byzak news

Byzak secures £100million AMP5 Framework with Yorkshire Water

Byzak has been appointed by Yorkshire Water as one of seven contracting partners to assist with the water company’s £1.35 billion asset delivery programme for the AMP5 period 2010 -2015. The contract was signed on the 26th March 2010 during a launch event timed to coincide with the opening of Yorkshire Water’s new offices in Leeds by Secretary of State Ed Balls MP.

Byzak and two other contractors will have responsibility for the Medium Above Ground Treatment workstream (water and sewage treatment) and the value of Byzak’s work is expected to be around £100 million.  Byzak has appointed Entec UK, a leading water and environmental specialist, as its design consultants.

Byzak will join the other contractor partners and Yorkshire Water staff in a newly created 500 strong Asset Delivery Unit based in the state-of-the-art Livingstone House, Yorkshire Water’s new offices in Clarence Dock, Leeds.

Dave Kirton, Byzak’s Deputy Managing Director, said, “We are extremely pleased to be chosen by Yorkshire Water and look forward to working with them to deliver their challenging investment programme over the next five years, and hopefully, beyond.  Yorkshire Water is a very important new client for Byzak. The appointment complements our existing framework arrangements with United Utilities, Northumbrian Water and Scottish Water and will strengthen our position as multi-disciplinary company providing main contractor construction services to the UK water sector.”

Byzak Innovation Represents Breakthrough in Carbon Reduction

Byzak’s Research and Development Centre in Washington is dedicated to developing products and processes that work in tandem with public sector carbon strategies and the long-term commitment to achieve 25-30 percent reductions in carbon usage by 2020.

A key product in this development is the award-winning Retroflo RPC_2000 Pump Control System. Developed at the R+D Centre,  RPC_2000 was successfully trialled and put into operation at several problematic pumping stations operated by Northumbrian Water. The success of these installations led to interest from the principal water companies in the UK, and the RPC_2000 is currently being put in operation by United Utilities and Scottish Water and undergoing trials by several other companies at home and abroad.

UK water companies invest more than £94 million per week in maintaining and improving services and as an energy intensive industry account for around one percent of the UK’s total carbon emission. It is therefore increasingly important for water companies to realise efficiencies.

The potential for the RPC_2000 to save energy and operational costs is huge. If you consider that water companies operate thousands of wastewater pumping stations across the UK, and Retroflo systems are saving on average £1 per hour on existing pumping costs per station, the scope for efficiencies is enormous.

The Retroflo team, based at Byzak’s Research and Development Centre in Washington, is continually reviewing and updating the technology driving the Retroflo system. As part of current development work is a feature that will benchmark efficiency and automatically select duty criteria based on these efficiencies. The added benefit of this feature will be further optimisation of the station and its power requirements. Retroflo’s RPC_2000 is at the vanguard of improving the water industry’s carbon management - a British innovation that has the potential to impact the industry globally. For more information visit www.retroflo.com

Byzak North West Secure UU Framework

Byzak have been given a 2 year extensionby United Utilities to work on the Northwest Minor Works Alliance Framework within the Manchester area. Harry Kaye will continue his role as the Framework Manager with Peter Robinson as Contracts Manager.

The work will involve civil engineering, and mechanical and electrical engineering to be carried out across the full range of United Utilities facilities, broadly similar to Byzak's current Minor Works/SVCP frameworks with Northumbrian Water and Scottish Water.

Works will include:

• All types of MEICA work in connection with Capital Maintenance of water and waste water assets.
• Civil engineering works of all types
• Minor building works
• Landscaping
• Reservoir and reservoir catchment works including works to embankments, spillways, erosion protection and river works
• Pumping station works including work to screens, pump refurbishment and penstocks, river outfalls
• Health and Safety improvements including access works, walkways, handrails and ladders

Alpine Tunnel Breakthrough

Byzak’s  Tunnelling boring machine (TBM) has completed  a  1300 metre long  pipejack tunnel drive in the Italian Alps, close to the Austrian /Slovenian border .  The 2.5 m diameter pipejack , believed to be Italy’s longest, was constructed through alpine rock on  a gradient  of 1 in 8 which means the TBM emerged some 500ft above its entry point at the main work site area.

Byzak’s TBM, back up equipment, and operating and support staff were engaged by an Italian contractor to drive the tunnel for a gas pipeline on part of its 20 km long route through forests and alpine areas.  Completion of the tunnel is a tremendous achievement for all those involved.

For more information please click here
View a short video of the project click here