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J. Murphy & Sons Ltd has been named as a preferred bidder by electricity network giant SSEN Transmission to deliver the c. £10bn onshore infrastructure Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) upgrade framework.

The ASTI framework includes a programme of overhead lines, underground cables and substations in order to redevelop the transmission network in the north of Scotland between now and 2030.

Jon Downs, Managing Director of Murphy’s Energy team, said:

“We are very proud to have been selected as a preferred bidder by SSEN Transmission and to be playing our part in redeveloping the transmission network in the north of Scotland between now and 2030.

With our company purpose ‘to improve life by delivering world-class infrastructure’, we look forward to applying our direct-delivery expertise in providing collaborative, complex energy transition infrastructure in order to ensure Government’s net zero and energy security strategies are met.”

Rob McDonald, Managing Director of SSEN Transmission, said:

“Our Pathway to 2030 network redevelopment programme will play a huge role in delivering Scotland and the UK’s net zero targets and the selection of this group of preferred bidders for crucial elements of that redevelopment work is a massive step forward in delivering that.

As we aim to conclude contract negotiations in the coming weeks and months, we look forward to working with each of the selected contractors in the delivery of our ‘Pathway to 2030’ projects.

Not only will this work support the delivery of UK and Scottish Government net zero and energy security targets, but our forthcoming investments will provide significant local and national economic opportunities, helping unleash the economic potential of the north of Scotland.”

Murphy Ireland have been appointed by Northern Ireland Water to its €1.2bn Major Projects Partnership Framework (MPPF.)

This framework will deliver large, capital works projects (over £10m in value) on water and wastewater infrastructure across Northern Ireland. Commencing this month for an initial four-year period, with the option to extend for a further four-years, the framework will include upgrades to major water and wastewater treatment plants, pumping stations and network mains.

Kevin Morrissey, Murphy Ireland Projects Director said: “We are delighted to have been appointed to the Northern Ireland Water Major Projects Partnership Framework and to have the opportunity to engage this week with the other framework partners in planning the development of the framework’s structure. We look forward to working with NI Water and its partners in the development and upgrade of its water and wastewater assets over the next 4 years and beyond.”

Paul Harper NI Water’s Director of Asset Delivery said: “This framework provides further resilience for Northern Ireland Water to provide our Customers with the best financial, sustainable and environmental outcomes. It will provide us with access to some of the best innovative providers within the Construction Supply Chain locally, nationally and internationally.”

Murphy Ireland recently turned the sod on the Donegal Towns and Villages – Ramelton, Milford and Rathmullan project for Uisce Éireann, which will put an end to decades of sewage discharge issues in North Donegal.

The project will stop the practice of discharging raw or poorly treated sewage into Leannan Estuary, Lough Swilly and Maggie’s Burn from the towns of Ramelton, Milford and Rathmullan

Murphy Ireland will be delivering the work on behalf of Uisce Éireann and expect to complete the project in 2025. 

The ceremony to mark the commencement of the works was led by Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Councillor Liam Blaney, with representatives from Uisce Éireann, Donegal County Council and Murphy Ireland in attendance, as well as members of the local community. 

This is the largest single project Uisce Éireann has undertaken in Donegal to date and is critically important for the environment and to support social and economic development in this part of the county.

It also marks another important milestone in Uisce Éireann’s plan to eliminate the discharge of raw sewage nationwide.

J Murphy & Sons Limited is pleased to announce its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2022, demonstrating another year of significant growth and strong financial performance.

These results highlight Murphy’s commitment to delivering world-class infrastructure, while maintaining a focus on safety, operational excellence and sustainable business practices, with significant milestones in revenue, operating profit, order book, net cash and sustainability.

• Group revenue up 17% to £1,491m in 2022 (2021: £1,274m), owing to dependable operational delivery and solid client and supply chain relationships.
• Operating profit increased by 111% to £45.7m in 2022 (2021: £21.7m), through delivering key infrastructure projects for our key clients and operational efficiencies.
• Net cash increased by 27% to £275.5m in 2022 (2021: £216.6m), underpinning our strong balance sheet.
• Continued commitment to safety; 30% reduction in Lost Time Injury rate, from 0.11 in 2021 to 0.07 in 2022.
• Increased employees to 3,688, up from 3,579, developing colleagues across the business and creating diverse, inclusive and engaged teams.

• Achieved a further 16.8% carbon reduction from 2021 – Murphy’s biggest ever annual reduction.
• Cumulative emissions reduction total now sits at 39.88% since 2019 baseline – strengthening Murphy’s position to achieve its 50% reduction target by 2026.
• ESG Committee formed with individual accountabilities under the banners of Climate Action & Safety, Social Value and Governance.
• Reaffirmed commitments to achieving net zero by 2030 and becoming net positive by 2050 for all emission sources.
• £34.5m invested in state-of-the-art, environmentally-conscious plant and equipment
• Continued investment of £2.3m in colleague training and development

• Order book grew by 13% to £2.52bn in 2022 (2021: £2.23bn), with secured and anticipated orders across the UK, Canada and Ireland.
• Activities to support the energy transition continue to underpin activity across the business in our core sectors and geographies.
• Confident in strategic direction and broader opportunities for continued growth with a strong balance sheet and ongoing investment in sustainable practices meaning that Murphy is well-positioned for future success across its three geographies of the UK, Ireland and Canada.

John Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of J Murphy & Sons, commented:

“I am delighted to present another year of growth for Murphy, demonstrating a continuous, year-on-year improvement in our financial performance and operational delivery as we continue to play a central role in delivering world-class infrastructure. These outstanding results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our colleagues, our focus on sustainable business practices and our strong client relationships.

“Our direct delivery operating model, supported by a select supply chain, continues to be central to our unique offering. At a time when resources are increasingly a limiting factor across the industry, we give our clients heightened confidence of reliable delivery performance. 

“As we approach our 75th anniversary in 2026, our vision to be the leading family-owned construction business in the three geographies in which we work is within reach, and we remain focused on delivering long-term sustainable growth and creating a positive and lasting legacy across our projects and the communities we serve.”

You can read the report in full here: https://www.murphygroup.com/2022annualreport

National Grid and its contractor HOCHTIEF-MURPHY Joint Venture (HMJV) have completed the world’s largest ever continuous pour of Earth Friendly Concrete® at London Power Tunnels, a £1bn project to rewire London.

736m3, or 736,000 litres (enough to fill around two 25m swimming pools) of more sustainable, cement-free concrete was poured to fill the base of the 55m deep tunnel drive shaft at National Grid’s Hurst Substation in South London. The cement free solution was developed by Wagners and supplied by Capital Concrete and uses a binder of ground granulated blast furnace slag and fly ash geopolymer concrete system chemically activated by the use of industrial waste products instead of cement. The concrete reduces carbon by around 64%, saving an estimated 111kg of CO₂ per cubic metre poured in comparison to concrete that would have traditionally been used.

The use of Earth Friendly Concrete was driven forward by a team of young engineers on the project and supported by HMJV’s engineering experts and AECOM, Mott MacDonald and WSP, following several trials at different London Power Tunnels sites.

The record-breaking pour on Earth Day (22 April) at National Grid’s Hurst substation site was needed to infill the base of the 55m deep tunnel shaft to its permanent level, following the successful completion of 9.2km of tunnelling over 2 tunnel drives from Hurst to Eltham and Crayford.

Elsewhere on the London Power Tunnels project, there are several measures in place to reduce the environmental impact of construction and keep National Grid on track to achieve net zero carbon construction by 2025/26. These include:

• Optimisation of designs and construction methodologies of the tunnel and shafts network by HMJV saving approximately 50,000 tonnes of CO₂, leading to a 30% reduction against baseline.
• 99.98% of project waste being diverted away from landfill, a 21% reduction against the carbon reduction pre-project baseline for shafts, tunnels and headhouses, equivalent to 25,250 tonnes of CO₂.
• A new 400kV substation at the heart of the project in Bengeworth Road, Lambeth will be built using SF₆ free gas insulated switchgear technology in a UK first.

This world record-breaking pour also offers the opportunity to evaluate the technology ahead of future possible rollout across our network in England and Wales, demonstrating our ambition to achieve net zero construction across all our projects by 2025/26.

National Grid Project Director, Onur Aydemir said: “We are always looking for new ways to innovate and to now be using this carbon saving cement-free alternative to conventional concrete at scale and on site is exciting. This world record-breaking pour also offers the opportunity to evaluate the technology ahead of future possible rollout across our network in England and Wales, demonstrating our ambition to achieve net zero construction across all our projects by 2025/26.”

Raj Kundan, Technical Lead for HOCHTIEF-MURPHY Joint Venture said: “At HMJV, in conjunction with our supply chain family, we strive to advance innovative and cutting-edge solutions – and the incredible work the team have done on the project in the trialling and large-scale use of Earth Friendly Concrete in temporary as well as permanent applications is a great example of that.

“Completing the largest ever continuous cement free concrete pour is testament to the ingenuity and collaboration of all involved working as part of this Project 13 Enterprise scheme, and shows how a client, contractor and the supply chain can work together to help take a major step moving the industry forward in reducing carbon emissions.”

Andy Izod, UK Regional Manager for Wagners said: “We are delighted that National Grid and HOCHTIEF-MURPHY Joint Venture have chosen to use Earth Friendly Concrete (EFC) at their LPT project as by using an ultra-low carbon concrete for this application they have saved an estimated 82 tonnes of CO₂, which is roughly the equivalent of driving a new car 18 times around the world.

“This is the largest continuous EFC pour that has ever been undertaken and to do it on Earth Day, the 22nd of April, is quite fitting. We hope that other major clients will follow National Grid’s example in helping us to decarbonise the construction sector.”

Luke Smith, Managing Director of Capital Concrete said: “We have been supplying Earth Friendly Concrete since January 2020 as a low carbon, high performance alternative to standard, cement-based concrete.

“We are delighted that the Capital Concrete team could work together with Hochtief-Murphy to provide the technical expertise and focus on customer service to deliver the biggest EFC pour globally to date over an 11-hour period for the London Power Tunnels Project.”

J. Murphy & Sons Limited has become the first construction company in the UK to join the Employ Autism programme after signing a new autism charter.

Through the Employ Autism programme, Murphy will provide paid internships to autistic candidates, with training provided by Ambitious about Autism to ensure that the internships are successful. The programme will be rigorously evaluated to encourage replication and influence policy and practice, helping to increase autistic people in full-time employment and enabling workplaces to be truly neurodiverse.

This initiative is part of Murphy’s holistic approach to addressing underrepresentation, which includes its Kickstart programme providing job opportunities for more than 50 long-term unemployed young people aged 16-24; its work with the Home Office offering up to 175 refugees employment opportunities across a variety of roles; its work with Berwyn Prison creating a long-term, sustainable training and employment rehabilitation journey for prison leavers; among other social initiatives. It also forms part of Murphy’s purpose, which is to improve life by delivering world-class infrastructure.

Employ Autism is a programme developed by Ambitious about Autism, the national charity standing with autistic children and young people, which aims to provide autistic people with access to paid internships and employability support. Working in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Ambitious about Autism has created the Covenant for Employers to encourage businesses to commit to creating employment opportunities for autistic people. Murphy is the first construction company to sign up to the charter.

Dawn Moore, Group People and Communications Director at Murphy, said:

“We are proud to be the first construction company in the UK to sign the autism charter and join the Employ Autism programme. Murphy is committed to creating a great place to work where our people feel secure and comfortable to be themselves – providing opportunities to those who are traditionally underrepresented in our industry and supporting them in their career progression is a key part of this. We look forward to working with Ambitious about Autism and other partners in the Employ Autism network to achieve our common goal of increasing diversity and inclusion in the workplace.”

Jolanta Lasota, Chief Executive of Ambitious about Autism, added:

“We are delighted to welcome Murphy to the Employ Autism programme and thank them for standing with autistic young people. With only 29% of autistic people in any form of employment, it is vital that businesses across the UK commit to creating more diverse and inclusive workplaces and we hope other employers will join Murphy in doing so. We look forward to working with them to achieve our goal of helping autistic young people realise their ambitions.”

Our Energy Business Unit, along with HB Tunnelling Ltd., has recently commenced the tunnelling works on the Sofia & Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm projects. This is part of the wider infrastructure installation of a 7km HVDC cable route in Redcar, Teesside. The tunnelling work consists of four 12- to 17-metre-deep tunnels passing under a railway bridge (plus eight shafts). The 1200mm pipe jack micro-tunnels have drive lengths between 107 and 150m, and are being installed by our specialist supply chain partner HB Tunnelling. The tunnelling works are due to be completed by June 2023.

This significant work supports the UK’s drive for greater energy security and target to become Net Zero by 2050 as it connects two offshore wind projects (Sofia and Dogger Bank C) to their new onshore converter stations situated within Wilton International. The power generated from these wind farms will be able to supply green electricity to the equivalent of around 3 million UK homes.

Working in cooperation, Sofia Offshore Wind Farm and Dogger Bank C, the third phase of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which share onshore cable corridors, have joined forces to have their cable ducts installed at the same time by J. Murphy & Sons to minimise local disruption.

The projects are both located on Dogger Bank, more than 195 kilometres from the north-east coast of England, with their export cables coming ashore on Teesside, between Redcar and Marske-by-the-Sea.

Sofia is 100% owned by RWE, and Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor and Vårgrønn.

J. Murphy & Sons Ltd (“Murphy”), a leading specialist engineering and construction company, is proud to announce that National Gas Transmission has awarded Murphy a place on its Asset Health Framework.

The framework is planned to cover the RIIO-T2 and RIIO-T3 spending period delivering design and build asset replacements and upgrades across the National Transmission System (NTS) in order to develop and maintain a reliable, safe and secure network that is flexible in supporting the transition to a low-carbon future.

Commenting on the framework award, Jon Downs, Managing Director of Murphy’s Energy division said:

“We are delighted to have secured a position on the asset health framework and we are looking forward to the opportunity to continue building upon our existing long-term, successful, and collaborative relationship with National Gas Transmission during RIIO-T2 and beyond.

We recognise our important role in supporting National Gas Transmission to maintain a safe, secure and reliable NTS, and that natural gas will continue to be a key enabler to a green energy transition.

“Our direct delivery teams will continue to ensure all infrastructure design and construction is executed to the highest standards; and we are committed to working collaboratively with National Gas Transmission to deliver a sustainable future.”

Murphy and Sons has been named the number one ‘Best Big Company to Work For’ by Best Companies in February 2023.

Dawn Moore, Group People and Communications Director, said: “It is a fantastic and well-deserved accolade for everyone at Murphy to achieve this number one Best Big Company Listing and shows we are continuing to make progress towards achieving our Murphy at 75 people ambition of being a great place to work where people feel secure and comfortable to be themselves.”

If you are interested in joining Murphy’s award-winning number one team, please check out our current vacancies here.