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LONDON (AFX) - Leading private contractor Laing O'Rourke has grown profits in the last year by 44 pct, to 34 mln stg. According to construction weekly Building Magazine, the firms accounts for the year to March 31 show that pre-tax profit rose to 34.2 mln stg from 23.7 mln stg, after what the company termed 'a balanced performance'. ORourke is part of the winning CLM consortium for the role of Olympic delivery partner, which should deliver a steady stream of work over the next five years. The company has grown turnover by 17.5 pct to 2.24 bln stg over the last year. Chief executive Ray ORourke said he intended to develop the business globally by organic growth, rather than through acquisitions. He has split the company into three hubs: a European one, an Asian and Middle Eastern hub and an Australian one.
Ten years ago, Paul Porco never would have considered using manufactured stone in the construction of his own dream home, a two-story, 7,000-square-foot English Tudor. A second-generation custom-home builder, Porco had the same reservations as many of his fellow contractors when it came to using the man-made product, also called engineered stone or stone veneer. ''For a long time, it never looked like the real thing,'' says Porco, owner of Rosewood Custom Builders in Centerport, Long Island. In addition to many high-end builders, architects and designers also frowned on ''faux stone.'' But during the last decade, manufactured stone has worked to make a better impression. It's now the fastest-growing exterior siding in the construction industry, boasting increased use of 15 percent to 17 percent in each of the past five years.
A Tsimshan Polychromed Wood Face Mask is seen in this recent Sotheby's handout photo. The multi-coloured portrait mask carved by an anonymous 19th-century Tsimshian artist on Canada's West Coast has sold for a record US$1.8 million at Sotheby's in New York, breaking all records for an Indian object selling at auction. .
BOISE -- Area builders and Boise Police today announced a partnership to fight construction site crimes in the Treasure Valley. You can see the number of burglaries, thefts and vandalism reports Boise police recorded at construction sites June first through the month of September. CONSTRUCTION CRIME Boise: Burglary 9 Thefts 16 Vandalism 7 Canyon County: Burglary 11 Vandalism 1 In Canyon County burglary is also a growing problem at builder's projects. Those numbers are what spurred Boise Crime Stoppers and area builders to team up and fight the problem.
The rising cost of construction materials is forcing some West Valley cities to put the brakes on certain road projects or find other ways to deal with escalating prices.
In Glendale, one drainage-pipe and road-widening project was shortened from a mile to three-quarters of a mile. In Peoria, city officials are choosing one project over another. In Surprise, projects have been delayed as bids come in too high and are sent out for second and third rounds of bids.
In several cases, transportation officials have to explain to their respective city councils why the price tags are coming in higher than budgeted or why projects are taking longer to finish. .
SOUTH BEND -- There's a 10-year-old girl in Litchfield, Minn., who probably couldn't care less whether John Carlson pancakes a Stanford linebacker today or splits the Cardinal's zone defense for a touchdown catch.
The Notre Dame senior tight end is already a hero in her eyes.
His rise from a rumor with promise to a man of statistical substance this season hasn't elevated his status one iota. Back in Litchfield -- a town that proclaims on its Web site "On quiet summer days ... you can hear 'big' bass jumping in Lake Ripley ... and hear corn growing in the fields just outside of town" -- who John Carlson is takes precedent over what he is.
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