The start of a year is a traditional time to look ahead to what the following 12 months might promise, and perhaps even hazard a prediction or two. The outlook for the economy in 2017 is fairly steady based on Bank of England forecasts, despite uncertainties over Brexit.
Making confident and detailed forecasts is always difficult; keeping abreast of what is actually happening is often challenge enough, but that is something that NSC can help with as our pages give a useful snapshot of private and public sector investment at any given time. In this issue for example we have project reports of two education buildings, an alternative energy plant and two town centre regeneration projects.
This is a fair reflection of what is happening in the UK now. School building for example looks like it is being given a new priority, after several years of sparse investment. Energy continues to be a major concern for the UK with a major nuclear building programme in the offing, as well as a raft of alternative energy solutions coming to the fore, such as the biomass plant featured in this issue of NSC.
And projects that are geographically far removed from one another – in Stockport and Slough – show that there is funding available for inner city developments across the UK, especially those with regeneration potential.
Our series of articles on Steel for Life sponsors in the steel construction supply chain is proving to be as informative and popular as we hoped, shining a light on some of the often overlooked but important contributions made by a wide variety of suppliers. This month we look at two of the key parts of the supply chain.
The bolting sector provides the structural bolts and fasteners which are employed in every steel-framed building and steel bridge and other structures. The structural components sector comprises specialist companies that tackle production of the growing number of bespoke structural elements such as transfer beams, plate girders and cellular beams.
We also have an article about Steel for Life Headline Sponsor Trimble whose Tekla software is helping place the steel construction sector at the forefront of adopting Building Information Modelling in support of government targets.
Steel construction is also at the fore of supporting investment in modern buildings and other structures such as those featured in this issue of NSC, making some of them more financially feasible. One safe forecast for 2017 is that the UK steel construction sector’s class-leading support for whatever the UK’s investment needs are will continue.
Nick Barrett
Editor
UK investments reflected in steel
The start of a year is a traditional time to look ahead to what the following 12 months might promise, and perhaps even hazard a prediction or two. The outlook for the economy in 2017 is fairly steady based on Bank of England forecasts, despite uncertainties over Brexit.
Making confident and detailed forecasts is always difficult; keeping abreast of what is actually happening is often challenge enough, but that is something that NSC can help with as our pages give a useful snapshot of private and public sector investment at any given time. In this issue for example we have project reports of two education buildings, an alternative energy plant and two town centre regeneration projects.
This is a fair reflection of what is happening in the UK now. School building for example looks like it is being given a new priority, after several years of sparse investment. Energy continues to be a major concern for the UK with a major nuclear building programme in the offing, as well as a raft of alternative energy solutions coming to the fore, such as the biomass plant featured in this issue of NSC.
And projects that are geographically far removed from one another – in Stockport and Slough – show that there is funding available for inner city developments across the UK, especially those with regeneration potential.
Our series of articles on Steel for Life sponsors in the steel construction supply chain is proving to be as informative and popular as we hoped, shining a light on some of the often overlooked but important contributions made by a wide variety of suppliers. This month we look at two of the key parts of the supply chain.
The bolting sector provides the structural bolts and fasteners which are employed in every steel-framed building and steel bridge and other structures. The structural components sector comprises specialist companies that tackle production of the growing number of bespoke structural elements such as transfer beams, plate girders and cellular beams.
We also have an article about Steel for Life Headline Sponsor Trimble whose Tekla software is helping place the steel construction sector at the forefront of adopting Building Information Modelling in support of government targets.
Steel construction is also at the fore of supporting investment in modern buildings and other structures such as those featured in this issue of NSC, making some of them more financially feasible. One safe forecast for 2017 is that the UK steel construction sector’s class-leading support for whatever the UK’s investment needs are will continue.
Nick Barrett
Editor