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Lace designs that helped establish a world famous industry in the heart of Nottingham have been set in concrete as part of an iconic, multi-million pounds art centre. The project was a major challenge for Trent Concrete which used its precast experience to reproduce a lace pattern in the reconstructed stone cladding being manufactured for the Centre of Contemporary Arts Nottingham. The design is based on a sample of Victorian lace found in a time capsule unearthed when a supermarket was being built. The pattern was given to design specialists at Derby University, who used lasers to replicate the exact pattern on a piece of timber. This was transferred onto a durable rubber mat. .

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Rhondda Cynon Taff Council's engineers are using Tensar International's ground stabilisation solutions to repair a partial landslide with site-won material in the Rhonnda Valley. Stabilising an old landfill in Danylan, close to Pontypridd, has challenged RCT engineers since 2004. Upon completion the Tensar design team demonstrated that stabilisation of the slope could be achieved using geogrids.

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Kooltherm K18 Insulated Dry-lining Board, the rigid phonolic insulation from Kingspan Insulation, has been used in the refurbishment of four towers which have become affordable homes for first time buyers. The towers in Blackley near Mancherster, contain a total of 210 one, two and three bedroom apartments. They were insulated with the CFC/HCFC-free board with 12.5mm plasterboard facing, providing a number of advantages for home owners and developers. The front facing of the insulation is a tapered edge, gypsum-based plasterboard, which readily accepts dry-jointing materials, plaster skim or direct decoration. The board's rigid phenolic core gives a high insulation performance with a thermal conductivity as low a 0.0211/mK. This allows the thinnest possible insulation board to be used in order to achieve the required U-values; and causes minimum encroachment of room space, while providing potential energy savings for the home owner.

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The construction of Liverpool Science Park by architects Falconer Chester Hall mixed science with chaos theory when it used Burlington's natural stone cladding to contrast with random walling stone as a means of delivering a new and modern 4500m² office facility designed to attract science and technology-based start-up companies. Rough and smooth were mixed as Burlington's honed Kirkby blue-/grey cladding panels - set within an expressed stainless steel frame - delivered the building's clean line architectural style. This contrasted with the random walling stone that features to the base of the Science Park and has been used to create a boundary wall to the development's new visitor centre and the garden area of the adjacent Metropolitan Cathedral. Each Burlington panel features within a rainscreen grid that has been specially adapted to incorporate stainless steel fins that protrude outwards providing additional relief.

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Precast concrete specialists Milbury Systems is constructing a basement car park under new apartments in Newquay, Cornwall. The prestressed concrete units were manufactured at its concrete production facility. Simon Pearson, works director of Milbury, said: 'We are undertaking an increasing number of contracts to install basements and underground car parks as companies look at making the best use of land.'

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Staffordshire-based ceilings specialist Hunter Douglas met one of its biggest ever ceiling challenge at ExCel, the international conference centre in London Docklands, when it provided 20,000m² of it's Luxalon ceiling systems. An Open Cell 50E system was used for the high level main concourse and retail units, while the cafe areas were fitted with an Open Cell T-15 ceiling. Additionally, 5,000m² of aluminium panels from the 300C range are fitted above the main concourse, while the balcony breakout conference rooms -feature 7,300m² of tile ceiling.

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Wolseley, the UK's largest distributor of construction material, and Finnforest, leading supplier of wood-based products, have combined to provide 50 deck and pergola kits and 30 other timber structures to pub company Spirit Group. Due to the smoking ban, and renewed demands for outdoor smoking shelters, the two companies have developed the deck kits to ensure they are fit for purpose in accordance with current Government legislation for provision for smokers.

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An Old Orleans restaurant housed within a Louisana-style paddle steamer has been refurbished using specialist paints from Akzo Nobel. The paints needed to be able to stand the weather and the marine location, so Sikkens Rubbol Satura was used on the outside, and Crown Trade Extreme Scrubbable Matt emulsion was on the interior.

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A reputation for product quality and customer service is said to be what ensured Portakabin took pole position when Millbrook Proving Ground required a new high specification showroom and customer centre. Renowned for hosting lavish press days, technical driving courses, staff training and new car model launches, Millbrook required the new facilities to provide a modern and contemporary hosting space for its premium guests and end-users. The 150m² single storey building includes a fully glazed wall; a light and spacious open plan meeting and reception area, as well as spotlights and floor tiles, both of which were specially imported from Italy. Portakabin ensured that a dedicated project manager was on site at all times for the duration of the build, granting Millbrook extra peace of mind that the building would be completed on time and on budget.

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Self-Drive Excavators has become the first independent plant hire company in Scotland to buy the new Kubota K080-3GL 8.2 tonne mini excavator. Since the purchase, almost half of the Glasgow plant hirers are Kubota machines. The excavators deliver a reduced rear-tail swing radius that takes it into the tightest spots and the rear overhang features cast-iron protectors to significantly reduce the chances of damage to the machine when working in restricted spaces.

Details for Kubota (UK) Ltd