Cebucon 2013 welcomes over a hundred exhibitors

CEBU, Philippines - Seasoned construction show organizer L.A. Ducut and Company, Inc. officially sent to a take-off the annual Construction Show Cebu (Cebucon) at the SM City Cebu Trade Hall last Friday with over 100 companies signing up to introduce over 500 product brands to the public.

The 21st edition of the longest-running construction show in Cebu witnessed the conglomeration of companies covering the requirements of the industry from ground work to finishing, including maintenance, operations, renovation and retro-fitting.

In a press conference, L.A. Ducut Managing Director Lilibeth Ducut-Abais said they are happy with the growing trend in the number of exhibitors, adding that this year is their biggest and most comprehensive so far.

Cebucon debuted in 1993 and is also considered as the longest-running construction show in the Visayas and Mindanao. This year’s show is held in cooperation with Hardware Consolidated, Inc. (HCI).

She said after going through several challenges in the past years of holding the show, including the Asian crisis in the late 90s when they were 50 percent short of bookings, they have now seen the growing and consistent confidence that their exhibitors place on Cebucon.

Ducut-Abais said that because of the limited space of the venue, they were not able to accommodate some participants but assured the public that Cebucon is able to still maximize it to cover a wide-ranging presentation of products, materials and technologies in the industry.

She said that among their exhibitors this year is a company that wishes to establish a big plant here in Cebu as well as other enterprises that use green technology in their platforms.

Industrial sales corporation Asia’s Best is one of Cebucon’s unfailing exhibitors, now joining the show for the eighth consecutive time and seeing the show as very focused to products related to construction.

Asia’s Best Marketing Manager Anthony Lim considers Cebucon as a good place to expand business mileage as it converges all people from practically all walks of life in a single venue.

In fact, he shared that over the years of joining Cebucon, they have grown their business and expanded what used to be a Cebu-based company only to many other key areas in the Philippines, particularly in the five regions of Luzon.

Asia’s Best is an importer, manufacturer and wholesaler of new and innovative construction products such as German-technology TekDrill, high performance industrial tools and accessories called DeWalt, Marshall premium quality tapes and CementAid, among others.

Lim said because of the increasing call for green advocacy and safety in the workplace, it is critical for the construction sector to put forward products that consumers will find safe to use. For instance, there is a Korean brand of drilling tool which is now powered by gas, instead of electricity, he said.

Lim, also the president of HCI, an association of hardware stores in Cebu, said that despite Cebuanos’ discriminating taste which provides a dynamic market to potential traders, the Cebu market to this point has been generous to their company.

He also said that there is a mounting challenge among construction companies to offer new and innovative products, considering the ever-evolving pace of the industry.

Cebucon is a four-day show, culminating today.

According to the latest report from the National Statistical Coordination Board, the construction sector continues to expand and “posted its fourth consecutive double digit growth of 32.5 percent from 1.5 percent registered in the previous year as fueled by the robust performance of both the public and private sectors.”  (FREEMAN)