Construction News Specialist Awards 2016 shortlist announcement

John has been a judge of the Construction News Specialist Awards for the last three years but this year the judging panel has been changed and John is not required.

Here is the list of the shortlisted companies that will require judging by the new panel.

Access & Scaffolding Specialist of the Year

• AFI group
• Chris Sedgeman Scaffolding
• Everlast Scaffolding
• GKR Scaffolding
• SafeTime
• St Helens Plant
• TIGER Scaffolding
• UK Platforms

Apprentice of the Year

• Aaron Barrett : Breyer Group
• Conor Divilly : FK Group
• David Miles : NG Bailey
• Dean Fry : Chris Sedgeman Scaffolding
• James Symon : Jones Bros. Civil Engineering
• Tom Morris : Severfield UK

BIM Excellence

• FK Group
• Furrer+Frey GB
• Mabey Hire
• Metek UK
• Prater
• SES (Engineering Services)

Building Services Specialist of the Year

• CBES
• Dodd Group
SPIE

Business Innovation of the Year

• APEM and the AWPR Construction Joint Venture : AWPR Aerial Surveys for Earthworks Calculation
• Atlas Cloud : Atlas Cloud BIM Enablement Platform
• D-Drill : D-Drill invents new D-Kerb machine
• dorsaVi Europe : Wearing it Well - Wearable Tech Helps to Reduce Risk
• F-Board
• Garic : Garic Revolutionises the Welfare Market with Industry First
• Morrison Utility Services : Drone Technology Leads the Way for Yorkshire Water Pipeline Project
• Pinsafe

Demolition Specialist of the Year

• AR Demolition
• Cantillon
• Carey Group
• Coleman & Company
• Cuddy Group
• Erith Contractors
• PP O'Connor
• Thompsons of Prudhoe

Equipment Supplier of the Year

• Advanté
• Fast-Form Systems
• GAP Hire Solutions
• Garic
• Hilti
• Hird
• JCB
• UK Platforms
• Western Global

Ground Engineering Specialist of the Year

• Bachy Soletanche
• Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering
• Erith Contractors
• Hydrock
• Keller
• PP O'Connor
• Van Elle

Health & Safety Excellence

• Abbey Pynford Geo Structures
• AR Demolition
• Cantillon
• CEMEX
• Mabey Hire
• Morrison Utility Services
• Novus Property Solutions
• STIHL GB

Materials Supplier of the Year

• Aggregate Industries
• Elite Architectural Ironmongery
• Hanson UK
• Jewson
• MAGSCAPES
• Plumbase Industrial

Project of the Year (subcontract over £2m)

• Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering : 100 Bishopsgate, London
• Cantillon : 69-89 Oxford Street
• Coleman & Company : Birmingham Gateway Project
• Freyssinet : Hammersmith Flyover - Post Tensioning Replacement
• Keltbray : One Angel Court
• MAC Roofing & Contracting : MoD Lyneham, Wiltshire
• Severfield UK : Etihad Stadium Expansion
• Structural Systems UK : Hammersmith Flyover Bearing Replacement
• T. A. Colbourne : Land Rover BAR Team H.Q
• VolkerLaser : Woodhouse Tunnel A58(M), Leeds - Refurbishment and Strengthening

Project of the Year (subcontract up to £2m)

• AR Demolition : Centrica Storage Easington – Tier 1 facility Project
• Arkoni : Forbury Place, Reading
• Avondale Construction : Bloomberg London - South Building Welfare Facility
• Chris Sedgeman Scaffolding : Chris Sedgeman Scaffolding - Lloyds Maintenance Contract on Penzance and Bristol
• EIC : M&E installation at the University of Exeter's new Science and Engineering Research Support Facility (SERSF)
• Knights Construction : Vantage Farm
• PTSG and Cofely : Fixed Wire Testing at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
• SRW Engineering Services : Birmingham New Street Station
• T.P Aspinall & Sons : Whitworth Art Gallery
• Tudor Stonework : Burlington Arcade Walkway

Roofing Specialist of the Year

• B and C Roofing
• BriggsAmasco
• CA Roofing Services
• Claude N Smith
• David Jameson Roofing Services
• Greenough & Sons Roofing Contractors
• MAC Roofing & Contracting
• Organic Roofs

Specialist Contractor of the Year (turnover over £25m)

• EIC
• FK Group
• Keltbray Group
• Mackley
• O'Brien Contractors?
• Oktra
• Van Elle

Specialist Contractor of the Year (turnover up to £25m)

• Britplas Commercial Windows
• Cranbrook Basements
• Deconstruct
• Dragon Infrastructure Solutions
• Fire Design Solutions
• JLES Group
• Littlewood Fencing
• Premier Technical Services Group (PTSG)
• Speedclad

Structural Specialist of the Year

• Bourne Construction Engineering
• Carey Group
• Metek UK
• Precast Concrete Structures
• Taziker Industrial

Sustainable Project of the Year

• AR Demolition: Brackley Saw Mills
• Erith Contractors: Shoe Lane
• Skanska Rashleigh Weatherfoil: Bentley Works Redevelopment

Training Excellence

• Abbey Pynford Geo Structures
• AFI group
• AR Demolition
• CEMEX
• Chevron Traffic Management
• Hilti GB
• Jones Bros Civil Engineering
• Subscan Technology

Source: Construction News

Judges announced for the Construction News Specialists Awards

The full line up of judges for the Construction News Specialists Awards 2015 has been announced, and it's quite the list. 51 names in total, including our very own John Woodward, will be judging the entrants who are vying for 18 different awards.

You can view the full list of judges here, and the 18 categories here.

Entry to the awards is free, but you must get your application in by the 7th November this year. The main benefit to entry, beyond the possibility of winning of course, is raising the profile of your company within the industry.

If you have any questions regarding the awards or entry to them, please contact George Thornton on 020 7391 4530 or email george.thornton@emap.com.

Winners announced for the 10th Construction News Specialists Awards

Construction News has announced the winners of the 10th Construction News Specialists Awards, with AR Demolition receiving the Construction News Special Award making them the winners' winner. The results in full can be seen below:

Apprentice of the Year 2014
Winner: Simon Reeve, North Midland Construction
Highly commended: Reanna Evans, NG Bailey

Demolition Specialist of the Year 2014
Winner: Thompsons of Prudhoe
Highly commended: Cantillon
Highly commended: Erith Contractors

Ground Engineering Specialist of the Year 2014
Winner: Keller
Highly commended: Deep Soil Mixing

Steelwork Specialist of the Year 2014
Winner: Shufflebottom

Concrete Specialist of the Year 2014
Winner: Balfour Beatty Regional

Access & Scaffolding Specialist of the Year 2014
Winner: Allied Scaffolding

Roofing Specialist of the Year 2014
Winner: BriggsAmasco
Highly commended: M.R.Site Services

Building Services Specialist of the Year 2014
Winner: ACE Lifts
Highly commended: NG Bailey

Finishing & Fit Out Specialist of the Year 2014
Winner: Lucas
Highly commended: PEC

Health & Safety Excellence
Winner: Lanes Group
Highly commended: AR Demolition
Highly commended: Cemex

Low Carbon Excellence
Winner: B & K Structures
Highly commended: BCM (Beverley Clifton Morris)

Training Excellence
Winner: AR Demolition
Highly commended: PiLON

Business Growth
Winner: Van Elle
Highly commended: AR Demolition

Project of the Year (subcontract up to £500k)
Winner: Chris Sedgeman Scaffolding for the South Crofty Tin Mine
Highly commended: AR Demolition for the Press Halls Stoke/Derby

Project of the Year (subcontract between £500k & £2m)
Winner: Celtic Technologies for the Mersey Gateway Advance Works Remediation
Highly commended: AR Demolition for King's Cross Rail Station

Project of the Year (subcontract over £2m)
Winner: NG Bailey for the Arla Dairy
Highly commended: EBS elk for Chapel Street Oxford

Construction News Special Award
AR Demolition

Construction News Specialist of the Decade
Lakesmere

Source: Construction News Specialist Awards

Construction News Specialist Awards deadline extended

The Construction News Specialist Awards are the only national awards that recognise and celebrate the very best specialist contractors in the UK. And the deadline for the 10th running of the awards recently got extended to November 15th.

There are 16 categories to choose from for your entry, and the awards are free to enter. In return you will receive free exposure, the opportunity for industry recognition, as well as offering the chance to win more work through networking with clients and contractors. Finalists will be invited to attend a judging day to demonstrate face to face why their business is the best.

To register, please visit the Construction News Specialist Awards entry page.

Are you the next Demolition Specialist of the Year?

Readers of this site will know that John was a judge of the Demolition category in the Construction News Specialist Awards for 2013 and he has retained that honour for 2014.

The Construction News edition dated 20 September contains a six page feature on the 2014 judges with John on page 5 of that feature (magazine page 36).

The bio about John is incorrect in that it states he is the President of IDE when in fact he is now the Immediate Past President of IDE, but it is still nice to see it included alongside Mark Tant of Shepherd Construction, Graham Watts of CIC, and David Smith of Vinci to name just three.

If you are a demolition contractor then why not enter the demolition category? You may get to sit in front of John and his fellow judges to tell them why you should win.

Construction News Specialist Awards Winners announced

It is unusual to be asked to attend a black tie awards event in London on a Tuesday night but that is exactly what happened last week with John & Jill atttending the Construction News Specialist Awards at the Hilton Park Lane. John was invited to attend as he was one of the judges of the Demolition Specialist category.

The awards ceremony was excellent and saw NFDC companies win awards in a number of categories:-

• Demolition - Winner Erith with Safedem and Cantillon highly recommended
• Safety - Winner Cantillon
• Construction News special award - Winner Cantillon
• Business Growth - Winner Hughes & Salvidge

Photos of the event can be viewed on Flickr. The full list of winners is available on the Construction News website, but we want to go into a little more detail for our readers as to which demolition companies came away with a trophy on the night.


Business growth was won by NFDC member company Hughes & Salvidge following a 96.5% increase in turnover for 2011/12 pushing that turnover up to £25.7 million. Their diversification into new markets was the key to this growth and they fully deserved their trophy.

Health & Safety Excellence saw Cantillon win following its record of Zero RIDDOR accidents since 2006 achieved by working 1,336,865 hours without a RIDDOR accident. The company motto "demolition and safety hand in hand" is clearly demonstrated by Cantillon.

CN Special Award was also won by Cantillon with the judges noting that "Continued business growth, an impeccable safety record, sound environmental credentials and strong leadership" were the qualities demonstrated to win the award.

Demolition (John was one of the judges in this category) saw Cantillon receive a Highly Commended scroll, following a first class interview, and Safedem win Highly Commended for the text book blowdown of Red Road Phase 1. However the big award went to join many others in the now bulging trophy cabinet of Erith Contractors who won because of their "Consistent high level of expertise in all areas" and the judges felt that "The company demonstrated some exceptional strengths in developing a culture of workforce empowerment and driving business growth in all areas".

The event was a great success all round and we were particularly impressed with the "Guestbook" available when we entered the room and the fact that the "Winners Supplement" was in our hands as we left the room at the end.

We look forward to next year and hope that Construction News editor Rebecca Evans asks John to be a judge for 2014.