AROUND THE REGIONS —
Andrew Macdonald Business Development Manager – Auckland
Auckland’s Asian Construction Forum
AUCKLAND
Welcome to 2021! I hope you were able to take a break, recharge your batteries, and it hasn’t been too hard getting back into the swing of things. On Saturday 14 November 2020, Business Development Manager North Island, Shane, and I attended the Asian Construction Forum at LIFE Central in Auckland. We arrived at 10am to set up our New Zealand Certified Builder (NZCB) stand before everyone arrived.
The Asian construction sector in New Zealand is growing at a rapid rate, with 160% growth across the industry in the last five years. What is the Asian Construction Forum? The Asian Construction Forum is a conference and expo bringing together leading industry suppliers, peak industry bodies, local government, builders, architects, designers, developers, and other industry participants, to share information that is vital to the success of the Asian construction industry. With workshops, ‘ask an expert’ sessions, and new product information, it’s a ‘must-see’ event for anyone in the building and construction sector in New Zealand. Product suppliers and peak industry bodies share insights, information, and showcase their product ranges and new developments. The main attendees at the 2020 event were anyone involved with the Asian construction community in New Zealand, including Chinese, Southeast Asian, and Indian nationalities. The Asian construction sector in New Zealand is growing at a rapid rate. With 160% growth across the industry in the last five years, and $2.1 billion of Chinese-led projects already underway. The day started slowly but before we knew it there was a consistent flow of people coming to the NZCB stand and enquiring about membership with the Association. It was great to see a lot of our members there. Interpreter services were made available to support attendees but the majority were English speaking so we had no difficulty striking up a conversation. It was interesting to observe the cultural differences at the well-run event. Attendees’ standard of dress and overall presentation was very high, which is quite different to your usual building expo, where builders might turn up in jeans and sneakers.
33
NZCB Business Development Manager, North Island, Shane Ririnui (centre left); and NZCB Business Development Manager, Auckland, Andrew Macdonald (centre right) explaining the products and services NZCB has available to its members.
There were also plenty of small gifts and promotional items on all the stands. Something a little different was the high number of luxury gift items given away via drawcard later in the afternoon. The main question asked on the day, and a common one for us Business Development Managers, was – what is a qualified builder? This was a great opportunity for us to explain and also educate the Asian community on the products and services NZCB has available to its members. By the end of the forum, Shane and I were absolutely shattered from being on our feet all day, but it was well worth it, and we expect a few new applications as a result. Thanks to NZCB Chief Executive, Grant Florence, NZCB Communications and Group Services Manager, Karla Farrar, and NZCB President Auckland, Nick Farrelly who came to support us.
