industry realises that this is THE SHOW to go to and be seen at.

With a full seminar programme on the Friday, for which tickets are needed priced at £50.00 each (available from the NFDC) and a FREE plant show on both Friday 28th and Saturday 29th June the show is proving to be very popular.

Both days have been designed to be children friendly with rides, face painting, ice creams and competitions. Parking is FREE, the shuttle bus from Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International Station is FREE and all the rides are, you've guessed it -FREE!

If you haven't put the dates in your diary yet then do so NOW and get yourselves down to Demo Expo 2013 or you will regret it, as where else can you see BIG MACHINES, attachments, ride in a dump truck on an off-road course, buy some new workwear, eat ice cream and talk about all things demolition?

Groundbreaking Demolition Exhibition comes to Birmingham

The IDE and NFDC have, for the last few years, held exhibtions around the UK to promote the skills that we have in demolition and the diverse techniques available. Whilst each organisation's events have been successful and supported by the other organisation there has never been a joint event to showcase all skills in one place - until NOW!

The IDE and NFDC have now joined forces to present the Demo -Expo in Birmingham on 28th and 29th June 2013. This new event will be held at the premises of Armac Group at Bickenhill, near to Birmingham Airport, Birmingham International mainline station and the M42 motorway so the venue could not be easier to get to.

The event is split into 2 distinct days to give you the choice of CPD related presentations on the Friday and a fun day with the children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces etc on the Saturday.

The Friday, 28th June, will be opened and closed by the NFDC President William Sinclair and IDE President Steve Jack will be one of the speakers on the day. The day will involve presentations in the main marquee on demolition related topics such as current HSE issues, bridge demolition and explosive demolition coupled with external display areas with free awareness training on quickhitch, hot works and other related topics along with plant displays from Leibherr, Volvo and others. Tickets for the Friday are priced at £50.00 per head if you want to attend the seminar, the plant show is free. Saturday is a free admission day and what a day Saturday 29th June will be!!!

We have the actual CAT machine from the James Bond movie Skyfall, dump trucks for test and passenger rides, the 22RB driver challenge, (if you are a driver of a 22RB then come and test yourself against other demolition drivers to see if you can win the 22RB challenge), bouncy castle, face painting, free food, free ice creams, free parking as well (including ring and ride). In fact they do not intend to charge you a penny to attend so why not put the dates into your Google calendar or your diary and get down to DEMO - EXPO 2013 as you know that you want to.

If anyone reading this is considering carrying out demolition in the future as a client then the NFDC are offering special rates for your seminar tickets. Please contact info@demolition-nfdc.com and they will advise.

If you are interested in demolition then this is a must attend event so we will see you there!

(Click the flyer below to see it full size)

C&D Staff Pledge to get healthier

Here at C&D we are taking a leaf out of Adrian McLean's book and changing our ways to live a healthier lifestyle. Adrian, Director of Armac Group, changed his lifestyle a few months ago and saw immediate benefits and we have now decided to follow suit by not only changing our diets and exercise regime, but by signing the company into the Public Health Responsibility Deal, which supports changes to many areas of lifestyle for workers.

We intend to spread the word that lifestyle changes are beneficial and intend to engage workers on sites during training courses to advise them on proposed changes. Full details of the deal can be found at http://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/sign-up/

One thing that will not change though is the full Irish breakfast on the Demolition training courses on Saturdays in Solihull which have become an important part of Midlands training!

Armac Group received further training with C&D

We are pleased to announce that Armac Group placed a major training order with C&D for Demolition and Asbestos Awareness refresher training, Asbestos CAT "B" refresher training, manual handling and abrasive wheels.

The training commenced on 9th October amd ran on consecutive days until 17th October at various sites throughout the Midlands and at their dedicated training venue in Solihull.

Major training orders for C&D

As August comes to a close we are pleased to announce further major training orders received over the last few days:

• Armac Group re-appointed C&D to carry out Demolition & Asbestos Awareness training for operatives.
• Connell Brothers have appointed C&D to carry out CAT “B” asbestos training for all the workforce and harness training for their supervisors.
• Graham Fry Demolition appointed C&D to carry out Asbestos Awareness training and PASMA tower scaffold training.
• D A Environmental Services of Cheltenham appointed C&D to carry out Demolition Awareness training for their workforce.

These new orders, following on from other orders confirmed during August reinforces C&D's position as one of the leading demolition training providers in the UK.

Full details of the courses offered can be found on our training pages.

Armac Group turn to C&D for training

Armac Group have appointed C&D to carry out their training programme for their site personnel during the remainder of 2012.

Following successful delivery of various training courses for a number of their employees earlier this year, Armac Group Limited have today re-appointed C&D Consultancy as their training providers with courses running throughout 2012.

The one day courses will be delivered by John Woodward, Roland O’Connor and Chris Williams and will commence later this month.

This new order, following on from other orders confirmed in the last few days reinforces C&D's position as one of the leading demolition training providers in the UK.

Full details of the courses offered can be found on our training pages.

Report on IDE Family & Friends visit to The JCB Experience and Alton Towers in April

Adrian McLean MIDE and Noel McLean AMIDE of Armac Group have, for some time now supported the IDE with organising Midlands Regional meetings, the Birmingham Ball & Chain event of a few years ago and this year the first IDE Family & Friends weekend at the JCB Experience and Alton Towers Splash Landings Hotel.

The weekend started with the visit to the invited guests only JCB Experience where Rik Kiddle introduced the experience to us in the JCB theatre with superb films of JCB machines in action before we were split into small escorted groups to move slowly through the JCB Experience which is a history of JCB from the first trailer produced by the company to the present day machines that we see on many sites throughout the world.

The highlights of the tour for me were the reconstruction of the original JCB office from years ago and the model of a machine built from steel reinforcing wire that changed colour as we moved through the exhibits.

When we had all worked our way through the JCB Experience we arrived in the JCB shop where we were able to buy scale model machines, JCB branded clothing, stationery and pens before moving back downstairs for a superb 2 course lunch of Lasagne and various salads followed by a choice of sweets (I had the cheesecake).

Following the lunch we were delighted to find that Rik and his team had arranged JCB “Goodie Bags” for everyone present as we left the restaurant area which was a great end to the visit.

A “small change” collection was held in aid of the President’s charity Claire House which raised £250.00 for the charity.

It goes without saying that the IDE are extremely pleased that JCB allowed us to visit the JCB Experience to see how a massive British company stays in the forefront of excavator production globally, whilst continuing to employ as many UK employees as possible.

Thank you very much to Rik Kiddle and all at JCB.

If you would like to visit the JCB Experience yourselves, and I recommend that you do, you can find out more about it via the following link:

http://www.jcb.co.uk/About/Factory-Tour.aspx




Following the JCB visit the IDE members and guests then travelled on to Alton Towers Splash Landings Hotel for an afternoon in the Water Park or in the main Theme Park where all the rides were open and running. The majority of the children at the weekend decided to go into Splash Landings Water Park to ride the water slides, flumes and lazy river and a great time was had by all.

Evening entertainment was arranged with a curry at a local restaurant, recommended by JCB, and a coach was arranged from reception at the hotel to and from the restaurant to enable all guests to travel together. The food was excellent and all present were amazed to find that it had been fully sponsored by Armac Group so a big “Thank You” to Armac Group from all concerned.

Following the restaurant visit all adjourned to the bar at Splash Landings to discuss demolition related matters and drink beer!

The next morning saw some leave early to travel home whilst others took advantage of the reduced price VIP Theme Park tickets arranged by JCB to try all of the rides before the park opened to the general public and despite the torrential rain a great time was had.

The weekend was a resounding success with everyone saying how nice it was for wives and children to be invited to an event and to be able to put faces to the IDE names often mentioned in conversations with IDE members over family dining tables throughout the country.

Let us hope that we can arrange another similar event for next year.

Armac Group “Clock Off” at Pinderfields Hospital

Over the last twelve months C&D customer Armac Group have been demolishing the former hospital at Pinderfields in Wakefield and have worked progressively through the hospital buildings demolishing and, in some cases, carefully dismantling sections for preservation and reuse on the new development.

When the bulk of the work was complete they were then given the difficult task of carefully lifting the clock tower and storing it for reuse.

Balfour Beatty Construction Limited Pinderfields Joint Venture wanted to preserve the clock for resiting in the new development so quite a lot of lateral thinking was needed to achieve their wishes.

Armac directors Adrian McLean and Noel McLean were involved in the lift with the original concept and lift design by Adrian. The roles of Appointed Person and Lift Supervisor being carried out by Noel.

We have no photographs of the work being carried out but we do have some nice video footage so please take the time to watch the video below.

Armac upgrade their fleet

C&D Customer Armac Group have been busy upgrading their plant fleet in anticipation of upcoming contracts. The upgrade of plant is part of the ongoing renewal policy instigated by the directors several years ago to keep Armac group at the forefront of the UKs demolition contractors.

Armac have taken delivery of 2 new Hitachi 225 USRLC's with 2 more following in September. In addition, 2 new Demerac DRG19 Selecta Sorting Grabs have been added to the fleet along with 2 new Atlas Copco MB1700 Hydraulic Breakers; all to compliment Armac's fleet of 20-25 tonne range machines.

An Atlas Copco 4 tonne Hydraulic Breaker has been added to the attachment fleet for Armac's 30 tonne.

Further details can be found at Armac's website

Danny Shields Pledge Page goes live

Armac Group has put up a new pledge page to help Danny Shields get into the 'Momentum'' in Birmingham center where he can get help with his disability.

The reason a pledge page is required is because the Disability Employment Advisor (Stratford Upon Avon) are not willing to fund his placement due to the fact he has a brain injury. Danny's mother, Georgia, has since spoken to the lady who interviewed Danny; Fauzia Hussain at Momentum and she has advised Danny to have his Craniplasty operation. Once the operation has been carried out and he is through the recovery period, contact will have to be made to see what steps Danny and his family can take to get the rehab he needs.

For further details please head on over to the Armac website

Tameside Hospital Stamford building reduced to rubble

The 1905 Stamford building at Tameside Hospital is being demolished with great care using a nibbler.

According to Gilian Parker, director of facilities for the hospital, care and attention was required for this job:

"The days of swinging a ball and chain through a building like this are long gone.''

This will be a carefully managed, painstaking process which will be carried out by our partners at Balfour Beatty and their Demolition Contractor; Armac, using a piece of machinery known as a nibbler.''

As the name suggests, the building will be demolished piece by piece.''

That makes it much safer and means we will be able to recycle as much as possible as the weeks go on."

The Health Improvement in Tameside project will see the building replaced with a 400 car parking area for patients and visitors. The work is being carried out by Armac Group and Balfour Beatty.

Source: Armac Group

Never forget those who gave their lives to save ours

I observed the two minutes silence today on site at an Armac site at Catterick Barracks and as I stood there hundreds of leaves were falling all around us from the trees surrounding the site, and watching the leaves fall made me realise just how many people had fallen to allow me to live free in the UK. We must never forget those who gave their lives to save ours.

Image courtesy of WritingForums.org

Armac Group deconstructing top 4 floors of Alstom Power Building

Armac is currently undertaking a difficult job in deconstructing the top 4 floors of the Alstom Power Building in Stafford. It's difficult because the building sits above the Turbine Hall which contains the largest overhead crane in Europe and must remain operational.

The equipment chosen to carry out the job is a 70t crawler and a 3t mini crawler crane. As Noel McLean, Contracts Director, explains:

The problem with using the main 70t crawler is that every lift would have been a blind lift so it can be slow to centre the hook using radios. With the use of the 3t mini crawler we can quickly dismantle the steel frame with top burners and rest cuts and then lower several steel sections at a time to ground level with the large crawler.

The crane can also pick and carry the sections to a central loading out point. We assessed the permissible floor loadings and designed the lift plan around the use of the 3t crawler with great success. We have removed an entire floor of steel in 2 days using 2 top burners and the mini crawler, literally halving the original programme time for each floor.

Source: Armac Group

Armac Coventry Road Bridge demolition time-lapse video

Above is a time-lapse video recorded by Armac Group of demolition work being carried out on the Coventry Road Bridge.