David Clarke returns to the demolition fold

Former NFDC president David Clarke has bought back some of the assets of his previous company, CDC Demolition, which entered liquidation earlier this year. His new company will trade as David Clarke Demolition Co Ltd, but he told D&Ri that over the medium term he plans to also buy back the CDC Demolition trading name.

He said: "I have bought back a large proportion of the machinery as well as some of the forward order book. We will start from a minimum level and expand as market conditions allow, although I don't think we will see much improvement before the end of 2010. We will walk before we can run."

He went on to say that where his workforce is concerned, he would operate much more leanly than he perhaps did in the past when market conditions were good, but would not be drawn further.

He also confirmed his intention to apply for NFDC membership with the new company, but acknowledged his tenure as NFDC president might well have been a contributing factor to the problems that CDC Demolition experienced. He said: "Internally we talk about ‘the president's disease' - the amount of time you need to commit is quite substantial to do justice to the role. It is a question anyone thinking about stepping forward onto that path must ask, and answer honestly - can I spare the time from a business point of view to do it justice without adversely affecting my own company? Nevertheless, despite the difficulties we have experienced, I am still a firm believer in the NFDC. The industry needs the NFDC to act as its collective voice. If it does not, there is nobody else that will."