
It’s almost time to unveil the 2026 PIA Winners!
The Finalists for 2026 Pump Industry Awards the have been shortlisted across the nine award categories, collectively highlighting the very best in innovation, performance, technical ability, and overall contribution to the pump sector. The annual awards presentation dinner is a celebration of the industry’s best and brightest. Alongside well-deserved reward and recognition, the evening offers outstanding networking opportunities, and the perfect chance to celebrate with colleagues from across the sector. This highly anticipated industry gathering takes place on Thursday 19th March at the famous Hilton St Georges Park, in Burton on Trent, and promises to be another sell out event. Our 2026 Finalists by award category PRODUCT OF THE YEAR Sponsored by DFA Media Group PROJECT OF THE YEAR Sponsored by World Pumps ENVIRONMENTAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE YEAR Sponsored by SPP Pumps MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR Sponsored by WEG UK DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Caprari / Calpeda SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Wilo CONTRIBUTION TO SKILLS & TRAINING AWARD Sponsored by ABB RISING STAR AWARD Sponsored by Innomotics SUSTAINABLE CONTRIBUTION FOR A BETTER WORLD Sponsored by AESSEAL The nine winners will be announced during the glittering gala dinner, which will bring together a broad cross-section of industry personnel, and end-user customers, to honour outstanding achievements from right across in the international pump sector. Join us for the celebration A few places are still available, so whether it’s taking a table to host customers or booking a few seats for you, your team and partners, don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to enjoy a wonderful evening of great food, fine wine, fantastic entertainment and that all-important networking until the early hours, when our now infamous ‘survivors’ breakfast’ will be served. To help deliver this key industry awards ceremony, we will be joined by ex-professional snooker champion and popular TV pundit, Steve Davis. Best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, he reached eight World Snooker Championship finals in nine years, won six world titles, and held the world number one ranking for seven consecutive seasons. He was also the first snooker player to make a televised 147 break. Since then, his TV punditry has become legendary, and he can also add DJ, electronic musician, and author to his long list of credits. To book your place please visit www.pumpindustryawards.com/book-tickets. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Red Construction Group secure over £100m of work in the South West and celebrate project completions
RED Construction Group, the specialist main contractor, is forecasting positive sustainable growth, having surpassed £100m of secured work and celebrating project completions totalling more than £65m within its South West division. The team recently completed the £15m Millstream development, the final piece of the redevelopment of the Chocolate Quarter Retirement Village, formerly Cadbury’s Chocolate Factory. The works involved navigating an existing basement structure to construct the five-storey block that consists of 44 extra-care apartments, a communal lounge, a basement plant room, cycle store, and extensive associated external works. Following the successful delivery of the Chocolate Quarter Retirement Village, St Monica Trust has now appointed the South West division as its construction partner on The Hub, a vibrant new social facility to be located at the heart of Cote Lane Retirement Village in Bristol. The RED team will create an extension to Grade II listed building, Oatley House, linked via clear structural glass, creating a modern, comfortable communal space with seating, sofas, and a serving counter. The internal refurbishment will involve the reconfiguration of bathroom facilities, an adjustment of office layouts, and a new reception area. By transforming the previously underused space into a vibrant, welcoming café and social hub, both residents and visitors will benefit, while also preserving the 1920s character of Oatley House. These project milestones with St Monica Trust coincide with the division’s completion of several cladding remediation schemes in the South West of which include works on The Crescent, Balmoral & Waverley, and The Panoramic. These projects total over £15m and deliver fire safety works to over 400 apartments within the city of Bristol. James Devey, Divisional Director at RED Construction South West, commented: “We’ve been busy delivering projects that truly make a difference. The completion of several cladding remediation projects and final piece of the Chocolate Quarter are perfect examples. The new social hub at St Monica Trust’s Cote Lane Retirement Village represents the success of our approach to collaboration, delivery, and willingness to take on projects that enhance the community.” David Williams, Chief Executive at St Monica Trust, added: “RED Construction South West’s work on The Chocolate Quarter has been an all-round success, so when it came to selecting a contractor for The Hub, the team were the obvious choice. As we look towards the refurbishment of the equally historic Oatley House, we can trust that the task of delivering The Hub has been placed into the best hands.” The news follows RED South West recently breaking ground on StudioHIVE’s Weston Health Hub, located in Weston-Super-Mare. The first phase of the project will involve the construction of a new health centre and GP surgery, providing facilities serving up to 12,500 people. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Government spends £377 million in 9 months to keep British Steel’s Scunthorpe site operating
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) quickly intervened to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces from closure, and has spent £377 million so far to keep the site operational with no budget set at the 2025 Spending Review, and no end date for the intervention a new report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has found.1 Jingye, the owner of British Steel, and DBT had been in talks around transitioning to electric arc furnaces between 2022 and 2025, but had not reached an agreement.2 In March 2025, Jingye announced that it was losing £700,000 per day due to challenging market conditions, tariffs, and high environmental costs, and it was considering the closure of the blast furnaces. This would have resulted in a large number of job losses at Scunthorpe and affected key customers in the supply chain, such as Network Rail. In April 2025, DBT intervened after assessing that timescales were critical due to stocks of raw materials running low, and there was a risk of the blast furnaces being switched off. 3 Emergency legislation – the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 – was passed to allow DBT to issue formal instructions to British Steel to continue operating its blast furnaces. DBT acted quickly to mobilise a team on site, secure raw materials and put governance arrangements in place. DBT has so far spent £377 million to keep British Steel operating, including spending £15 million on advisers between 12 April 2025 and 31 January 2026, and £359 million to British Steel for operating activities such as paying for raw materials, payroll, and other operating costs. 4 Spending is expected to reach £615 million by June 2026. If spending continues at current rates, it could exceed £1.5 billion in 2028 depending on policy choices that may be taken in the future. DBT has no repayment schedule in place, and it is not apparent that British Steel will be able to repay the loan. 5 DBT was not allocated funding for the intervention at the Spending Review and will have to make savings elsewhere to fund part of the intervention from its existing budgets for 2025-26. DBT considers that the benefits of the intervention have been to ensure the continued and safe operation of the two blast furnaces at the Scunthorpe site, giving the department time to undertake a national security and economic assessment of the steel sector, and to retain primary steelmaking capability in the UK. DBT has been in contact with the owner, with a view to finding a way through that meets the government’s aims of preserving steelmaking in Scunthorpe and enabling future discussions about investment. Longer-term, a transition plan for converting from blast to electric arc furnaces, and a wider transformation plan may be required to support the future viability of the business. DBT has established the Steel Programme which covers on-site management at Scunthorpe and work on future steel policy. DBT plans to publish a steel strategy which is expected to outline measures to address sector-wide challenges and attract investment. 6 The government has also previously announced a £2.5 billion commitment to the steel industry. 7 Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “DBT was able to act quickly to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe furnaces from closure, avoiding heavy job losses and serious impacts on major UK infrastructure and construction projects. However, the trade-off is the significant cost of maintaining operations, and uncertainty over how long this will continue.” “DBT should learn from this experience to be better prepared for future interventions.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Mears sharpens housing focus with £18m FM disposal
Mears has sold its education and health facilities management division for £18m as it accelerates its strategic shift towards core housing services. The contractor confirmed the sale of Morrison Facilities Services Limited following a competitive sales process, marking another step in its plan to streamline operations and concentrate exclusively on the housing sector. The transaction was completed on a debt and cash-free basis with a normalised level of working capital. Morrison Facilities Services, which primarily delivered facilities management contracts across education and healthcare settings, generated revenue of £32m and pre-tax profit of £2.8m in the year to 31 December 2025. The business had previously been reported within Mears’ maintenance-led segment. Mears originally acquired the business in 2011 from Anglian Water Group for £24m. The latest disposal reflects a decisive repositioning of the group’s portfolio in response to evolving market conditions and long-term demand dynamics. Chief executive Lucas Critchley said the move represented further progress in simplifying the group’s structure and aligning it with its strategic priorities. He added that the disposal reinforces Mears’ focus on delivering housing services, a market underpinned by strong regulatory drivers and sustained investment requirements. The decision comes at a time when social housing providers and local authorities are facing increasing pressure around compliance, building safety and decarbonisation. These factors are driving significant, long-term demand for maintenance, refurbishment and asset management services across the housing estate. By narrowing its operational focus, Mears is positioning itself to capitalise on these structural growth drivers while reducing exposure to non-core activities. The sale is expected to provide greater clarity to investors regarding the group’s direction and strengthen its ability to allocate capital and management resource towards its core housing operations. The disposal signals a more concentrated and disciplined strategy as Mears seeks to build scale and resilience within the UK housing services market. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Tips for Maximizing Output and Reducing Downtime in Infrastructure Manufacturing
Building the massive components that support our transportation networks and power grids leaves absolutely zero room for error. If a production line grinds to a halt, the financial hit is hard and fast. A quiet factory floor doesn’t just ruin your daily quota; it stalls active construction sites miles away and triggers brutal contractual fines. Hitting your targets consistently requires a lot more than just telling the floor crew to speed up. You have to actively hunt down the hidden mechanical and physical bottlenecks that are quietly eating away at your margins. Stop Waiting for Things to Break It sounds obvious, but an alarming number of facilities still rely on run-to-failure maintenance. If a critical hydraulic press or automated riveting cell snaps mid-shift, you lose hours waiting for replacement parts. Swapping to a predictive model changes the entire dynamic of the shop floor. By attaching vibration and heat sensors to your heaviest machinery, you get a heads-up weeks before a bearing actually shatters. You fix the issue on a Sunday afternoon when the floor is empty, rather than a Monday morning when fifty people are standing around waiting for the green light. The Physical Toll of Bad Hardware Then there is the physical reality of the crew. Assembling power grid components or rail systems is brutal, repetitive work. If your team is wrestling with heavy, violently vibrating tools all day, their precision inevitably drops by hour six. Fatigue breeds mistakes. Stripped bolts and misaligned joints mean tearing down a nearly finished product, which absolutely wrecks your output metrics. Upgrading the hardware in their hands pays off incredibly fast. Lighter materials, better grips, and active torque control keep workers fresh and focused. A lot of plant managers pull in specialized, connected gear from Atlas Copco ITBA to get that exact mix of ergonomics and industrial-grade power. If the tool fights the operator less, the operator builds more units. Kill Rework at the Source Rework is another massive drain on the clock. Finding a bad connection at the final quality check is the worst-case scenario because you have already invested labor and materials into a flawed unit. The fix here is to build verification directly into the assembly sequence. Modern setups use machine vision and smart controllers to validate every single fastening event the second it happens. If a bolt isn’t seated right, the system flashes red and stops the line until the operator corrects it. You stop passing defects down the line, meaning your final inspection becomes a quick formality rather than a severe bottleneck. Clear the Clutter Look closely at the physical layout of your stations. Clutter kills cycle times. If an operator spends forty-five seconds searching for a specific socket or deciphering a poorly printed schematic, multiply that by a hundred cycles a day. It adds up to hours of dead time. Digitizing work instructions and standardizing exactly where every single peripheral sits removes that hesitation. Eliminate the Daily Drag Pushing your production numbers higher rarely involves a single, sweeping change. It usually comes down to stripping away the daily friction. Give your people better equipment, anticipate your breakdowns before they happen, and stop letting mistakes travel down the line. Do that, and the output takes care of itself.

What’s the Best Turnstile for Your Construction Site? 7 Solutions for Different Security Scenarios
Construction job sites present a unique safety challenge. Equipment moves in and out constantly, crews change shifts, and temporary workers or visitors may arrive throughout the day. When you have strong access controls, these conditions are managed rather than creating opportunities for unauthorized entry, theft, and safety risks. Turnstile security systems solve many of these problems by creating controlled entry points that help ensure only credentialed personnel gain admittance to your industrial site. With the right configuration, automated “cheesegraters” also integrate with connected job site management software, RFID badges, and credential readers to support occupancy monitoring and workforce tracking. These solutions highlight how turnstiles and gates work hard to manage different security applications effortlessly. 1. SecureTurn HT431 — Single Full Height Turnstile The SecureTurn HT431 is a purpose-built full height design for rugged environments. Its floor-to-ceiling design helps create a strong physical barrier that deters unauthorized entry while allowing credentialed workers easy and efficient entry. Constructed with American-made steel, the HT431 handles demanding conditions common to construction job sites. It integrates seamlessly with card readers, biometrics, and proximity scanners, so site managers can control passage through a centralized security system, playing to the market trend where 40% of all new turnstiles are smart tech-enabled. The unit also includes the ARC (Automatic Rotational Control) mechanism, which regulates arm movement throughout the entire rotation. Maintaining a consistent rotation speed helps protect users and reduces equipment wear. It comfortably fitsa 31″ passage width for easy worker entry and is durable, making it well-suited for industrial environments. For long-term industrial projects that require reliable access control, the HT431 delivers a durable and efficient entry solution. 2. SecureTurn HT431T — Tandem Full Height Turnstile Large job sites often need multiple lanes to manage worker influx efficiently. The SecureTurn HT431T addresses this challenge by combining two full height turnstiles into a single welded unit. The tandem configuration improves personnel movement. Not to mention, separate entry and exit lanes help prevent congestion and keep crews moving during peak periods. Each rotor includes the ARC mechanism, providing safe operation and long-term reliability. As with the single unit, it integrates seamlessly with credential readers and access control software, automating entry. For busy construction projects with hundreds of workers entering daily, a tandem configuration often provides the most efficient entry control setup. 3. SecureTurn HT431P — Portable Full Height Turnstile Industrial sites rarely stay static, and entry points change as fencing moves and new phases of work begin. The SecureTurn HT431P portable full height turnstile provides a flexible solution for these changing conditions. This system ships fully preassembled on a forklift-ready steel base. Crews can quickly unload the unit from the truck and position it, allowing security teams to establish access control within minutes. The modular design allows additional lanes to be added or removed as job site needs evolve. Portable solutions like the HT431P offer a practical way to secure temporary job sites without permanent infrastructure. 4. SecureTurn HT80 — Aluminum Full Height Turnstile If your project needs full height security but you want an option that is weather-resistant and easier to handle than a heavier steel unit, the SecureTurn HT80 fits nicely into this roundup. It still gives you the controlled, one-person-at-a-time method that helps reduce unauthorized persons, tailgating, and loose perimeter control on active job sites. This option suits contractors that value durable access control at temporary or semipermanent entry points, where installation logistics must be flexible. It also works well when you want a clean, professional entrance that integrates with credential readers and broader control systems. 5. SecureTurn HT439 — Full Height Turnstile With 40″ Passage Standard turnstiles work well for most workers, but some job sites require wider passageways. The SecureTurn HT439 addresses this need with an almost 40″ passage width that provides enough space for personnel carrying toolboxes, equipment, or materials — no more toolbelts hooking when entering or leaving the worksite. Despite the wider opening, the system maintains the security benefits of a full height turnstile. The design still helps deter unauthorized entry while allowing controlled entry through credential readers. The strong perimeter security and compatibility with access control systems make the HT439 an ideal solution for keeping crews moving efficiently without compromising security at the entrance. 6. SecureTurn HT448 — Full Height Turnstile, Extra Wide Passage Some construction environments demand more space at the access point. Workers may arrive with toolboxes, safety equipment, or large gear that makes standard lane widths restrictive. The SecureTurn HT448 addresses that challenge by providing a wider passage while maintaining the strong floor-to-ceiling coverage that full-height turnstiles are known for. This model helps trade teams maintain strict control without slowing down entry during busy periods. The larger opening allows workers with bulky toolboxes and utility bags to move comfortably while still enforcing one-person-at-a-time entry, which discourages tailgating and unauthorized access. It integrates with credential readers, proximity cards, biometrics, and connected job site software platforms, allowing contractors to link physical access points with workforce credentialing systems, attendance tracking, and broader integrated security programs. 7. SecureTurn HT70 — Revolving Door Turnstile With Glass Panels The SecureTurn HT70 offers a unique solution for these environments. Designed with aluminum framing and revolving glass doors, it has the appearance of a revolving door while delivering the controlled, one-person-at-a-time entry of a full height security turnstile. This design enforces access control at sensitive locations such as planning offices, HR departments, and paypoints on-site while preserving the clean architectural look often expected in office-style environments. It’s frequently used in interior entry points where security systems integrate with card readers, biometrics, or other credentialing systems. Comparative Summary of Hayward Construction Turnstile Solutions Access control brings order to the chaos of a shift change and ensures employees clock in as soon as they arrive on the site. With Hayward Turnstiles, your company is compliant and covered. Now you just have to decide which product works best for securing your construction site. Product Dimensions in Inches Materials Extras Included HT431 Passage width: 31″ Overall width: 62.375″ Hot-dip
