b"Page 5Fellow CompetitorsGrainger Trust PLC (now Grainger PLC) came into the public eye in 1983 as it became a publicly-traded company on the London Stock Exchange. Following on from this, the company entered into land development and acquired 350 acres of land near Basingstoke, Hampshire. They then established the infrastructure on this site to sell on to housebuilders.The 1980s also saw vast growth for Redrow PLC as they opened their first regional office in the Midlands in 1985. Similar to Natta, with the creation of Natta Country Homes in 1982, Redrow's expansion also took them into the private homes sector. With this, they quickly grew a reputation as quality home builders.Balfour Beatty continued to be a trailblazer in the industry and even saw expansion into the US market, acquiring a 50% stake in US construction firm, Heery International (now fully owned by Balfour Beatty). The company undertook some of the biggest UK construction projects in the 1980s such as the THORP nuclear reprocessing facility and sections of the M25 as well as being awarded the contract to build the Channel Tunnel in 1986.Balfour Beatty was one of the first companies to take on full design and build projects, winning a 58m contract in 1988 to build the BBCs HQ at White City.With all of this, the 1980s saw a vast change within the construction industry with even more to come in the 1990s. Advancements in technology and machinery were set to improve even more as well as new Health and Safety Acts being introduced.As we celebrate our 50 th year of trading, Natta is looking into how construction has changed each decade. Moving on to the 1980s, the industry saw a big change with machinery and further progress within the health and safety field."