14
CONSTRUCTION EUROPE
DECEMBER 2013-JANUARY 2014
ICEF REVIEW
■
ICEF 2014 will be held from October
29 to 31 at the Gloucester Hotel in
London, UK. More
details are available
at
or by
using a smart phone to
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manufacturing,” he said.
Zeng added that these kinds of
misunderstandings – that Chinese companies
produce poor quality machines, copy western
designs and provide poor or no support –
would lead western companies to ignore the
true progress of Chinese manufacturers.
INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
Comprehensive outlooks for the future of
the construction industry came from various
speakers at ICEF.
On the first day of the conference, Scott
Hazelton, director of construction and
industry at IHS Global Insight, forecast that
construction growth would pick up in the
coming years.
He said this would happen as the global
economy emerged from the current soft patch,
driven by spending in the non-residential
sector.
The following day, delegates were presented
with analysis and forecasts for global
construction equipment markets from Paul
Howard, European research analyst for Off-
Highway Research.
Howard said global sales of construction
equipment were likely to hit US$104 billion
(€76 billion) by 2017, compared to forecasted
sales for 2013 of US$93 billion (€68 billion),
driven by a sustained recovery in North
America and continued high sales volumes
in China.
Other wide ranging topics affecting the
global construction industry were also
covered by the other high profile speakers on
the programme at ICEF.
On 21 November, additional speakers
included Trevor Sturmy, head of PPPs at
HSBC in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, Jules
Janssen, general manager of construction
at Besix Belgium and treasurer of the EIC
(European International Contractors), and
Simon Rawlinson, partner and head of
strategic research at EC Harris/Arcadis.
He was followed by Virginie Colaiuta, partner
at Pinsent Masons, and Riwal CEONortyTurner.
On 22 November, morning speakers
included IronPlanet vice president of new
business development Matt Bousky, Simon
Purchon, business development director at
Babcok Mobile Assets, and vice president of
Trimble’s heavy civil construction division Roz
Buick.
The day was rounded off by Murray Pollok,
editor of
CE
’s sister publication
International
Rental News
, who discussed the prospects for
the international rental sector.
Speaker presentations can be downloaded
at
Additional coverage, including videos,
from the event, can be found by going to
and searching for ICEF.
ce
Record-breaking hotel
wins Project of the Year
Brookfield Multiplex’s JW Marriott Marquis
Hotel in Dubai takes the inaugural International
Construction Project of the Year award at ICEF
The Brookfield Multiplex project for the
JW Marriott Marquis Hotel in Dubai was
the winner of the first ICEF International
Construction Project of the Year award.
The award recognises a scheme which
is worth US$100 million (€73.6 million) or
more, and is of international significance.
The winners of the inaugural ICEF awards were revealed at a gala dinner held on 21
November at the Hotel Okura in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as part of the ICEF event.
The hotel is a twin tower complex that, at 355m, breaks the Guinness World Record for the
world’s tallest dedicated hotel.
It was selected from a shortlist of five, and the panel of judges said the winning JW Marriott
Marquis Hotel was an outstanding project that demonstrated a close working relationship
between the construction team and other stakeholders, without compromising safety.
Meanwhile, the winner of the construction equipment innovation award was Caterpillar,
for its 336E H hybrid excavator. The machine claims to use up to 25% less fuel compared to
standard models by capturing waste kinetic energy via hydraulic accumulators, helping it
optimise performance.
The judges said the hybrid machine was a fantastic innovation that dramatically cut costs
using tried and trusted technology, with a short pay-back period.
The winner of the construction equipment innovation award for component or sub-
system design was Liebherr for its PowerBoom technology for crawler cranes. The winning
technology increases lifting capacity by more than 50% over the standard load chart.
The judges said the PowerBoom was as an example of innovative engineering that not only
radically increased capacity and productivity, but did so in a way that was cost-effective and
flexible for the customer.
International Construction Project of the
Year award winners Graham Sonley (left)
and David Miller (right) from Brookfield
Multiplex, with Chris Sleight, editor of
International Construction
Dubai’s JWMarriott Marquis
ICEF provided a
chance to meet
and talk
