Slow market growth the message at CEWEF 2012

Centralised asset management, more use of the latest machine and worksite technology, and deploying value added logistics in machine delivery will enable the construction equipment industry to build on slow world market growth, a panel of expert speakers told attendees at the Construction Equipment 3019 World Economic Forum (CEWEF) 2012

The key industry event in Brussels saw more than 130 representatives from across the international construction equipment world given a forecast of 3.5% global growth for their industry in 2012. Simon Purchon, business development director of mobile assets at Babcock International Group, an FTSE Top 100 listed company managing assets valued at over €50 billion, spoke of the importance of proper fleet asset management.

“The economic crisis we are in today means that assets are an expensive commodity that need to be managed. If there is a way of reducing the costs of those assets, that has to be the way forward.

“I would advocate centralising control of your fleet. That way you understand the assets that you own, you will have one truth and the whole picture. You also need a standard approach to the way you procure your fleet, and a standard maintenance regime.”

In keeping with this year’s CEWEF theme of Innovations and Opportunities in the Construction World, Carl Lockwood, senior vice president strategy & business development at 2394 Volvo Construction Equipment, talked about three key ”paradigm shifts” within the construction industry: in technology, with moves towards increasingly autonomous construction machines and sites;  overall business philosophy; and customer solutions.

“The [technology] system decoupling is happening now. Business is shifting from products to functions and values,” he said. During a later panel discussion on how to change working cultures to encourage innovation, he added: “I think the key thing is cultural change is driven from the top. If you don’t walk the talk, you don’t get the results.”

Other speakers at the prestigious forum held between October 1-2 were Bart Witzier, business development manager at Van der Vlist Transport Group, a Dutch company which includes leading industry names such as 178 Caterpillar and 695 Doosan among its customers, stressed the need for innovative “value added” mobile heavy equipment logistics; and Michel Petitjean, secretary general at the European Rental Association (ERA), who, among other issues, spoke of the growing world market for construction machine rentals, and the ERA’s keenness to work with machine manufacturers in making their models more robust, to help lower rental machine accident and damage costs.

Ulrich Hermanski, European sales and marketing director at 342 Topcon, said he envisaged a significant advance in the construction industry’s use of telematics, including GPS, in the next few years.

“I think at 688 Bauma [2013] there will be a lot of machines equipped with GPS technology. In the next five years there will be a huge change in that a lot of machines will be pre-equipped [with GPS] in the factory.” said Hermanski.

Hermanski also described how Topcon had a Germany based project working with universities and software companies on how machines can be made more automated.