Reflecting on uncertainty to reshape the future of construction equipment sector
After an introductory speech by CECE Secretary General, the Summit’s Economic Forum took place during the morning of Wednesday 12th October in Brussels. With the help of moderator Sandy Guthrie – Editor of Construction Europe, over 60 participants attended a lively panel debate around the question “Globalisation reversed? Construction equipment sector prospects in days of political uncertainty, rising populism, and declining confidence in free trade”.
In the first part of the session, impulse presentations were delivered by guest speakers Vladimiro Giacchè, President of Centro Europa Ricerche in Italy, and Professor Stefan Collignon, high-level academic of political economy at Sant’Anna in Pisa. Both addressed the audience with critical reflections and provocative statements on the impact of political and economic uncertainties on the current and future state of the industry and European economies at large.
The debate was accompanied by the projection of some extracts from the recently released film “PIIGS”, a documentary by filmmakers Adriano Cutraro, Federico Greco and Mirko Melchiorre, investigating the most controversial aspects of the economic crisis in Europe.
After that, three high-level representatives of the construction equipment industry joined the panel to discuss about the added-value, the shortcomings and the perspectives surrounding the European Union, the Single Market and the Euro area. CECE Vice President Enrico Prandini from KOMATSU, the Executive Vice-President of Group Mecalac, Alexandre Marchetta and the Global Director of Industrial Strategy at Volvo, Niklas Reinedahl, all agreed that the added-value of the EU remains unquestionable, because of its potential to address the current uncertainties originating from political tensions.
The second part of the Economic Forum was exclusively dedicated to market potential and prospects, with presentations by two external speakers. Mr Taco van Hoek, Director at EIB (Euroconstruct), gave participants an insightful presentation on the overall performances and perspectives for the building construction & civil engineering sectors. After him, Mr Chris Sleight, Senior Consultant at Off-Highway Research, provided some figures on equipment markets and shared information on market potentials in the current uncertain political conditions, which sometimes hinder investment capabilities.
All CECE Summit videos can be watched on our YouTube channel.
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