It is reported that Scottish subcontractor Bone Steel is looking to increase its headcount by 45 employees as it grows despite the recession. It recently employed 25 new staff and operatives, and is seeking to recruit a further 20, taking it to a total of 260. Workers being sought include structural designers, welders and steel platters.

It may be noted that Bone Steel secured contracts worth GBP 5 million in recent months from Balfour Beatty, Bovis Lend Lease, Miller Construction and Bam Construct. The Bam deal is to supply more than 2,000 tonnes of steel for a new campus building at South Cheshire College.

Mr Stephen Ewer business development director at Bone Steel said that "While there is a huge shortfall in demand across the industry, we have been fortunate enough to secure these projects, which have significantly bolstered our order book for the coming months. We are under no illusion that the remainder of this year, and potentially the whole of 2010, will be an extremely demanding period for the construction sector as a whole."

He added that "However, we now have a strong order book in place, an encouraging pipeline of potential projects and are confident that we are in good shape to deal with the current downturn."

(Sourced from www.cnplus.co.uk)