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Core Business Overview
The Company continued to make very good progress through 2007, producing records in output, turnover and profitability, and established the strongest forward order book in its history.
Client satisfaction is very high as the focus continues to be on delivery of value and on-time project execution for all contracts, large and small.
In the closing quarter of 2007 the Group achieved a significant strategic objective with the acquisition of Fisher Engineering Limited.
The Company has settled in to the Group exceedingly well.
Benefits to the Group include enhanced flexibility, better service offerings and the greater collective optimisation
of our new scale and breadth.
This acquisition consolidates the Group’s leading position, in terms of service and client preference throughout the UK and Ireland.
The companies within the Group, while autonomous, are solidly co-operating to provide “best in industry” programmes, service and value to clients and their projects.
Severfield-Reeve Structures
Many notable projects were undertaken by the Company, including:
- Completion of the Westfield Centre shopping centre, London
- Continuing specialist development of oil pipeline carrying racks on Sakhalin Island, Russian
Federation
- First ever inner city Ikea store on Queen Victoria Road, Coventry
- Extension to the Shires shopping centre in Leicester
- Retail, leisure and residential centre Eagles Meadow, Wrexham
- Concert hall, arts venue and office development with unique rippling glass facade at King’s Place,
London
- Retail development at the Broadmead shopping complex in Bristol
- Office development using the innovative Bi-Steel Core at One Basinghall Avenue, London
- New 1200 bed hospital development at Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, Edgbaston, Birmingham
- Mixed use retail and residential development at Livingston, near Edinburgh
- Ropemaker multi-storey office block, London
During the course of 2007, the Company prepared for and obtained a Gold Award via the British Construction Steel Association Sustainability Charter.
This is a milestone achievement and is just the initial step in the Group’s ambition to generate an efficient sustainable business model.
In the same timeframe BS EN ISO 14001 Environmental and OHSAS 18001 Safety accreditations were achieved.
Further site development for improved logistics and enhanced product output were implemented through 2007, ensuring that the Company strengthens its position as the leading production facility in Europe.
Watson Steel Structures
The Company again continues to express its versatility and engineering expertise through its participation in many high profile projects, including:
- The on-time/in budget completion of Terminal 5, Heathrow
- Terminal extension at Stansted for BAA
- Hackney Academy, London
- The Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum, London
- Waste to Energy plant, Colnebrook
New projects awarded in 2008 include:
- New Museum of Transport, Glasgow
- Terminal 2 Dublin Airport
- Extensions to Terminals 3 and 4 at Heathrow Airport
- The exclusive residential development at Number 1 Hyde Park, London
- Cannon Place development, London
In 2007, the operations at Watson Steel were enhanced with the commission of processing equipment and the improvement of site infrastructure.
The Company was also successfully accredited with BS EN ISO 14001 Environment and OHSAS 18001 Safety awards, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to quality, safety and sustainability.
Atlas Ward Structures
In 2007 Atlas Ward derived productivity benefits from the significant investments made in 2006.
Investment during 2007 is further strengthening the Company’s position in the market place and makes it more flexible to compete across a range of construction sectors.
Projects engaged during the year, include:
- New distribution centre for Tesco in Livingston, Scotland
- Project Storm, a new distribution centre for major supermarket chain ASDA at Redhouse Interchange, Doncaster
- New distribution centre for Tesco in Goole
- New distribution hub for Sainsbury’s in Pineham
- New Sainsbury’s store and adjacent non-food retail units on Westfield Road, Edinburgh
- Two new teaching blocks at Anniesland College in Glasgow
- ProLogis Park, Wellingbrough the third phase of a distribution development totalling in excess of
4,000 tonnes of structural steelwork
- Lymedale Cross, a new speculative development for Helioslough in Newcastle-under-Lyme
- New distribution centre for Tesco in Donabate, Dublin
- New factory and offices for JCB at Uttoxeter
- Cabot Park Plots 9 and 10, a new cross docking distribution facility based in Bristol
- A new manufacturing facility for Goodman’s in Avonmouth
Atlas Ward is heavily involved in the development of new Sustainability strategies and initiatives for itself and other Group companies.
Atlas Ward attained OHSAS 18001 Safety and BS EN 14001:2004 Environment accreditations in 2007.
Fisher Engineering
Fisher Engineering joined the Group in October 2007.
The integration into Severfield-Rowen has gone exceedingly well.
An upgrade investment of some £2.5m was completed in 2007, prior to its acquisition, and is now providing the strategic productivity improvements envisaged.
The projects completed or started by Fisher Engineering in 2007, include:
- Victoria Shopping Centre in Belfast
- Ireland’s very first Ikea Store in Belfast
- Centrecor Pharmaceutical at Cashall, Ireland
- Dundrum Town Centre in Dublin
- Quinn Group Radiator Factory at Newport
- National Conference Centre in Dublin
- The Point Shopping Centre in Dublin
- MET University in Leeds (Feature Building)
- Commercial office block in Threadneedle Street, London
- BBC Now in Cardiff
During 2007, Fisher Engineering achieved Health and Safety Management accreditation to ISO 18001.
Rowen Structures
Rowen Structures ceased the physical production of steelwork in the summer of 2007.
It is now carried out at the other Company sites.
Rowen Structures continues to contract business on behalf of the Group with its longstanding clients, providing its wholly retained project management skills and Group services to many projects, including:
- Westfield Shopping Centre in Derby
- 12 storey office and retail unit at No 3 Piccadilly, Manchester for Carillion Construction Ltd
- Premium office development at 40 Holborn Viaduct for Balfour Beatty Construction Ltd
New projects commenced in the period, include:
- Prestigious new headquarters for Audi UK Ltd in London
- Premium office development (the “LEX” Building) in Queen Street, London
- 19 storey office development at 30 Crown Place, London
- Regents Place office development in London
- Large West End office development adjacent to Great Portland Street tube station
- Premium office and retail development situated adjacent to St Paul’s Cathedral in central London
Rowen’s management and staff will relocate to new, bespoke offices in the same vicinity in June 2008, from where they will continue to provide a full service to clients.
Steelcraft Erection Services
The Group’s performance in relation to project execution and customer satisfaction was again greatly influenced by the high level of professionalism and dedication provided by Steelcraft Erection Services.
Steelcraft continues to lead the field in terms of innovation and is presently first user of a new bespoke steel erector platform, developed as the optimum current solution for the safer erection of steelwork.
Severfield-Reeve Projects
The Company continues to provide first class services to its clients and other Group companies in the full development of small to medium scale projects.
Conclusion
2007 was a further milestone in the Company’s development, both financially and strategically.
The acquisition of Fisher Engineering has consolidated the Group’s leading position in the UK and Ireland and our continued focus on client service has assisted in obtaining a record order book of some £455m and establishing us as preferred supplier on a significant pipeline of future work.
The Group is now positioned to derive growing synergy benefits from the flexibility and scale of its existing operations, while beginning to explore new growth opportunities overseas.
Tom Haughey
Chief Executive Officer
02 April 2008 |
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