Here is how Foremans Relocatable Building Systems, the UK's largest supplier of pre-owned modular buildings and a subsidiary of York-based Shepherd Building Group, proves it is flying high.

It has been awarded the contract to remove multi-storey modular office accommodation previously used by National Air Traffic Services at Swanick, in Hampshire, and recycle them

The 23,000sq ft scheme was put in place by SGB Rovacabin for Arlington Business Services, in order to satisfy National Air Traffic Services' need for temporary office space.

The two-storey steel-framed modular building provided accommodation for 120 staff for 15 months while its new facility was being built at Arlington's Solent Business Park.

The project will be completed in less than a month. This includes removing floor coverings, light fittings and suspended ceilings, decommissioning air conditioning units, electric systems and plumbing, dismantling the building into its modular units and craning them on to lorries for transportation away from the site.

The building will be refurbished off-site at Foremans' production centre in York and reused for either temporary or permanent facilities. Possible applications include offices, airports, hospitals, schools and universities.

David Johnson, Foreman's managing director, said: "The sheer scale of this two-storey building would have had massive landfill implications if it had been demolished. We are able to deliver a more environmentally sustainable approach to the removal of modular buildings, involving the refurbishment and, if necessary, the reconfiguration of the scheme before relocating it to one or more different sites. This innovative method of recycling buildings minimises wastage and allows other organisations to benefit from the speed, quality and safety of off-site construction. We are keen to talk to other organisations that have modular buildings, which are surplus to their requirements, and will work with them to undertake the safe dismantling and removal operations ."

Updated: 11:11 Monday, November 01, 2004