Phoenix adds to its team with drive for UK growth
Scaffolding, brickwork, and drywall contractor, Phoenix is expanding its UK reach with the appointment of several new team members.
Well respected industry professionals Pav Bains, Jim Chandler, Wayne Addison, Neil Weston, Raj Bains and Steve Gates are joining Phoenix, with more appointments pending. Previously all had worked for Bedford based Irvine-Whitlock. Christian Watson, managing director at Phoenix, welcomed the new appointments as the business looks to boost its £15 million turnover with expansion into London and the Home Counties. “Our reputation for high-quality work, exemplary H&S compliance and solid client relationships has already established Phoenix as a strong player north of the Watford Gap. “We are delighted to welcome such experience into the business with the addition of these key industry players and now have the perfect platform to handle projects in the Capital and beyond.” Operating from its Derbyshire and Northamptonshire offices, Phoenix is well established in large parts of the North and Midlands, providing services to key leaders in the construction industry. The new appointments will work alongside the existing team and bring their experience gained across works such as St. Pancras International and Arsenal FC’s Emirates Stadium, to new projects for Phoenix across Greater London and the South East. “As a business we have always focused on delivering a quality service to our clients and I know that this ethos is shared by our new appointments,” said Christian. “This targeted expansion plan is just the first element of our wider plan to develop Phoenix as a national player and our expanded team will bring our co-ordinated service in brickwork, scaffolding and drywalling to projects further south.”CITB starts search for new boss
The CITB is on the lookout for a new £150,000-a-year Chief Executive.
Sarah Beale, the current CEO of the CITB since 2017, exits the role this autumn after tendering her resignation towards the end of last year. The role was advertised today with an annual salary of £150,000 and has a deadline of 7 March for applications. CITB said, “the purpose of the role is to maximise the value of the Levy, provide inclusive and inspirational leadership of CITB, and deliver strong organisational performance against agreed business plans.” The appointee will also represent the organisation at senior levels of the UK government and the devolved governments of Scotland and Wales and work with industry to secure and maintain support. Peter Lauener, Chair of CITB who is leading the appointment process, said: “This appointment comes at a critical time for the construction industry. Employers are recovering from the economic effects of the pandemic and need practical support to ensure their immediate skills needs are met. In addition, we have longer-term challenges like the Government’s 2050 Net Zero target to fight climate change, the move towards digital skills and the need to recruit workers to support home-building and infrastructure growth.” “The new CEO will be one of the driving forces behind meeting these skills challenges and making sure that CITB is responsive to the changing needs of construction employers across England, Scotland and Wales. “It’s a brilliant job for the right person and we expect a strong field of candidates.” For more information about the role, click here.PERI UP scaffolding reaches new heights
The combined height of the PERI UP Flex 75 access stair towers currently supporting UK construction projects now exceeds the 1km mark, claims PERI.
To give you some perspective, if all the PERI staircases were stacked on top of each other they would make a tower taller than the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.
The stair towers are being used to provide access solutions on a range of construction projects across the UK.
According to the firm their staircases are on projects that span from Scotland, where the towers are enabling access to the slipform rig on the Haymarket regeneration project in Edinburgh, to the South of England, where PERI UP is providing access to steel embedment plates and reinforcement around the reactor buildings on Hinkley Point C.
The PERI UP Flex 75 stair tower is just one of the access scaffolds from PERI’s system scaffolding range, which has been designed for flexibility, speed and most importantly, safety on site.
PERI UK’s Business Development Manager (PERI UP), Charles Stratford says: “The PERI UP stair towers have many benefits that apply across all sectors, especially where working at height is involved. Through the design of the system, neither speed nor safety has been compromised. Minimum components enable fast installation, better product utilisation for our customers coupled with multiple unlimited height offerings.
The inherent feature of the gravity lock really demonstrates the fact that ‘safety first’ does not have to be a time-intensive concept. It’s self-securing, so once our ledger is inserted into our rosette the wedge head drops by the force of gravity to ensure there’s no movement.”
PERI says its systems are only part of the package and having the right people in place is just as important to successfully deliver the modern access and shoring requirements that sites demand.
Charles adds: “The recent growth in our UK scaffolding division only strengthens our offer across all construction sectors. Whether our customers are building a high-rise tower or Britain’s newest power plant, they will receive support from start to finish through the likes of our skilled scaffolding sales engineers, a dedicated design team, and expert on-site support.”
100 Trainees benefit from new Swansea scaffolding centre
More than 100 learners have passed through the CITB’s new Welsh scaffolding centre in its first three months.
The £1.5 million scaffolding centre, at the Construction Wales Innovation Centre in Swansea, has both trained students looking to move into the sector and provided a temporary staff welfare hub during the Covid-19 pandemic. Gareth Wyn Evans, Centre Manager from the Construction Wales Innovation Centre, said: “CWIC’s activities have already supported hundreds of employers in the construction industry across Wales. Our unique partnership is delivering world-class training and bespoke programmes for this hugely important sector to the Welsh economy. “The new scaffolding academy provides access to leading facilities and expertise and it now gives welsh employers the confidence to develop their employees and to recruit new entrants into the industry.” Gareth Williams, CITB’s standards and qualifications policy manager for Wales, said: “This new centre provides training for the essential skills needed to fulfil the ambitious programme of development that due to be completed in Wales over the next few years. The construction industry in Britain needs a quarter of a million new recruits in the next five years, and with scaffolding being among those critical skills, this centre will help to meet that need, also ensuring that students can train locally rather than having to cross the border to England. “The centre opened during the pandemic, and with construction a key sector it was important that CITB, CWIC and our partners maintain training and continued preparing people for a career in the industry. Despite the lockdown, there have been a lot of applicants to train and plenty of enquiries from people looking to pursue a rewarding career in construction.”
Prior to opening, the centre acted as a staff administration and welfare hub for the Swansea Bay Field Hospital, being fitted with welfare pods to allow staff some welcome space to eat and rest while providing critical healthcare at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Since opening in October, some 27 apprentices have completed their studies at the centre, along with 36 students looking to further their studies in the field. With many more students currently working towards their commercial scaffolding qualifications, it is expected that around 350 students will pass through the centre in its first year.
While the centre is currently for the training of apprentices and professional continuing their development, this Spring will see the launch of a “Get into Scaffolding” initiative which will support those looking to change careers, including those who have lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with funded training and work opportunities.
200 Jobs secured as Bilfinger wins Stanlow Refinery contract
Bilfinger UK has won a substantial six-year maintenance contract with Essar Oil UK at its Stanlow Refinery, providing work for 200 employees.
The “major” six-year contract with an undisclosed value will see Bilfinger carry out a range of services across facilities at the Stanlow site in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. The services will include access scaffolding, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation, insulation, painting, and asbestos management and removal. The refinery plays a strategic role in the UK economy, supplying 16% of all road transport fuels. It is also a major regional employer with over 900 staff, an additional 800 on-site contractors and a further 5,000 people employed indirectly through the extended supply chain. Bilfinger UK said they have successfully provided multi-discipline project & turnaround services to Essar Oil UK for many years, and this strategic decision to also award the Maintenance & Projects contract to Bilfinger UK is a testament to the exceptional work and safety performance delivered by the site team. Phill Maurer, Managing Director at Bilfinger UK, said: “This six-year agreement is testament to the exceptional work and safety performance delivered by the site team and represents a significant addition to our portfolio of support partnerships at major facilities across the UK. This award comes after many months of working with Essar Oil UK to understand the vision they have for the Stanlow refinery and aligning the global capabilities of our business with the maintenance and engineering needs they have at the site.” Jon Barden, Chief Operating Officer at Stanlow Oil Refinery, added: “I welcome Bilfinger UK as our lead partner for the delivery of mechanical, scaffolding, insulation, painting and electrical and instrumentation services at the Stanlow and Tranmere locations. We look forward to developing a successful long term relationship where both parties work collaboratively to deliver improvements in our collective safety and business performances to benefit our respective employees and owners.” Bilfinger UK employs 4,000 employees in the UK, and approximately 200 employees will be dedicated to maintenance and projects services for Essar Oil UK.Altrad eyes 75% growth in UK & Ireland by 2026
Altrad aspires to become a business of scale aiming to be 75% larger by 2026 according to its new bold growth-driven strategy launched today.
In today’s global, digitally connected market, sector convergence sets industries and organisations on a collision course – revealing both opportunities and threats in the shape of new markets, broader capabilities, technologies and competitive behaviours. Peter Hughes, Altrad’s Director of Business Development & Strategy said “Our markets are changing faster than at any time in our lifetime, driven by growing concern over climate change, the energy transition and rapidly advancing digital technology. So, it will come as no surprise to hear that our growth-driven agenda requires us to continually evolve, as our markets and sectors change – but of course, delivering transformational growth requires courage and ingenuity – characteristics that typify Altrad and its people”. February 2021 appears to be an exciting milestone for Altrad, as they launch their new Altrad 2026 strategy – ‘It all begins with a desire to create a better tomorrow’. In 2026, Altrad aspire to become a business of scale – aiming to be 75% larger than they are today. Their journey is to become more diversified in terms of the services they provide and the markets they serve, providing enhanced value to their clients and enriched growth opportunities for their people. Altrad intends to acquire businesses and form new strategic partnerships with like-minded companies that share their excitement, vision and values. In addition, Altrad have also committed to a range of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental performance targets – which includes becoming carbon neutral by 2030 or sooner.
“Unlike many of our peers, who work tirelessly on their strategies, and then keep them locked away – we have adopted a very different approach. Our approach is bold – so our strategy is publicly available to everyone via our web site at Our Approach | Altrad Services UK. We’re committed to delivering our growth-driven agenda and moving our strategy from ‘excitement into execution’ such that our strategy is a feature of our daily life – and everyone, including our competitors – can see and measure our progress” added Hughes.
It’s fair to say that Altrad has set out a bold growth driven strategy, and only time will tell if this approach succeeds – but given their track record and the confidence in their messaging – it might not be the wisest choice to bet against them. Chancellor urged again to withdraw Reverse Charge VAT plan
A campaign calling on the Government to withdraw the implementation of Reverse Charge VAT is gathering pace after it was revealed it could cause a cash-flow crisis across the construction industry.
Over 150,000 businesses within the construction industry are set to see a 20% drop in cash flow when the planned VAT changes come into force on the 1st March. Many have said the impact of this could scupper the construction-led economic COVID recovery. As previously reported in January the largest industry organisations and trade bodies supported a letter calling on the Government to scrap its VAT changes for construction. Now the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) which represents the whole construction industry has taken the lead on again urging the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to withdraw the impending changes. In a letter to the Chancellor, chairman of the CLC, Andy Mitchell wrote: “Despite the Government’s support, our industry remains in extremely challenging times as we continue to adapt to ongoing Covid-19 rules, mitigate the impact of Brexit and prepare for the forthcoming implementation of rule changes on IR35 and the Construction Industry Scheme. It is also important to note that by continuing to operate the industry has suffered a serious financial impact as a result of project delays and costs incurred in adapting working practices. This has resulted in many contractual disputes which our monitoring suggests are currently growing and which will accelerate further still. We are currently quantifying the impact; however, it is reasonable to assume that without further financial support many companies will become insolvent.” Referring to the Withdrawal of Reverse Charge VAT, Andy Mitchell added: “The implementation of Reverse charge VAT in April will restrict cashflow in our industry, especially to the smallest firms, at an extremely critical financial period for many businesses. This policy risks reversing any recovery industry has made from Covid-19 and will limit the scope for protecting and creating jobs across the UK. As such, we call for the legislation to be withdrawn to help secure an economic recovery for the long term.” The CLC hopes the forthcoming Spring Budget on the 3rd March will see Rishi Sunak make an announcement on Reverse Charge VAT and hopefully a change of direction. See the full letter here: https://www.constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Letter-to-Rishi-Sunak-MPChancellor-of-the-Exchequer-from-the-co-Chair-of-the-CLC_26-January-2021.pdfCharity publishes support pack for workers who fall from height
UK charity launches free support pack helping people affected by a fall from height.
THE NO FALLS FOUNDATION, the UK charity dedicated to preventing falls from height and helping people affected by the life-changing consequences of a fall, has published a Support Pack signposting organisations and resources that can provide advice and assistance following a fall from height in the workplace. It also includes details of the charity’s Ambassadors who have all faced the aftermath and consequences of a fall and are available to provide advice and guidance to anyone experiencing the traumatic affects of a fall and wondering what to do next. The free pack covers a wide range of topics, including:- What to do immediately;
- What financial assistance may be available;
- How to begin a personal injury claim;
- Support with transport and home adaptations;
- Using the No Falls befriending service;
- Organisations that can help with issues of mental health.
For those who have experienced the loss of a loved one as a result of a fall from height, the pack also provides details of those organisations that can offer help and support.
Comments the charity’s manager, Hannah Williams: “What should have been a perfectly normal day has ended in a potentially life-shattering accident. What do you do now? Who can you turn to? What help is available? The pack attempts to answer these questions and provides contact details for the Foundation.”
The No Falls Foundation also publishes a bi-monthly e-newsletter Saving Lives which contains details of all the latest news and developments at the charity. You can sign up at www.nofallsfoundation.org Jobs boost for Brits in construction sector Brexit bounce back
