More than 100 elephants will invade Copenhagen this summer between 1 June and 25 August! The elephants are ‘art elephants’, and E. Pihl & Son A.S. has donated and cast the concrete foundations which ensure that the elephants stand firm in the streets of Copenhagen.

The elephants are decorated by a number of renowned artists and will be sold by auction after the exhibition. The surplus will be given to the support organisation for the Asian elephant, which is in grave danger of extinction.

The opening of the Elephant Parade Copenhagen takes place 1^st June at the City Hall Square, Copenhagen.

Elephant shoes
E. Pihl & Son A.S. has donated and cast the concrete foundations for the 100 elephants. The task was given with short notice, but Pihl’s skilled concrete workers had the job done in a few days. The concrete is donated and delivered by Unicon.

Pihl's mascot
Pihl is also the sponsor for the elephant “Europe in Asia“, decorated by artist Tine Jacobsen. The elephant will stand in front of Thorvaldsen’s Museum near Christiansborg Palace, today home to the Danish Parliament.

Tine Jacobsen says about her art piece: “Landscapes change, buildings emerge. Asian landscape, buildings. European cities with classical architecture.” Her description agrees very well with Pihl’s saying ”The Joy of Creating” and the many buildings Pihl has built and renovated over the years, including the Elephant House in Copenhagen Zoo in 2008.

Auction and inspection
All elephants can be viewed together in the period 26 August – 8 September 2011 in KPH Volume’s exhibition hall, Enghavevej 80-82, Copenhagen. Bids can be made online via Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers’ homepage during the exhibition period. The hammer will fall on 9 September 2011 at Scandic Copenhagen Hotel, and Jesper Bruun Rasmussen from Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers will direct the auction.

Elephant Parade’s mission
Elephant Parade’s mission is to become the world’s largest financial support organisation for the Asian elephant, which is in grave danger of extinction, and the parade has indeed become a success.

Over the last three years, approx. 6 million Euros have been raised at European auctions where the art elephants have been sold. That has led to the rescue and treatment of hundreds of Asian elephants.

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Pihl UK Ltd. held a traditional ground-breaking ceremony on Friday 19 November 2010 to mark the commencement of construction of the environmentally-friendly school.

The £30 million new secondary school will not only provide a modern purpose built environment, but also a landmark building designed to attract the maximum possible community use.

The two storey high building is constructed of pre-cast panels combining a low carbon and environmental plan after following extensive dialogue with the Council, School Governing Body & Trustees.

It will have heating and hotwater supplied by its own Biomass Plant and make maximum use of natural ventilation & lighting and will be topped by a fully accessible Bio-Diverse Roof featuring landscaped plants and gardens.

Key figures from the Isle of Wight Council present at the ground-breaking event included Aird Buist, Pihl UK Director and David Pugh, Isle of Wight Council Leader, who said of the event:

“It was great to finally see the start of construction of the new secondary school at Cowes. The facility is one of the key parts of the school reorganisation project on the Isle of Wight and will be one of the most modern and environmentally friendly educational facilities in the whole country when built.

“I was delighted that a number of Cowes students were also present at the ground breaking to witness the start of the project, as this scheme will ultimately benefit both the Cowes community and also the wider Isle of Wight community in future.”

Isle of Wight Council

Press release 6 October 2010

The event, a traditional ceremony for the construction industry, was held on the roof of the new conservation studio adjacent to the main building. The milestone was marked with speeches by Aird Buist, Director of Pihl UK Ltd (Main Contractor), Professor Ian Diamond, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University, and Morten Schmidt, Partner in Danish architects schmidt hammer lassen.

Construction began in August 2009 and the new building is already displaying stunning visual features including an unusual and attractive glass facade.

Due to open for the University and wider community in September 2011, the £57 million building will bring an enhanced learning environment and cultural facility fitting for the 21st century, matching the University’s academic aspirations.

Conceived by Danish architects schmidt hammer lassen as a cube evoking the ice and light of the north, the new library has a sharp, modern design, and a striking interior of sweeping contours around an asymmetrical atrium which rises diagonally from the public ground floor through the floors above.

Flexible areas on the upper floors will provide an ideal modern learning environment in which new media and the latest technology will enhance the University’s magnificent collection of books. manuscripts and archives.

The library will be equipped with 13 kilometres of book shelves, 1,200 work stations, modern IT systems, exhibition rooms, educational facilities and an area dedicated to the University’s distinguished collections of rare historic manuscripts, books, and archives. For the first time, these treasures will be widely accessible for research and learning, and showcased to the public through a programme of exhibitions, educational and cultural events.

Aird Buist, Director of Pihl UK Ltd said of the milestone: “Today signifies the first major milestone when this project changes from a Civil Engineering project to that of a building project and all is on programme to finish the iconic building for Aberdeen University on time.” 

Professor Ian Diamond, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University, who will perform the topping-out, said: “We are delighted to have reached this milestone. In a year’s time the spot on which we are gathering today will be a fully operational, environmentally sustainable working building, designed to provide the most modern learning environment for our students and staff, new educational and cultural opportunities for our local communities, a striking landmark for the Aberdeen skyline, and a resource for researchers across the world."

Read more about the project

University of Aberdeen

Frontpage photo: Ms Chris Banks, University Librarian and Director, Univesity of Aberdeen

Aberdeen 3R’s and New Library Contractor wins RoSPA safety award

The Silver award was presented at a ceremony at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel on Wednesday 22 September 2010.

The RoSPA Awards scheme is not only about reducing the number of accidents and cases of ill-health at work; it also encourages organisations to develop robust health & safety management systems.

David Rawlins, RoSPA’s awards manager said:

“Pihl UK Ltd has shown a commitment to protecting the health and well-being of its employees and others. Organisations which do this deserve to have such dedication recognised and that’s where RoSPA Awards come in.

As well as there being clear ethical reasons and legal requirements for good health and safety management, there is also a strong business case. RoSPA is delighted to publicly honour organisations which have demonstrated their work to improve performance in this sphere.”

The majority of awards are non-competitive and mark achievement which is graded at merit, bronze, silver and gold levels, President’s Awards and Orders of Distinction.

The RoSPA occupational Health & Safety Awards 2010 are sponsored by NEBOSH ( The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health), the leading health and safety professional examining body

RoSPA Deputy President, Lord Brougham & Vaux hosted a gala Dinner on 22 September 2010 for representatives of award winning organisations at the Hilton Glasgow hotel.

Aberdeen based contractor Pihl UK Ltd, part of E. Pihl & Søn A.S, a leading Danish Contractor, has been awarded the preferred bidder status on the £42m One School Pathfinder project in Cowes, Isle of Wight.

The design was developed in response to the educational and community use aspirations of both the Council and the School Trust and provides a unique blend of accommodation which meets the challenges of 21st Century teaching and learning in spaces enriched with IT which can be adapted to other community and Island based uses.  The design was undertaken by JM Architects and Ramboll UK of Edinburgh.

The school design is a two storey structure formed out of precast units with timber structures to the open plan central spaces which are punctuated by the use of sail structures within the roof area to bring light deep into the footprint of the building.  A series of connected open and covered courtyards are integral to the design.  A bio-diverse roof installation has provided a unique environment for teaching.  Externally a series of playing pitches and games areas along with a new All Weather pitch have been provided.

Pihl UK Ltd, Director William Aird Buist stated: ‘At the outset, we wanted to create a building which reflected the education vision and allowed us an opportunity to provide a bespoke and iconic building within Cowes which reflects our Scandinavian heritage in design and material usage. We are looking forward to working with the Council, Trust and our design partners to ensure that the building is ready for operation in Summer 2012.’

For further information:

Deborah Shields
UK Bid Manager
Pihl UK Ltd
Tel 01224 562 400
des@pihl-uk.com

The total contract value exceeds DKK 265 m. The project will comprise 10,000 m2 new library facilities for one of the world’s oldest and most renowned international universities.

Cultural project of high international standard
The new library building will be situated centrally in the old university campus of Aberdeen and will, when completed, be one of the most outstanding cultural projects carried out in Scotland of recent times. The project will also be an architectural pearl in the city of Aberdeen.

The layout of the new library offers an excellent setting for the University of Aberdeen and facilitates new teaching and learning methods. The library will be equipped with highly effective and modern library facilities with thirteen kilometres of book shelves, 1,200 work stations, modern IT systems, exhibition rooms, educational facilities and an area dedicated to the university’s very special and valuable culture-historical collection of books and other literature.

The library project is the flagship of the University’s ambitious capital development programme, and is being supported by donations from individuals worldwide, companies and charitable trusts.

The library has been designed by the Danish architects schmidt, hammer and lassen, and the construction work will commence in August 2009 and handing over is planned to take place before autumn 2011.

By this project, Pihl emphasizes its expertise and dominant position in the field of large cultural projects; also outside Denmark. Apart from the library in Aberdeen, Pihl is at present carrying out another large project in Great Britain, namely National Museum of Liverpool, in co-operation with a local partner and a very large PPP schools project in Aberdeen involving construction of new buildings and renovation of existing buildings.

Pihl established its subsidiary in Great Britain in 2007 and it employs almost 100 employees on the British market. Pihl is presently working on tenders for more large building and civil engineering projects in Great Britain and expects continued growth on the British market.

For further information, please contact:
Claus Wiegand Larsen
cwl@pihl-as.dk

E. Pihl & Søn A.S.
Head Office
Nybrovej 110
2800  Kgs. Lyngby
Denmark
Tel (+45) 45 27 72 00
Fax (+45) 45 27 71 00

E. Pihl & Søn A.S.  -  Annual report 2008
                   
It has, in terms of operating performance, been a satisfactory year. The accounts have, however, been highly influenced by the international financial crisis, especially in Iceland.

Biggest turnover in the history of the group
The turnover amounts to DKK 6.5 billion, the biggest in the 122-year long history of the group. The generated gross profit of DKK 312 million is also satisfactory, and the operating profit of DKK 151 million is the best result ever.

The serious financial situation in Iceland has a huge impact on the overall result of the group through a large negative item under financial costs, but we can ascertain that our company in Iceland is still sound.

Our key figures are - except for one - satisfactory and in line with those of previous years.

Increased exports
In 2008 we were active in sixteen countries outside Denmark, from Greenland to Zanzibar, and from Sri Lanka to the USA, and the total share of exports amounts to 57%, which is slightly more than in previous years – a trend we expect to continue in 2009.

In Denmark we have carried out a number of satisfactory projects; in many of which Pihl has been a party in the very early stages of the projects. Some examples are the ”Copenhagen Markets” – a wholesale food market in the Greater Copenhagen area - and the first state PPP project for the building of Denmark's new national archives, “Rigsarkivet”.

Expectations
One of Pihl's strengths is that the group does not depend on one single market, and therefore the order book for 2009 looks quite promising. Since we are gradually adjusting our organisation to the tasks assigned to us, we do not expect any important organisational changes.

E. Pihl & Søn A.S.
Nybrovej 116
2800 Lyngby
Denmark
Tel  +45 45 27 72 00
Fax +45 45 27 71 00
www.pihl-as.dk

The annual report and its notes can be obtained upon request to our Financial Manager, Anne Brown Frandsen, phone: +45 4527 7200.

In response to the short term conditional offer made by Aberdeen City Council in respect to the funding of the 3R’s project, Pihl UK Ltd are pleased that this offer has been extended to the Consortium to safe guard the future of the schools nearing completion. Pihl UK Ltd confirms that works will continue on Bucksburn and Cults academies along with the Airyhall and Heathryburn primary schools.

Pihl UK Ltd Managing Director, Claus Wiegand Larsen stated ‘as an Organisation Pihl UK Ltd appreciate the extraordinary steps taken by the Council in response to the financial difficulties surrounding this project and we reconfirm our commitment to delivering the new generation of schools in Aberdeen.’

For further information, please contact

Claus Wiegand Larsen or William Aird Buist
Pihl UK Ltd.
Inspire Building
Beach Boulevard
Aberdeen AB24 5HP UK
Tel: (0) 1224 579360

As reported in the Press and Journal, the works on both primary and secondary academy ahead of schedule with the completion of the first schools in 2009. Pihl UK Ltd confirm that they are pleased to be working with Aberdeen City Council.

Pihl UK Ltd feel that the funding difficulties which may materialise as a result of the credit situation will find a solution at the earliest possible opportunity.

In comment Pihl UK Ltd Managing Director, Claus Wiegand Larsen stated “our obligation is to design and construct first class education facilities for Aberdeen, which is of paramount importance to Pihl UK Ltd. To date the projects have proceeded extremely well on site and this has been due to good relations developed with the suppliers and subcontractors both in Aberdeen and abroad. We are confident that this will remain unchanged in the future”.

For further information, please contact
Claus Wiegand Larsen, (Civil Eng.), MBA, Managing Director
Pihl UK Ltd.
Inspire Building
Beach Boulevard
Aberdeen
AB24 5HP
UK
Tel: (0) 1224 579360
Fax: (0) 1224 579364
www.pihl-uk.com