The demise of Euro Dismantling Services has been protracted, painful and all too predictable.
Watching the death throes of Euro Dismantling Services (EDS) has at times been like witnessing that “one fight too many” of a once great boxer. Propped up by little more than pride and experience and a team that refused to throw in the towel, the company suffered blow after blow before finally hitting the canvas for the final time.
That a demolition company – even one of the size of EDS – should fail should be a surprise to no-one. They are not the first and, sadly, they will not be the last. The protracted death of EDS has been a long time coming; so much so that this obituary was written more than two weeks ago. Given the recent history of the company, it is perhaps surprising that it withstood the onslaught for as long as it did.
In December 2011, EDS was forced to accept 90 percent liability in an accident that left demolition worker Christopher Kaye with brain damage. That finding alone cost the company £1.75 million plus £135,000/year for the remainder of Kaye’s life.
While that court case was taking place, EDS suffered a fatality at a site in Keynsham, the investigation of which is still ongoing. Bizarrely, this was the same year that the magazine Construction News named EDS as its Demolition Contractor of the Year. Just to illustrate the validity of such awards, EDS is in the running for the same award again this year. There would be a delicious irony if they were to win posthumously.
According to one former employee that we spoke to, the Keynsham fatality was truly the final nail in the company’s coffin. “EDS’s reputation got it onto lots of tender lists. But as soon as clients became aware of the fatality, they quickly lost interest.”
When the company was purchased for £20.6 million by Silverdell in May 2012, it appeared that the company’s woes had been finally laid to rest (even though the fatality and costly damages claim would have greatly dented the asking price).
But the relief was relatively short-lived. Just over a year later, Silverdell’s shares were suspended from the AIM stock exchange after group company Kitsons was issued with a winding up order. While this was also rectified by some creative paper shuffling that saw EDS acquire its sister company, the alarms bells had sounded and the rumour mill went into overdrive.
The industry, in typically ruthless style, was also quick to point out that a number of the senior players at EDS had come from Controlled Group which itself went out of business in July 2010. Indeed, although he had left before Lee Demolition folded, Dave Jameson’s CV actually contains the names of three failed demolition companies. Despite this track record, it is probably only a matter of time until a new company emerges, manned by some familiar faces who who will subsequently be welcomed back into the bosom of the industry. But the fact that the decommissioning division was the only one of four not to have been rescued by the OCS buy-out speaks volumes on how far the fortunes of the demolition side of the business has fallen.
Unquestionably though, the worst aspect of this debacle is the disgraceful way in which loyal and often long-term employees have been treated. Those that have not been hand-picked for what is being described at “the new EDS” were kept in the dark about their future prospects as you can see from the 100+ comments here. Many of those workers claim to have been unpaid despite assurances to the contrary, and now face a battle to recoup lodging and travel costs and the vain hope of a £450 payout from the Government.
I sincerely hope that those workers – those that braved the elements, worked hard and encountered the ever-present risks of a life in demolition on behalf of EDS – find alternative employment with a company that treats is staff in a far less callous manner.
