2024: Year in Review

This year, Hughes and Salvidge has not only experienced further growth, we have also achieved global expansion, with projects commenced in Europe and completed further afield. 2024 also marks 60 years in business for us; a fantastic milestone that has been observed with various celebrations and commemorations.

In 2024, Hughes and Salvidge worked on over 100 live projects – these include long-term projects and multi-year endeavours continuing into 2025. We undertake work in a variety of sectors across the UK, Europe and beyond, and this is something we are looking to build upon in the coming year.

60th year celebrations

In 2024 we celebrated 60 years of Hughes and Salvidge. This milestone came at a time of growth and success, and we celebrate our longevity and status as a global organisation, able to provide our clients with a Complete Solution: Demolish, Crush, Recycle.

Established in March 1964, we have overcome some tough times over the past 60 years, all whilst achieving continuous growth. Working alongside our associated companies, H&S Metals, H&S Asbestos, and K&B Crushers, has ensured that all divisions have gone from strength to strength.

Here’s to the next 60 years!

Community initiatives

We consistently get involved in a range of community initiatives and 2024 has been no different. This year has seen us providing work experience opportunities to school pupils, supporting the Pride in Portswood Activity Day, making a monetary donation to Broadwater Farm Residents’ Association’s Windrush Community Celebration, contributing to i-Construct, a two-day construction-specific careers event, supporting The Giving Tree initiative, and making a number of Christmas donations to local and national charities.

When it comes to supporting local schools, this year has seen us offering work experience opportunities to local school pupils interested in learning about the demolition industry, discovering the potential roles within it, and understanding our business itself. We’ve provided both individual placements and group workshops, giving youngsters the chance to explore the opportunities a career in demolition could give them.

Saudi project completion

This year we celebrated the completion of our flagship global project, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The project was our client’s first major demolition project, and was undertaken whilst the surrounding plant and Industrial City remained operational. 

Our Senior Management team alleviated any concerns by producing work and area-specific Method Statements and attending daily meetings with the client’s team.

The project was completed by our skilled machine operators, cost engineer, project manager and site team, who fully embraced life in KSA during the 8-month project. They visited Riyadh, Jeddah and nearby Bahrain during their time on this project.

We see this as a key step into global expansion for Hughes and Salvidge; we will be attending an event in Saudi in the new year, giving potential clients the opportunity to see us on a global stage. 

Portugal project kicks off

We are the principal contractor for demolition works at Matosinhos Refinery, Porto, Portugal, with works getting underway in July 2024. The scope of works include the removal and disposal of all cement-based asbestos and all other regulated materials, a soft strip of the buildings pre demolition, and the demolition and dismantling of all above ground structures to include brick, concrete and steel structures within the selected zones of works.

The project is expected to take around 18 months to complete and will be managed by our experienced management team including our Operations Director Dan Byng, SHEQ Manager Tony Jack, Contracts Manager Joe Parnell, and two site managers.

Ford Bridgend

We recently won the contract to undertake demolition works at Bridgend Ford. The works commenced in June and are expected to take around 18 months to complete. We’re thrilled to be embarking on this large-scale, multi-year project, and endeavour to continue to win projects like this going forward.

The project involves the demolition of their engine plant, which was the largest single storey building in Europe when it was built. The work started with asbestos removal, followed by a soft strip of the offices. The superstructure demolition will be undertaken in 14 stages, followed by the substructure demolition, finishing up with on-site crushing so that all the inert risings can be reused as aggregate.

This project will see us building on our working relationship with Ford; we undertook phased decommissioning and demolition works at Ford Southampton in 2016, which formed part of Ford’s plans to reorganise UK operations at that time.

Award shortlistings

This year we were shortlisted for two prestigious Construction News Specialists Awards. These were Demolition & Enabling Specialist of the Year, and Project of the Year by a Specialist Contractor (subcontract up to £2m).

The Demolition & Enabling Specialist of the Year award category celebrates leadership in the field of demolition and enabling works within the UK. Our award submission covered the fact that we celebrated 60 Years of Hughes and Salvidge in March 2024, as well as highlighting the successes we celebrated between January 2023 and April 2024.

Our submission for the Project of the Year by a Specialist Contractor (subcontract up to £2m) category was based on the project we completed at Deeside Power Station for Triton Power between early 2022 and February 2023. The project entailed deconstructing part of the power station’s existing building, ensuring that the part that was being retained remained unaffected by the works. Our team safely dismantled and removed all elements to preserve the remaining building, ensuring a smooth and safe process throughout.

New headquarters

In July, our HQ moved from Portsmouth to Fareham. We are now based at Leroux House on the Cams Hall Estate; these new premises are larger and more modern, providing us with a wider scope to grow and evolve as a business.

Thriving partnerships

2024 has seen us building strong partnerships with a range of clients and business partners. We’d like to thank David at Horizon Imaging for the fantastic photography and drone footage he expertly captures for us. Thanks to A3M Designs Ltd, who have dealt with a lot of printed merchandise for us. Likewise, a big thanks to the team at Serenity Digital who support us in our marketing endeavours, everything from brand management and graphic design, to content marketing and web development.

We’d love to hear from you

If you have a demolition project that you need assistance with, get in touch with our knowledgeable team to discuss the options and how we can help move your project forward.