Scottish contractor doubles up on night to remember
08 November 2021
Despite the relatively small percentage of demolitions that are executed with explosives, this is the category that attracts the greatest interest. For industry professionals it is arguably the ultimate test, and explosive demolition’s status as a favourite with the YouTube generation remains unchallenged, especially when taking down a record 165 m (51 ft) tall building as Safedem did.
David Sinclair had already collected three awards on behalf of Erith Contractors, now he was on stage again with awards judge Bill Moore to receive this trophy for Safedem.
David Sinclair (right) who worked on the Mina Plaza project with son and Safedem MD William, receives the award from awards judge Bill Moore
All demolition awards are personal to some extent, but for David it was even more the case. Apart from his son William being managing director of winning company Safedem, David had also worked on the project himself.
The global significance of the project was not lost on the judges: “Safedem broke the Guinness world record for the highest building ever imploded. The project took place in a commercial area of Dubai, but there was no damage to any surrounding structures.”
The World Demolition Award is the highest scoring winning entry across 10 contractor entries, and this year’s winner was Safedem for its entry in Explosive Demolition.
The challenge for the awards judges is to come up with a second soundbite when they have already put one together for the category award.
Thankfully, this project left them plenty of scope: “It comprised a 50-storey, 165 m (541 ft), plus two 38-storey buildings and a 27-storey building on a nine-storey podium. Holes for the explosives were made by robot drills. A remarkable job.”
- Also shortlisted in Explosive Demolition: Liberty Industrial (Australia); Precision Demolition Company (UK)
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