55
september 2014
international
construction
EQUIPMENT
Pilosio
experience andwill be able tohelp
with acquisitions, or setting up
subsidiaries or newproduction
plants.
“Wewant to increase our direct
presence in growthmarkets.That
means technical, commercial
and logistical capabilities.We
are already inCanada andSouth
Africa, andwewill reinforce our
presence there.Thenwewill look
to other countries.
“Nowwe have the resources
to commitmore andbemore
effective.”
Building peace
Another initiative that hasmade
Pilosiomore visible to the outside
world is its annual BuildingPeace
awards, which are now in their
fourth year andwill take place in
Venice inSeptember. It is a grand
title, and the event has a scope far
beyond the norm for a company in
the construction industry.
Previouswinners have included
architectMarioCucinella for
hiswork on the “Green school
forGaza” project, while last year
CameronSinclairwas recognised
as the co-founder of, Architecture
forHumanity, an organisation
dedicated to the reconstruction of
Haiti.
Explaining how this initiative
came about,MrRoustayan said,
“Construction is an engine of
development in every economy
in theworld, sowe have a
responsibility to tackle other
problems that people have around
theworld. Construction is
responsible for the type of housing
people live in for example, so you
can improve people’s liveswith
better structures, and that is not
necessarily about spendingmore.
“Wewanted to look at
construction from a different point
of view. Sowewanted to recognise
a person or organisation for
improving, in a significant way, the
quality of life of a population. Since
we are in the constructionbusiness,
we have always chosen a building as
start-up
a symbol of that. So the name that
came upwas the ‘PilosioBuilding
Peace’ award.”
African hope
This year’s ceremony looks likely to
take another step towards the grand
aim of the award as it steps outside
the construction industry.
“Thewinner is different to
previouswinners, whowere
architects and constructionpeople.
SamiaNkrumah is awomanwho
will be running for the presidency
ofGhana, and she is the daughter
of the first president of freeGhana,
KwameNkrumah.TheNkrumah
FamilyLibrary – the buildingwe
are focussing on– is a placewhere
theywant to collect the culture and
heritage ofGhana.
“Africa is a continent that gives
us a lot of hope for the future. If
there is a big growthmarket for the
future, for sure it will beAfrica. So
wewanted to chose a personwho
symbolised growth andhope for the
future inAfrica. It has tobe growth
withhope, otherwise you endup
with somewhere likeNigeria.
“For all these reasons, we chose
SamiaNkrumah.Wewanted
to gobeyond the architects and
construction companies,” saidMr
Roustayan.
It is of course amarketing activity
for the company, a fact Pilosio
embraces. ButMrRoustayan is
quick todismiss any cynicism
about the event’s tone and lofty
ambitions.
“We are not hypocrites.We are
doing this for a business reason,
but Iwould like todobusiness
withpeople that have values similar
tomy own. I thinkmost people
would say these are important
values. It also givesme, and other
people, a spiritual gratification.
“If youwere sitting in these
awards, Iwould ask you after the
event, ‘What do you think about
Pilosionow?’The reinforcement of
the brand is very significant.The
networking is also very important,”
he said.
iC
