Introduction

Mention the word demolition to almost anyone and the picture that instantly comes to mind is a vision of a building being blown up and collapsing to the ground. Many people have stated that they would love to push the button, to detonate the explosive devices which bring a disused building to the ground. In many cases what comes down, must go up and we are seeing many dilapidated buildings being demolished to make way for future development, often as part of a regeneration project.

For companies who over many years have built their business around the demolition of buildings, the demolition sector is now far more reaching than just demolishing old buildings. Once the building is demolished the huge task of site clearance begins and in a world where consideration of the environmental impacts are high on most peoples agenda, the material residues from demolition need to be sorted for recycling purposes. This will include such materials as steel, wood, plastic, brickwork and concrete.

Most of the materials can be bulked up and transported to the appropriate recycling plants for reprocessing. Materials such as bricks and concrete can be crushed and turned into a recycled concrete aggregate product ready for reuse in the construction of new roads or buildings. Increasingly though, through advances in technological development, residues such as concrete to be recycled have to meet a very high specification for reuse in construction projects.

Crushed into different grades of recycled aggregate will determine the future usage potential of the product. Large sizes could be used as decorative rockery products in landscaping whilst much finer, almost shingle like product can be used as a bedding for pipe laying or as a layer in road construction. With an increasing number of opportunities identified for the reuse of recycled aggregate, the entire demolition and construction industry is making a significant contribution to sustainable development. Following demolition of a site, many demolition contractors have expanded their service offering to include site clearance services.

Reasons Behind the Increased Focus on Recycling from Construction and Demolition Projects

In 1996, UK Government imposed a tax on all wastes going to landfill. The tax is paid on top of normal gate fees for waste being disposed in landfill and since its introduction the cost has increased on an annual basis. When first introduced, the standard rate of tax for general wastes going to landfill was £7 per tonne and £2 per tonne for inert materials. The tax is designed to encourage commercial and industrial businesses and local authorities collecting from households, to divert waste away from landfill for recycling. In April 2009, the standard rate of landfill tax increased to £40 per tonne and is scheduled to increase each year by £8 per tonne until 2013. The lower rate of tax charged upon any inert materials going to landfill such as concrete and soils, has remained relatively steady in recent years and is currently at £2.50 per tonne.

However, the weight factor alone of a bulk load of these inert materials going directly to landfill will ensure that the entire cost of disposal becomes very expensive and so even in the demolition and construction sector, diverting waste from landfill is a priority.

Most companies in the market have extended their business to become demolition and site clearance contractors, to make available the full range of services.

Next time you see a demolition project in progress or pass any construction site during a build programme, it is clear to see the volume of waste being generated. If waste is not in skips, piles of rubble will be stacked high. The placing of construction waste in skips has been a major problem for waste contractors for many years. Having worked in the waste industry, I have seen skip lorries tipped backwards with the cab of the vehicle up in the air, due to the sheer overloading of waste skips with construction site waste.

Each year, the UK generates around 330 million tonnes of waste and it is estimated that around 90 million tonnes of this is from construction and demolition wastes. This figure has remained fairly constant since 2001. Around two thirds of this waste is usually recycled or reused in land reclamation or agricultural improvement projects. Since the late 1990s there has been a steady rise in the volumes of construction waste being recycled and this has been helped with advances in technology which have led to improved crushing technology to create more widespread use of different grades of recycled aggregates. There has been a real focus upon the UK construction industry to encourage greater recycling of waste on site.

In recent years, the construction industry as a whole has worked hard to encourage construction project managers to place a greater emphasis upon recycling on site. This has led to an increase in the recycling of all inert materials from site.

Prior to the introduction of the landfill tax all construction site waste including bricks and concrete would be bulked up and transferred to a landfill site for disposal. No consideration was given to recycling. There are now stringent regulations across the sector, coupled with an increase in environmental awareness, as well as the commercial benefits in ensuring that this type of waste is now recycled. There is also greater recognition of the vast array of opportunities to use recycled aggregates within the construction process on new construction projects or in areas such as landscaping or home and garden DIY. Following the demolition process, together the waste concrete, bricks, masonry etc will be transformed into a recycled concrete aggregate.

To recycle concrete aggregate to a high standard and resalable product, it must be entirely free of other contaminants such as wood, paper, card, steel and other general waste materials. The final product must also conform to the requirements of British Standard BS 8500. The process of recycling the concrete can usually be achieved in one of two ways. Some demolition contractors will locate a crushing machine on the demolition site, whereas some contractors will prefer to transport the waste to be recycled, back to their own premises for sorting for recycling or re-use. On projects where demolition and new construction is to take place at the same location, the contractor is very likely to locate a crushing machine on site to avoid incurring additional transportation costs in taking the material back to a sorting and crushing facility. There is now very sophisticated crushing equipment available to reduce concrete to a very fine specification.

The crushing machinery UK demolition contractors apply will convert brick and concrete residues into a recycled aggregate for future use.

The Increasing Demand for High Quality Recycled Aggregate

Before commencing the crushing process, it must be determined what the end product is to be used for to ensure that the recycled aggregate is to meet the required standards. There is huge demand for recycled aggregate to be used back in the construction process. As a product, recycled aggregate can be used for almost any type of concrete structural work, road surfacing or pipe laying project. Having passed through the crusher the pieces of aggregate will be sorted by size. Bigger pieces may be retained as a decorative product for use in landscaping rockery projects, or they may be passed back through the crusher to be pummeled to a smaller size. The smaller pieces of recycled aggregate may be suitable for use as a gravel on new construction projects, road laying or driveways at home. The crushing machines are now capable of achieving good quality small aggregate grades such as the production of a 20-5mm gravel which can be bagged and used in the garden at home or purchased in bulk as part of projects involving new concrete production. The advances in technology mean that the recycling of aggregates for other uses such as a simple gravel product or for use in concrete products has greatly reduced the need to dig quarries to mine for gravel. Recycled aggregates have become a versatile reusable product and has eliminated the need for large volumes of a good material to be disposed of in landfill and therefore offer significant environmental benefits.

The demand for high quality crushed aggregate is increasing. There are key standards in place which are focused upon improving the recycled aggregate industry. Through research and development, more widespread uses are being identified for the use of recycled aggregate. No longer is concrete, just concrete. What we are talking about now are many different grades of recycled aggregate, ranging from the large chunks of aggregate to very specific 6f2 recycled concrete which can be employed as a sub-base material for construction jobs, or 20-5mm recycled aggregate, which is a gravel and can be used in road construction or at home on driveways. As well as being used as a mix for road construction, recycled aggregate is being used as bedding for pipe laying or foundation material prior to construction projects commencing. In achieving such good quality grades the 20-5mm recycled aggregate can be used as an aggregate base in road construction and the quality meets the standards required to allow its reuse in concrete production.

One of the important criteria when using recycled aggregate is selecting the right specification for the task. For example, when using 20-5mm coarse graded aggregate as a road base, the thickness of the layer required must be determined to withstand traffic flows. Traffic flow on a motorway will be significantly different to that of a country road. One reason aggregate produced to a 20-5mm specification is used as a road base is that it aids good drainage. Once the recycled aggregate is laid, appropriate layers of asphalt or concrete can be laid over it to create the road surface.

In recent years, in the UK we seem to have more rain than sunshine and therefore the selected aggregate must be able to withstand variances in temperature and conditions e.g. dampness for long periods, torrential downpours, long dry spells. With its good drainage qualities, the recycled 20-5mm product is the perfect choice for many sand and gravel applications including, pipe bedding, driveways and footpaths, landscaping, plus for use in ready mixed and precast concrete products.

Following demolition, contractors will use crushing machinery to produce recycled concrete aggregates from the waste bricks and concrete for use in future construction processes.

Recycled Aggregates and the 2012 Olympics

In its bid for the 2012 Olympic Games, London placed sustainability as the focal point of its bid. The bid team identified a major opportunity to increase awareness of climate change and the issues which surround it, and bring it to the World’s attention. With the eyes of the World watching, the Olympic Games present a unique opportunity to communicate key messages about sustainability. Throughout the entire development of the Olympic project, there is a commitment to make 2012 the most sustainable Olympic Games ever held. This focus began when planning the development and build programmes for the facilities and venues, the transport links and network, the hosting of the Games themselves and will end by leaving a long lasting legacy of a sustainable environment.

Since London was awarded the Games, all companies involved in the development requirements, from the construction of the Olympic Stadium, the Olympic Village and transport links to the venues have been encouraged upon ensuring the use wherever possible of sustainable materials. Across the entire Olympic build programme construction managers have worked hard to identify suitable sustainable materials for use in the build programme. At the end of the overall project there will be some clearly visible examples of the use of sustainable products.

qually there will be many more much less visible and furthermore, many which will be not visible at all. One of those products which visitors to the games and its many venues will not even think about will be how recycled aggregates have been used as part of the overall construction project. But developers and specifiers of materials for use in the build programme will be comfortable in the knowledge that they have selected sustainable products including, the most appropriate recycled concrete aggregates as part of the project. With its identified qualities, let’s hope that somewhere in the world wide TV coverage the 20-5mm recycled aggregate gets a mention somewhere, somehow. Imagine being asked to supply recycled aggregate which meets a very specific 20-5mm clean material specification, to help build the 2012 Olympic Village.

Conclusion

How times have changed in recent years for the demolition and construction industry. Companies have had to adapt to meet challenging environmental requirements. As with almost any industry, new regulations and legislation dictate the standards to which your business must aspire, if it is to be successful.

Businesses involved in the production of recycled concrete aggregate are no different. These are classed as processed materials and must conform to a particular product specification which can be used in the construction process. The standard BS8500-2 offers a full specification for the uses of recycled concrete aggregates in concrete, although with such a vast range of recycled aggregates an all encompassing specification for the use of these aggregates is yet to be determined. The most important thing is that the industry does not stand still and wait for the specifications to be finalised. The versatility of recycled aggregates means that demolition contractors operating crushing plants are seeking to identify markets through which to sell their recycled products. The advances in crusher technology and machinery has seen a big increase in the options now available in supplying large chunks of recycled aggregate for landscape gardening use in rockeries, down to a gravel type 20-5mm recycled aggregate with its good drainage qualities for use in road construction and driveways. The demolition and construction industry now places sustainability at the forefront of its future development projects.

 

Almost every company on the planet sets out with the main objective of making money. This is generally done by producing some form of product, or offering a service, and then charging people money for it.

First of all, it is a very rare case that a business can offer a product or service that is truly unique and cannot be supplied by anyone else. This means that your enterprise will be competing with other businesses that sell a similar item and you will both be trying to make money from the same shoppers, who only want to spend their money once.

Marketing is the primary tool used by modern businesses to draw potential customers to do business with them and not with their rivals. It is a very broad topic that is affected by a great deal of internal and external factors, but when done well it can be the single business practice that could make or break a corporation. Any time spent on marketing will reap benefits, although spending this time efficiently can yield incredible outcomes.

So where should you begin when constructing a marketing strategy for your own business? Well, every situation is different, and every company will have its own set of strengths and weaknesses that must be taken into consideration, but there is a marketing rule that can be applied to almost any corporation to be used as a marketing platform.

The Marketing Mix

The marketing mix was a term that was first coined in the 1950’s and is a phrase that is used to describe the fundamental building blocks of any marketing system. It reflects the fact that marketing is not a straightforward, blunt-edged business tool, but rather a delicate balance of different elements of business operations.

The term was later developed to include the idea of “four P’s” that described the critical elements of the marketing mix. The formalisation of these P’s made it very clear for company managers and marketers to quickly relate the elements of marketing to the strengths of their own organisations, and by doing so could very rapidly create a customised and effective marketing strategy.

Marketing is a worldwide business idea which may be applied to floor maintenance or almost any number of different products and services.

Product

Although every aspect of the marketing mix is a necessity, the “product” element mentioned as one of the four P’s is possibly the most crucial of all. It identifies the physical product or intangible service that your company will be selling, and at the end of the day it is the reason that customers are going to spend money with you.

Several people don’t think that marketing has any role to play when it comes to the actual product that your company is selling. In fact, the typical train of thought very often bears the precise opposite sentiment. Surely it should be the other way around – your production department creates a product for sale and then it is the task of the marketing department to discover ways to sell it, right? This is not always the case.

Take the computer software market as an example. There are many established brands of both operating system and software application solutions on the market already, and because the market is fairly well saturated it would be very tough (and expensive) to “take on the big boys”.

Rather than developing an operating system and then trying to craft a marketing strategy to rival the likes of Microsoft or Apple, it would be far more effective to look at what types of product are desired in the current marketplace, and how feasible it would be to produce and sell them.

Once your goods have been fashioned and created it is still a vital skill to be able to objectively review your own products to identify the reasons that a customer should buy your product rather than a competitors’.

Another form of this part of the marketing mix is known as product variation and is typically used to either extend the lifecycle of a product already in the market, or to make your brand new product attractive to as many customers as possible.

The car industry uses this technique very effectively by offering various engines, trim packages and interior options with the cars that they offer. They use the marketing mix to good effect to sell their own products in an incredibly competitive marketplace. Although these companies may have huge marketing budgets, the same principles can be applied to all businesses.

An example of one of the newest forms of promotional marketing is this horse games for girls website that offers flexible and accessible means to reach potential consumers.

Price

Another important factor in the marketing mix concerns the price of your products or services. This is not a simple case of performing market research to determine the top price that your customers would pay (although that can be a handy tool to use), but rather making use of the price of your products as a strategic weapon designed to achieve any specific goals your business has. The potential benefits of an effective pricing plan are surprisingly substantial!

Although it may seem obvious, it’s still worth pointing out that price has always been, and probably always will be, one of the crucial factors that shoppers take into account when they are making a purchase. It is also worth noting that customers don’t constantly consider the cheapest price to be the best price. In fact a price that is too low can often turn buyers away.

There are many questions that you need to ask yourself when devising a good pricing strategy, key among which are the price sensitivity of your customers, what your competitors are doing and how can pricing maximise your own profits. From a strategy point of view however, pricing can be covered by two main principals; price skimming and also penetration pricing. These are outlined below.

Price skimming

The main idea behind price skimming is to make as much cash as possible from the sector of the market which is price-insensitive and are going to be willing to spend a premium amount of money to receive a product or service early on. Not only can this technique yield excellent financial advantages, but it can also advertise an exclusive and high quality image of your product.

This pricing technique is frequently used in the consumer electronics industry where customers will often eagerly await the launch of a new mobile phone or computer games console. Makers could set nearly any price they wanted to and there would still be a loyal core of customers that would pay it. By using this method as part of a pre-ordering strategy, a firm can help to smooth its own cash flow.

Penetration pricing

Penetration pricing is at the other end of the pricing spectrum, and is tailored towards gaining a large market share at a short-term cost so that financial rewards can be made long into the future. It can be a risky strategy, but when used correctly it can setup revenue streams for many years to come. When setting a price for penetration it is still essential to not give a bad impression of your product by aiming for too low a number.

Another thing to keep in mind is that “price” is the only part of the marketing mix that will generate income for a business. The other members of the four P’s will all cost money to produce or carry out. So it is even more essential to get your pricing strategy right.

We were able to use our previous marketplace analysis about lamb cooking to start the online key word optimisation we were doing.

Place

Place is the portion of the marketing mix that’s often not addressed by companies, but it’s still an important part of selling your product effectively. In a nutshell, it describes the method in which you deliver your product to your customer, and subsequently how you receive money from them. It can be a fantastic marketing approach when used correctly.

The most common implications of place-based marketing are the physical venues in which your products are sold. For the vast majority of consumer products, this involves the distribution network between your production centres and retailers and other outlets around the country. Since distribution of a physical product costs money it is important to identify your own priorities and adapt your distribution network accordingly. This is the main use of this part of the marketing mix.

With the increasing use of the Internet by your potential customers, marketing methods have had to take into account how they use the Internet to help distribute their products. By using the Internet as a place of contact (or even as a whole distribution route in download-based markets such as MP3s) firms are now able to reach out to a large pool of potential customers. Effective positioning of your product or service can therefore yield impressive economic results.

Promotion

When you mention the word “marketing”, most people instantly think of the promotional aspect of the marketing mix, although as we have seen, this is only one branch of a more comprehensive system. Promotion can be used on a very individual basis or as a mass communication instrument, and whilst it can be a costly undertaking it is often an essential one.

Advertising is one of the most common forms of promotion. Typically it would be done by posting on billboards, producing short clips for TV and radio or by physically handing out flyers or leaflets to potential customers. With the arrival of the information age we have witnessed a great increase in promotion via e-mail and the Internet, or just as targeted advertising materials posted through your door.

Another significant part of promotion involves branding, which will not necessarily yield more sales directly, but goes back to one of the initial functions of marketing; getting customers to choose your product over those of your rivals.

Putting it into Practice

As previously mentioned each company is different and will have different marketing needs. By using a mixture of the four P’s reviewed above you can take a good view of your own marketing plan.