Cristina Diaconu

Construction firms to be recognised for investing in talent

The awards, run by Construction News, are free to enter – but the deadline is now just one month away! Construction News has consistently celebrated training and talent at the CN Awards and Specialists Awards, but is now going one step further to recognise brilliant companies with a dedicated event.

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Highways England: 'Strong case' for TransPennine Tunnel

Highways England North-west regional director Alan Shepherd said he hoped the chancellor would give the green light to the project in the Autumn Statement. He told Construction News that the project could be the world’s longest tunnel and Europe’s largest civil engineering project in the past 30 years. Five routes were shortlisted for the proposed £6bn tunnel,

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Skanska Intention to be Green and Their Work Towards Being Carbon-Free

Skanska, the global construction company, has been operational for 125 years. The well-established business still has modern commitments to sustainability and their future. Skanska’s regional engineering site in South Yorkshire is demonstrative of the company’s intention to be green and their work towards being carbon-free. The facility has been part

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Fantastic Tips to Help Your Business Survive Through Difficult Times

The modern trading environment is a challenging one, where increasing competition and the seemingly never ending recession can make it difficult for businesses to thrive, let alone survive. One of the most important considerations is making standing out from the crowd, which is difficult but can certainly be achieved with

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Business Overview of Global Energy Efficient Buildings Market

This report studies Energy Efficient Buildings in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer Title:  Global Energy Efficient Buildings Market Research Report 2016Description:About the Energy Efficient

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Linn Energy files for bankruptcy protection

©Linn Energy Linn Energy, the Houston-based oil and gas producer, has become the biggest US casualty of the slump in crude prices over the past two years, filing for bankruptcy on Wednesday evening. Linn and its associated companies, LinnCo and Berry Petroleum, said they were seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

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Latest Issue
Issue 343 : Aug 2026

Cristina Diaconu

Construction firms to be recognised for investing in talent

The awards, run by Construction News, are free to enter – but the deadline is now just one month away! Construction News has consistently celebrated training and talent at the CN Awards and Specialists Awards, but is now going one step further to recognise brilliant companies with a dedicated event. The Construction Investing in Talent Awards are all about recognising and rewarding the people and teams who work so hard to attract and retain the best talent. CN continues the trends of bringing on board a strong expert-led judging panel to ensure integrity and inject rigour into the judging process. The panel is made up of impressive HR and professional development experts from both inside and outside the industry – a chance to get yourself and your business a valuable seal of approval. The organisations and companies involved in judging include CECA, easyJet, Construction Youth Trust, the CITB, Network Rail and HM Treasury. Source link

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Highways England: 'Strong case' for TransPennine Tunnel

Highways England North-west regional director Alan Shepherd said he hoped the chancellor would give the green light to the project in the Autumn Statement. He told Construction News that the project could be the world’s longest tunnel and Europe’s largest civil engineering project in the past 30 years. Five routes were shortlisted for the proposed £6bn tunnel, which will link Manchester to Sheffield, in August this year. Asked whether the UK had the correct skillset to deliver a major tunnelling project of this scale, Mr Shepherd said HS2’s bidders and procurement were “a good analogy” for how the process would work. He said Highways England would look at larger contractors to deliver the project in tandem with international firms, citing current Northern delivery partners Kier and a Balfour Beatty / Mott MacDonald joint venture – “if we need to get tunnellers in from Norway, we can do that”, he added. Mr Shepherd was speaking at the CN Summit 2016 alongside Simon Marshall, joint chief executive of developer Scarborough Group, and Catherine Garnell, assistant chief executive of Liverpool City Council. The panel agreed that East-West connectivity was vital for the Northern Powerhouse agenda, with a strong case for HS3. Mr Marshall said projects like the Ordsall Chord, which will link Manchester’s Victoria and Piccadilly stations, would “lay the groundwork” for better connectivity across the region. He added that increased connectivity would make the North’s core cities even more attractive to international funders, and added that government support for schemes had helped his firm “to go to the Far East with a clear message” for investors. Ms Garnell said investment in Liverpool’s port would be just the start of the city’s investment in its infrastructure, with upcoming investments including a new cruise liner terminal to boost tourism in the city. She added that the city is looking to secure additional government funding in the Autumn Statement for a major overhaul of its public realm, following on from an earlier £40m investment. Source link

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Accoya Been Included in the Development of Two New Build Properties

The world-leading modified wood, Accoya has been included in the development of two new build properties located in the South of England. The wood has been used in bespoke joinery products that have been delivered for the two properties. The first new build property in question is located in Berkshire and has been designed with striking exterior doors that have been made using this Accoya wood as part of the joinery package. Accoya was selected in this case as an ideal wood which has been used in this project because of the insulating properties of the wood as well as dimensional stability. The modified wood has a 50 year guarantee and has an aesthetic finish that it was agreed by both the architects and the owners of the property thought would be perfect in order to fit in with the overall exterior of the building. As for the second new home, the development used Accoya as a material for both the exterior doors and frames. This new home has been built in Winchester and the house includes tailor made bi-folding doors as well as French doors in to the property. It is thought that the insulating properties of this modified wood would make it the best option for being able to withstand the changeable weather in the UK. The modified material was included in these two properties was provided by SB Joinery, who believe that Accoya is the best product for both of these construction cases. The company are certified users of Accoya and a large selection of their products are made using the modified wood. The business recommends Accoya timber for use in windows doors and other external applications because it is so durable. The windows and doors that are made using this wood can stay in a very high level of condition as well as needing very little maintenance.

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Novus Property Solutions Announced They Will Be Undertaking a New Project

Novus Property solutions has announced that they will be undertaking a new project that will see the creation of a new apprentice training centre at The JCB Academy, located in Staffordshire. The national property maintenance, refurbishment and new build contractor has embarked on the development of this bran-new facility which will offer space for a school for those students that have an interest in both engineering and business. The JCB Academy intends to develop future engineers and business leaders by teaching the students to apply their learning to practical solutions. There has been an investment of £1.2 million that will go towards the new Apprentice Training Centre which will sit on the site of the old Dove First School, which is in Rochester. This work will be significant for the continued expansion of the company’s apprenticeship programme. The project is forecast to last 15 weeks which means that it is expected to be completed in late May 2017. Novus Property Solutions will be involved through the construction of the new 687 sq. m. facility that will be used to train apprentices in a variety of different disciplines when the project is completed. The team on site will work to completely refurbish the single storey school building that is already standing and will remodel it in order to create a new internal layout. The work will also be in line with the requirements of a modern learning environment. As well as this interior refurbishment, Novus will be working to build a new section that will be added to the front elevation. This extension will increase the footprint of the building and also provide a space that will be used as a new entranceway as well as being able to provide the Academy’s students with a social space to relax it. The new training centre will add to the other great facilities that The JCB Academy has as well as allowing the space for the latest equipment and technology. These new facilities will provide the capabilities to educate students in the area of metrology, systems and mechatronics in a higher level of detail.

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Skanska Intention to be Green and Their Work Towards Being Carbon-Free

Skanska, the global construction company, has been operational for 125 years. The well-established business still has modern commitments to sustainability and their future. Skanska’s regional engineering site in South Yorkshire is demonstrative of the company’s intention to be green and their work towards being carbon-free. The facility has been part of a four-year project that has led to a zero carbon office facility being produced. This project and the completed facility has managed to achieve a 94.6% BREEAM Outstanding score. The facility, Bentley Works is the engineering and manufacturing facility for Skanska UK. The facility is located 3km north of Doncaster and it is thought that the project costs £14 million. The company acted as both developer and main contractor as part of this project and were involved in the demolition of the buildings that were previously on the site. The new sustainable facility has been developed on the site of some office and workshop buildings, that were torn down in order to make way for the 1,800 sq. m. office building. The floor space for the office building is separated over two floors and the facility also has 3,135 Sq. m. workshop for fabrication and machines. There is a workshop building and a paint shop building that were saved from demolition, which has undergone refurbishment. The buildings on the project are classed as “Deep Green” which essentially means that they have a near zero impact on the environment as well as being designed to be future proof. The environmental rating of this project is the best ratings received by Skanska. The project is also a UK first and was designed in conjunction with BREEAM methodology. The features of the project that made it more sustainable include Skanska not sending any waste to landfill and employing local contractors. Only employing contractors from the Yorkshire area means that they also provided a boost to the local economy.

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Adlington Announced That They Will Be Opening Seven New Sites This Year

Adlington, a developer of both communities and luxury apartments that are designed for a target audience of people over 60, has announced that they will be opening seven new sites this year. This investment of over £80 million should lead to the creation of 385 new homes based around the North West and Staffordshire. It is thought that these seven developments will create 175 local jobs as a full time and multidisciplinary team will be needed to design Adlington’s buildings. There will also be subcontracting opportunities for a wide variety of trades during the construction sections of the projects. The projects that have been announced by Adlington will be a welcome and significant boost to the local economies. The number of different developments include Adlington House which is located in Urmston and also be Brooklands House in Stafford, both of these projects are under construction. There are also five other locations for Adlington projects which include Macclesfield, Cheadle, Southport, Ramsbottom and Romiley. Adlington will be developing homes specifically designed for older people. The plans for the developments highlight the demand there is for such specific properties and it is hoped that Adlington’s expansion and new developments will be able to address some of the concern in this area of the property market. Concerns has been raised in a Housing Whitepaper that independent but suitable retirement living accommodation for the older generation is needed. The plans laid out by Adlington have shown the company’s commitment to expanding and developing the retirement development sector. The company has also invested in two new recruits in order to expand their team. Alan Smith is joining Adlington after taking on a director’s role at Caulmert. Smith has been appointed as a structural engineer and will bring several years’ experience of construction as well as a broad knowledge of the industry. Jonothan Croft has also joined as the Senior Land Manager and will add 20 years of experience of the retirement development industry to Adlington.

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Fantastic Tips to Help Your Business Survive Through Difficult Times

The modern trading environment is a challenging one, where increasing competition and the seemingly never ending recession can make it difficult for businesses to thrive, let alone survive. One of the most important considerations is making standing out from the crowd, which is difficult but can certainly be achieved with the right approach. This article aims to provide guidance to allow businesses to have longevity and be well placed within their market, and incorporating these will bolster your chance of running a successful enterprise. Plan Planning often stretches beyond documentation which is used for raising money, and is critical to remain competitive in industry. The importance of planning is outlined by the requirement to constantly review your practice and follow a direction which is embedded in your strategy, though this should be flexible and open to change in accordance with external factors. By utilizing tactics, it is possible to benchmark your business against them, which assists with quality control and ensures you stay on track. It is important to continuously think about where your company is positioned relative to customer perception, while adopting conservative estimates with monthly reviews. Know the Numbers Numbers are often considered taboo in business, especially among those who are less comfortable with them. Often the finance team will have a grasp on the numbers, but as a business owner it is important to also have an understanding to successfully modify your plan and strategy. This includes but isn’t limited to financial measures, incorporating quantitative measures such as website traffic statistics and conversion rates. By measuring everything that moves and taking time to learn the tangible results of proceedings, you position yourself for optimum success as a business owner. This is helped by having a financial team around you who can communicate the meaning of complex information which is difficult for non-financial people to understand, suggesting the role of the accountant is evolving. Surround Yourself with Good People Successful business is achieved with great people, and if you have surrounded yourself with compatible individuals who are united towards a common goal, you too are more likely to achieve great things. This critical consideration is highly relevant in today’s environment, where even in a time when outsourcing is highly prominent, it is mandatory that everyone shares the same vision. With people you trust, delegation is easy and it is possible to relieve pressure while empowering your colleagues. The results of this are staggering, where everyone pulling in the right direction bolsters your ability to generate profit as a company. Continuously Improve – Innovate Innovation can help businesses improve their practices, and with constant technology improvements and a willingness to change, it is possible to speed up processes with a view to continuous improvement. An example of this is in the construction industry, where advancements have made The Automatic Hook a realistic prospect. If companies can afford this impressive equipment, handling becomes significantly easier and efficiency consequently increases, justifying an openness to improve with the times.

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Business Overview of Global Energy Efficient Buildings Market

This report studies Energy Efficient Buildings in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer Title:  Global Energy Efficient Buildings Market Research Report 2016Description:About the Energy Efficient Buildings Market Production, means the output of Energy Efficient BuildingsRevenue, means the sales value of Energy Efficient BuildingsThis report studies Energy Efficient Buildings in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering Honeywell Johnson Controls Mitsubishi Electric Aecom Osram United Technologies Schneider Electric JLL LG Cbre Daikin Hitachi  Read more at: http://www.researchbeam.com/global-energy-efficient-buildings-research-report-2016-marketMarket Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate of Energy Efficient Buildings in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), like North America Europe China Japan Southeast Asia India Split by product type, with production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoSplit by application, this report focuses on consumption, market share and growth rate of Energy Efficient Buildings in each application, can be divided into Application 1 Application 2 Application 3 Request report sample @ http://www.researchbeam.com/global-energy-efficient-buildings-research-report-2016-market/request-sampleTable of Contents1 Energy Efficient Buildings Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Energy Efficient Buildings1.2 Energy Efficient Buildings Segment by Type1.3 Energy Efficient Buildings Segment by Application1.4 Energy Efficient Buildings Market by Region1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Energy Efficient Buildings (2011-2021)2 Global Energy Efficient Buildings Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Energy Efficient Buildings Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Global Energy Efficient Buildings Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.3 Global Energy Efficient Buildings Average Price by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.4 Manufacturers Energy Efficient Buildings Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Energy Efficient Buildings Market Competitive Situation and Trends3 Global Energy Efficient Buildings Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2011-2016)4 Global Energy Efficient Buildings Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)5 Global Energy Efficient Buildings Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6 Global Energy Efficient Buildings Market Analysis by Application7 Global Energy Efficient Buildings Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8 Energy Efficient Buildings Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Research Findings and ConclusionSimilar Report:United States Energy Efficient Buildings Market Report 2016Notes: Sales, means the sales volume of Energy Efficient Buildings Revenue, means the sales value of Energy Efficient Buildings This report studies sales (consumption) of Energy Efficient Buildings in United States market, focuses on the top players, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each playerGlobal Energy Efficient Buildings Sales Market Report 2016Notes: Sales, means the sales volume of Energy Efficient Buildings Revenue, means the sales value of Energy Efficient Buildings This report studies sales (consumption) of Energy Efficient Buildings in Global market, especially in USA, China, Europe, Japan, India and Southeast Asia, focuses on top players in these regions/countriesGlobal Energy Efficient Buildings Market Research Report 2016Notes: Production, means the output of Energy Efficient Buildings Revenue, means the sales value of Energy Efficient Buildings This report studies Energy Efficient Buildings in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer.About Us:With the arsenal of different search reports, Research Beam helps you here to look and buy research reports that will be helpful to you and your organization. Our research reports have the capability and authenticity to support your organization for growth and consistency. With the window of opportunity getting open and shut at a speed of light, it has become very important to survive in the market and only the fittest and competent enough can do so. So, we try and provide with latest changes in the market that can suit your needs and help you take decision accordingly.Contact Us:5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesU.S. & Canada Toll Free: + 1-800-910-6452International: + 1-503-894-6022UK: + 44-845-528-1300India: +91 20 66346070Fax: +1 (855) 550-5975Email: help@researchbeam.comWeb: http://www.researchbeam.com/  Source link

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Linn Energy files for bankruptcy protection

©Linn Energy Linn Energy, the Houston-based oil and gas producer, has become the biggest US casualty of the slump in crude prices over the past two years, filing for bankruptcy on Wednesday evening. Linn and its associated companies, LinnCo and Berry Petroleum, said they were seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a debt restructuring agreed with the lenders of at least two-thirds of its credit facility. More On this topic IN Oil & Gas Mark Ellis, chief executive, said he expected the restructuring to “provide a platform for future growth”. The group, which is one of the 20 largest oil and gas producers in the US, reported total debts of $9.3bn in February. Those borrowings make it the largest debtor among about 70 North American exploration and production companies that have gone bankrupt in this downturn, according to Haynes and Boone, the law firm. As part of the restructuring, lenders are proposing a new $2.2bn credit facility tied to the values of Linn’s reserves. The company said it planned to continue normal operations during the restructuring process. Linn had an unusual financial structure for an oil production company, being organised as a tax-privileged limited partnership that was expected to distribute most of its free cash flow as dividends. That model, which is available to oil and gas companies under US law, is more common among pipeline operators and other businesses that are expected to have more stable cash flows and less exposure to commodity price risk. Linn’s bankruptcy had been looming for months, with production in decline and debt of more than seven times last year’s cash from operations. The units, which the partnership has instead of shares, lost more than 95 per cent of their value between September 2014 and the end of 2015. They closed on Wednesday at about 33 cents, down from a high point in 2014 of more than $33. The company warned in March that it expected to breach its debt covenants, and uncertainty over its ability to meet its obligations raised “substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”. We believe that these steps [Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection] will provide us the financial flexibility to successfully manage in the current commodity price environment – Mark Ellis, Linn chief executive It also offered holders of units in Linn the chance to exchange them for shares in its affiliate LinnCo, which is structured as a regular corporation. Unit holders can be hit with tax liabilities when a partnership restructures its debts, because the write-off can be treated as a taxable gain. Linn said it planned to continue paying wages and providing healthcare and other defined benefits to its staff, and to keep paying its suppliers in full. “Like many others in our industry, Linn has been impacted by continued low commodity prices,” Mr Ellis said in a statement. “We believe that these steps will provide us the financial flexibility to successfully manage in the current commodity price environment and, when combined with constructive agreements with our remaining creditors and potential third-party financing, will provide a platform for future growth.” . Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link

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