News in Brief: Jan 2014

Mark Jones, Managing Director of FICEP UK, said: “In all my many years of experience in this industry, I have never known tougher times over the last three or more years, but recent trends have given me hope that we are at the start of a sustained and healthy economic recovery. Sales of our range of CNC steel processing machines have been buoyant over the last three months and future prospects look good.”

20 Fenchurch Street (Walkie Talkie), London is the latest addition to the video case studies, framed in steel, to be found on the steel sector’s free encyclopedia www.steelconstruction.info

Tata Steel has opened a major new profiling centre for steel plate in the West Midlands, increasing its plate processing capacity in the region by up to 50%. Located at Steelpark in Wednesfield, the facility will transform plate into a multitude of shaped and machined components, from high-volume production runs for off-road vehicle wheels and booms for earth-moving equipment, to large one-off components for construction projects and specialist engineering applications.

Tata Steel’s app for steel section properties and member capacities for design to BS5950 and EC3 can be downloaded for free from the Apple App store.

The winner of the Public Choice Award at the Tekla UK BIM Awards 2013 was the Kelpies project in Falkirk, Scotland. Steel for the project was fabricated and erected by S H Structures. The judges said: “The sheer complexity of the structure with its complex curves showcased what Tekla Structures is capable of.”

AceCad Software has announced the release of StruM.I.S V9, its latest steel fabrication management system designed to meet needs of medium and larger sized steelwork contractors. The company said that StruM.I.S V9 includes many new features to operate steel fabrication sites more efficiently, with greater flexibility and offering enhanced user functionality.