47
INTERNATIONAL AND SPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
■
JULY 2013
CATLA REVIEW
An impressive turnout for the second Cranes and
Transport Latin America conference confirmed the value
of the event for the leading industry figures operating in
the region. ALEX DAHM was there
A
round 180 industry professionals
g a t h e r e d a t t h e s e c o n d
I n t e r n a t i on a l C r a n e s a n d
Transport Latin America (CATLA)
conference held in São Paulo, Brazil,
last month.
The popularity of the second CATLA
conference was strong confirmation of the
thirst for knowledge and a clear desire
among leading figures in Latin America’s
crane and specialized transport industry to
foster and further develop their world class
best practice approach to running cranes
and specialized transport equipment.
The event, on 4 June, opened with
keynote speaker Helen Joyce, Brazil bureau
chief at
The Economist
, an internationally
respected business magazine. It is a two-
speed economy in Brazil with investment
down and inflation up, Joyce said. Also
rising are wages in the strong job market,
Joyce continued. She went on to say that it
has become more difficult to do business
in Brazil but that there is still opportunity.
Supply and demand
A major barrier to business, said speaker
João Batista Dominici, Sindipesa executive
vice president, is the road infrastructure
and restrictions on bridge loading, delays
in getting permits and so on. Just 12 %
of roads in Brazil are paved and nearly
90% are single track, he said. Many
bridges are limited to a 45 tonne loading
and there is no maintenance programme.
The imbalance between the supply and
demand of transport services is a logistics
blackout, Batista continued.
Simão Marcelino da Silva Tuma, Al
Arez Consulting CEO, said that Brazil
needs investment in its energy sector and
other infrastructure, it needs to improve
safety and to increase efficiency by
doing more with less. More government
participation is needed he continued.
Service providers need to operate as part
of the process, not as the whole process,
he said. A major need is training and
certification in project management and
Latin leaders
First keynote speaker was Helen Joyce,
The Economist Brazil bureau chief
Top of the second CATLA conference agenda
were the business environment, safety and the
need to improve infrastructure
Infrastructure investment needs to be tripled
to improve logistics in Brazil, said João Batista
Dominici, Sindipesa executive vice president
David Rodrigues, Makro
commercial director,
emphasised that a focus
on safety is key to the
future of the industry
>
