News: Laing O'Rourke acquires Dinnington construction specialist

Rotherham-based Glass Reinforced Concrete (UK) (GRC UK) has been acquired by Laing O'Rourke, the multinational construction company.

Based at Redwood Court in Dinnington, Rotherham, GRC UK are a specialist manufacturer and supplier of Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC) construction products for use in architectural dressing, cladding, and rain screen applications.

Laing O'Rourke became the UK's largest privately owned construction company following the acquisition of the construction arm of John Laing Plc by R O'Rourke & Son in 2001. It operates various engineering activities including concrete products, joinery and specialist services companies.

The acquisition is expected to further strengthen Laing O' Rourke's manufacturing portfolio, allowing the group to deliver specialist engineering contracts that require complex spray process glass reinforced concrete to meet the demanding quality and performance characteristics on large building and infrastructure projects.

GRC is used by many of the world's leading building designers with internationally renowned architects such as Fosters & Partners and Zaha Hadid regularly specifying the material. In the UK, the Olympic Village has featured extensive use of GRC (GRC UK manufactured 5,500 elements for one apartment block, pictured) and the material will feature on all the new stations being constructed as part of the massive Crossrail development. It has significant benefits over traditional pre-cast concrete including reduction in dead load weight, more environmentally friendly to manufacture and transport, faster and easier to install, and greater design optionality.

Russell Kellett, head of manufacturing at Laing O'Rourke, said: "The addition of GRCUK is a step forward in our Design for Manufacture and Assembly approach, giving Laing O’Rourke a well structured and financed organisation that is positioned strongly in the UK market to secure a large proportion of the GRC-specified work currently being tendered and awarded.

"As an established business with a proven record, a good order book, fully equipped factory with great transport links, and a committed workforce, I believe this acquisition will enable us to tap into new areas of the market to develop a lightweight cladding product. With the financial resources of the Laing O’Rourke Group behind it, there is considerable scope for increasing the profitability of the business through the significant operating synergies we see with our core construction and infrastructure delivery business units."

GRC UK employs 38 full-time staff at its facility in Dinnington. All staff will transfer with the acquisition and be retained in the business.

GRC UK website
Laing O'Rourke website

Images: GRC UK

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News: Work underway on £15m care project in Rotherham

The modernisation of Rotherham General Hospital continues with work begining on a £15m Older People's Inpatient Unit.

Once built, the development will house 42 beds and a treatment suite on a 9,630 sq m site at the rear of the hospital.

Chairman of Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber (RDaSH) Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Madeleine Keyworth said: "The Trust is recognised by the Care Quality Commission to be one of the best trusts in the country for the quality of our services and for the way we use our financial resources.

"This new facility in Rotherham is an excellent example of how we are investing in modernising and developing new services for the communities we serve."

Contractors Laing O'Rourke are scheduled to finish constructing the new facility in 2011.

The £15m scheme is part of the Foundation Trust's major programme to modernise mental health services for adults in the Rotherham area.

The development is being built under the Procure 21 framework, which represents construction industry best practice and helps NHS Trusts to achieve better results than those associated with traditional tender procurement.

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust has also begun work on the hospital's ambitious redevelopment plans to create a "Hospital of Tomorrow" which could see £46m of construction work take place on site.

RDASH website
Rotherham

Images: rdash.nhs.uk

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News: Construction partner announced for YES!

Oak Holdings, the AIM listed company developing the £350m YES! Project on a former coalfield in Rotherham, has agreed a partnership agreement with Laing O'Rourke, the UK's largest privately-owned construction company. The project has planning consent to create the largest covered leisure facility in Europe and is located on 800 acres adjacent to Rother Valley Country Park near junction 31 of the M1. Oak recently secured a deal with the Sheffield Steelers ice hockey team to develop a new state-of-the-art purpose-built arena. The Steelers will join extreme sports specialist Venture Xtreme and golf driving range company Baydrive as occupiers at Yes! Chief Executive of Oak Holdings, Steve Lewis said: "The exciting developments announced recently are the fruits of four and a half years' labour. We are now in a position to move the scheme forward with certainty. To secure the services of Laing O'Rourke, with its exemplary record for delivering high-profile schemes successfully and on time, is a major achievement for the project. Laing O'Rourke is one of Europe's foremost construction services groups and it is championing the partnership approach to major projects. We are very pleased to have them as our partners."
YES! website
Laing O'Rourke website
Property Week article
The Business Desk article

Rotherham

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