Member Article

North East builds up to demolition day

The North East demolition industry will be in the spotlight this month when a major national conference takes place at The Sage Gateshead.

The National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC), the global voice of the demolition industry, is hosting its Demolition Day conference at the venue.

The event is set to take place on Wednesday May 16 from 9.30 to 15.30 and will attract big hitters from the demolition contract sector, the Institute of Demolition Engineers as well as a range of ancillary professions including architects, quantity surveyors, buyers and suppliers.

The demolition industry is worth over £100 million to the North East annually and employs around 1,000 people with firms such as Thompsons of Prudhoe, Buckler Demolition and MGL Demolition. Nationally, the sector is worth in excess of £800 million with a workforce of more than 4,000 operatives.

Demolition Day aims to provide a unique insight into the workings of the sector, its aspirations and challenges as well as networking and new business opportunities.

It will highlight examples of best practice regionally and nationally with several case studies and demonstrations of outstanding practice including examples of North East projects like the demolition of the Tyne Bridge Tower.

Mark Davison, director of Durham-based MGL Demolition, who is one of the presenters at the event, said: “We’re delighted to be bringing this event to the region and to a fantastic venue at The Sage. It’s a flagship event in the demolition calendar and a real opportunity for the industry to engage with key issues.

“The economic slowdown has affected the industry but there’s a lot to shout about. There are some fantastic projects, standards are higher than ever and we have one of the best training programmes in Europe in any sector of the construction industry.

“We expect to have a couple of hundred delegates and a wide range of exhibitors on Tyneside for the event which is a great opportunity for the region’s contractors to showcase what they have to offer.”

Demolition Day will also explore a range of key issues affecting the demolition sector such new codes of practice, legislation, training and waste management – with 90% of all materials recycled by NFDC members.

Howard Button, chief executive of NFDC and keynote speaker at the event, said: “With its industrial heritage, the North East has always been at the forefront of the demolition industry and boasts many high quality operators. We’re delighted to be hosting Demolition Day here.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to promote the work the sector and the high standards demolition contractors operate to as well as generate business leads and contacts.”

The NFDC is the global voice of the demolition industry. It has recently celebrated its 70th birthday and boasts over 170 of the UK’s leading demolition contractors carrying out around Ninety per cent of the UK’s demolition contracts.

To book tickets telephone 01442 217144 or email: info@demolition-nfdc.com.

For more information visit: www.nfdc.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophie McDougall .