Cuddy Group is delighted to have been awarded the trophy for ‘Project Excellence in the Public Sector’, in recognition of the team’s emergency demolition service in Swansea last June.

Almost 600 of the country’s leading specialist contractors gathered at the prestigious Specialists Awards ceremony on 20 March, to see the industry’s finest talent praised for outstanding construction performance.

Having been shortlisted in three categories – demolition, site preparation and public sector project excellence – joint managing director John Cuddy sat with pride amongst his specialist peers. But when Cuddy was announced as the winner of the project excellence category, having outperformed stiff competition from organisations including Bourne Construction Engineering and Cementation Skanska, John was elated.

He explains: “This award scheme honours the finest specialist contractors within the industry so to have achieved recognition in the project excellence category is fantastic news for our ever-growing company. Our trophy will now sit with pride alongside our other construction gongs, including the Specialists Awards’ demolition contractor of the year recognition that we received from Construction News last year.

“This award is a testament to the hard work and unparalleled skill-set of our team. The project that we put forward was the demolition of the former Mettoys factory in Swansea, for which we were praised for our precision and unswerving effort to ensure a collaborative, organised and methodical approach despite incredibly demanding conditions.”

Last summer, a fire broke out at this 90m x 90m industrial unit. Because the building stored approximately 5,000 tonnes of tyre flock (a bi-product of tyre recycling), the blaze was of enormous proportions. Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service battled to control the fire but due to the densely-stacked burning rubber inside the building, the deep-rooted blaze could not be fully extinguished without dismantling the unit.

Whilst this demolition job was not for the faint-hearted, Cuddy’s specialist capabilities and proven track record for safely demolishing fire-damaged buildings, meant the major incident could be resolved quickly and safely.

A 10-man Cuddy team – on site within only a couple of hours – worked 24/7 in two intensive shift patterns to tackle the ever-changing requirements of this highly unusual demolition project. Working in partnership with the other agencies involved, the finely-tuned Cuddy team was directed with military precision by Cuddy’s most senior demolition expert Dave Cobern.

John concludes: “This award recognition marks a fantastic start to 2012 for Cuddy Group, but we never rest on our laurels so I am already on the look out for other ways with which we can excel throughout the year.”