Latin America crane and transport conference

A series of top international speakers from the global crane and heavy transport sectors have confirmed their presence at the second International Cranes and Transport Latin America conference, which takes place in São Paulo, Brazil, on 4 June.

Despite the global economic crisis Brazil has remained a strong and growing construction market. The football World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016 alone are requiring huge investment. In addition, the government is under pressure to improve the country’s infrastructure. Major longer-term projects for airports, power generation, manufacturing, oilfield and port development are planned. The authorities are also softening their traditional opposition to private finance for such projects.

This year’s CTLA conference will place particular emphasis on project delivery. It will be held at the five-star Tivoli Hotel, one day before Brazil’s 2013 Construction Expo opens and it will bring together senior executives and managers from around the world with an interest in the Brazilian and Latin American crane and heavy haulage industry.

It has the support of the leading industry groups in Brazil – Sobratema and Sindipesa, plus the international Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association.

Among those leading the line-up will be Terry Emmert, president of Emmert International, a leader in the US heavy haulage and rigging industry. Emmert will present one of his company’s recent major projects.

Headquartered near Portland, Oregon, Emmert International was founded in the 1960s and has been providing hauling and rigging services to customers worldwide for nearly 50 years. The company also designs, engineers, and manufactures the hauling and rigging equipment used to perform many of its most complex heavy transportation and specialized rigging projects. Examples of Emmert’s work include relocating Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose aircraft and The Hubbell Telescope.

Emmert also specialises in transporting equipment for the power, chemical and marine industries. Its clients include Asea Brown Boveri, Brown & Root and utility companies.

Alongside Terry Emmert will be senior directors from two other major companies. David Rodrigues, commercial director at Makro Engenharia from Brazil and Javier Martinez, Spain and Latin America executive director at ALE, a UK-headquartered international heavy lifting and transport specialist. Both will also be presenting examples of major projects.

With the programme

They join a programme that will include presentations* on:

- The global construction economy, with a special focus on Brazil

- Critical issues facing the region’s crane and heavy transport sectors

- New guidelines for the safe erection of wind turbines

- Latest approaches to operator certification

- How to improve co-operation between manufacturers and end users.

The conference will be chaired by Helen Joyce, Brazil correspondent of The Economist, the respected international weekly news magazine. Joyce will also give the opening address.

Some of the lustre has recently gone from Brazil’s economic performance, despite the country’s position as one of the fast-developing BRICs (Brazil Russia India China) countries. But the picture is far from gloom and doom. Following six consecutive quarters of below-trend growth, Brazil’s economy now seems to be slowly recovering. In the fourth quarter of 2012, seasonally adjusted output expanded by 0.6% compared to the previous quarter and by 1.4% compared to same quarter a year earlier.

Infrastructure essentials

Many economists and business leaders, however, believe that improved infrastructure is essential if Brazil is to build on its recent economic progress – and it is a problem that is difficult for the government to resolve. The point was emphasised in a report from international accountancy firm KPMG where it wrote of the “dilemma the government faces between the need to enhance the quality and efficiency of governmental expenditure, the strong requirement for continued public investment, especially in the country’s infrastructure, the need to ease interest rates and inflation, as well as to reverse the appreciation of the Brazilian currency.”

KPMG added, “The requirement for infrastructure investment is pressing, especially in the country’s transport sector.

“Brazil’s vast size and massive geographical challenges lead to major regional differences and under-development of key assets such as the rail network. The continually growing economy is running up against transportation constraints.”

The government is responding. Global Insight has forecast an infrastructure spend in excess of US$ 140 billion by 2020.

A recent report from Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics forecast that construction output would grow by an average of 3% a year from 2015 to 2020. While this represents a slowdown compared with the rapid expansion of recent years, it is still a far stronger performance than in most parts of the world.

Growth brings its own problems, however. The issues facing Brazil’s crane and heavy haulage industry will form the basis of another keynote presentation at the conference, from João Batista Dominici, executive vice-president at Sindipesa – the Sindicato Nacional das Empresas de Transporte e Movimentação de Cargas Pesadas e Excepcionais. He will consider not just the need for infrastructure investment but also the regulatory environment along with issues around training and safety.

A civil engineering graduate and a specialist in transportation, João Batista Dominici has been with Sindipesa for 15 years specialising in management, regulatory and legislative affairs, development, communications and marketing. Previously, he spent 14 years heading up the department responsible for control and inspection of heavy transport in São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil.

Sindipesa’s members are some of the biggest and most important companies involved with heavy transport and cranes in Brazil.

Last year’s CTLA conference attracted 215 delegates from 84 firms and 12 countries. Commenting on the event, Sarah Spivey, managing director at UK-based rigging and equipment specialist Modulift, said, “It was a wonderful opportunity to explore the growing Latin American market and meet some key players in the industry. We learnt a lot.”

Details of the programme, plus booking information, are at: www.khl.com/ctla

* Programme may change.