GineersNow Construction magazine Dec2019 hardware, civil engineers, heavy equipment, machinery, BIM, infrastructure, mining, pipes contractor cement building materials tool EPC, contractors

In the words of Engr. Gerardo
Pancho, PHILCONSTRUCT
2019 Event Chairman
The first time I got involved in
organizing PHILCONSTRUCT
was when I was appointed
chairman of its Technoforum,
which is what we call the
educational program and
seminars held alongside the
exhibit. That was in 2008. I never
really thought I would be given
the chance to play an even bigger
role in the event in the future.
In 2012, I was appointed the
overall event chairman. The first
time was a big challenge already
in itself but back then, we only
had the SMX Convention
Center to think about for the
Manila show. When I got
reappointed in 2018, the show
had already expanded into twice
the size as the 2012 edition. So at
this point, I’m thinking it would
not be enough to just fulfil the
basic duties of the chairman. I
personally challenged myself to
step up, try, and contribute
something a bit more.
It was in 2018 when we started
elevating the lobby design of
the show. We also launched our
own mobile app. We went really
aggressive on strengthening the
brand and making it even more
attractive to exhibitors and
visitors. Seeing the response we
got from those initiatives has
been very fulfilling.
As head of a construction
business myself, I have a
first-hand account of the
struggles contractors face. One of
those is not having access to new,
cutting-edge technologies that
are already being used in other
countries. Our event
committee really made it one of
our priorities to showcase new
tech from around the world
so that hopefully they will get
picked up by local distributors
and become more accessible to
our fellow contractors.
Luckily, we have friends from
around the globe who share the
same goal with us, and we were
able to get the European Union
for the first time to showcase new
tech and solutions from their
top manufacturers. We are also
flying in speakers from the US,
UK, and South Korea to share
their knowledge and best practice
advise on a wide range of topics.
This is on top of local expert-led
seminars that we regularly have
at PHILCONSTRUCT.
For the first time, we also have
the Skills Olympics which will be
held at our much bigger outdoor
display area. We will have rebar
tying, scaffolding, and painting
competitions and demos. That
will surely make for an exciting
experience for our attendees.
For me, more than anything, this
is like giving back to the industry
that has served me so well. I have