international
construction
december 2013
ICEF REVIEW
14
Amsterdam success
N
ovember’s International Construction Economic Forum
(ICEF) saw some 200 delegates and speakers take part
in the inaugural conference, awards ceremony and
networking event.
One of the highlights of the event, which took place from 20 to
22 November in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was the keynote
address from former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar.
He highlighted the construction sector as being of strategic
importance in Europe, representing more than 10% of GDP and
over 50% of fixed capital investment.
“The health of the European construction industry is the
health of the European economy,” he told delegates, adding,
“Construction is the biggest industrial employer in Europe, with
more than 20 million direct employees and affecting some 44
million workers Europe.”
Mr Aznar, who was in office from 1996 to 2004, also said he
did not share view that Europe is condemned to a long period
of decline.
“Europe still holds a key position in world,” he said. “But we
cannot sit back and watch the world. Europe must recover a sense
of purpose and set out plan of action that can be supported across
EU.”
Contractors
Speakers from the contracting and materials side of the industry
also addressed delegates. They included Xavier Therin, vice
president of land, mineral resources and mining at Lafarge
Aggregates and Concrete, and Miguel Jurado Fernández, general
manager of contractor FCC Construcción.
Mr Therin delivered a robust speech directed at equipment
manufacturers. “I’d rather spend more on a machine and have
something that is reliable and last longer, then have something
that is cheap and cheerful but will last three years,” he said.
As Lafarge branches out more and more into emerging markets,
MrTherin said the materials producer expected the same standards
in the equipment it used compared to more mature markets.
“What this means for suppliers is that we can’t use second rate
equipment because it is an emerging market,” he said, adding that
this expectation extended to the servicing and maintenance of
machines.
“We know it isn’t going to happen overnight, but we expect
the same standard of service from a supplier in Chicago, Paris
or London as someone in Nigeria. We are heading into more
and more exotic places and that’s where the growth is – we’re all
chasing that growth, and that means everything else has to follow
– the suppliers, the finance, the lot. We don’t want production
to be jeopardised because a dealer can’t maintain our truck fleet.”
For his part, FCC’s Mr Fernández, said the contractor was
determined to continue to pursue international expansion in the
wake of the bankruptcy of its Austrian subsidiary Alpine.
“We purchased Alpine in 2007 to develop activities in foreign
countries. Alpine started expanding very rapidly. It was risky
Amsterdam success
One of the highlights was the keynote address and
question & answer session from former Spanish
Prime Minister José María Aznar.
Xavier Therin, vice president of land, mineral resources and
mining at Lafarge Aggregates and Concrete, delivered a
forthright speech directed at OEMs.
