UTE backs Sri Lanka’s largest construction exhibition for fifth consecutive year

Friday, 16 August 2013 07:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

United Tractor and Equipment (UTE) once again stepped forward as the main sponsor of Sri Lanka’s largest construction exhibition for the fifth consecutive year. Construct 2013 was held on 9, 10 and 11 August 2013 at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Exhibition Centre. Wimal Weerawansa, Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities, was the Chief Guest at the event, which provided a platform for the biggest names in the construction industry to display their latest innovations. Organised by the National Construction Association of Sri Lanka, Construct is a key event in the regional industry calendar. Now in its 13th consecutive year, Construct drew participants from Malaysia, India, Pakistan and China. UTE first became the main sponsor of the Construction Machinery and Equipment Show in 2009 and continued this sponsorship for the past five years.

Addressing the gathering at the opening ceremony, Minister Wimal Weerawansa pointed out that the country’s construction sector recorded a 21% growth last year, which was the highest growth rate achieved after gaining independence. He said that earlier, the growth rate remained between 5-6%. He stressed the need to improve human resources in the sector in order to sustain this growth. UTE displayed its full array of products including Cat construction machinery, power generators and forklift trucks at this year’s exhibition. Further, UTE made use of the opportunity to introduce their latest technology based solution, ‘Cat Intelligent Compaction’ to Sri Lanka. UTE product and service displays, which covered more than 1,000 square feet area of the exhibition centre, was one of the key crowd pullers. Intelligent compaction helps eliminate guesswork and human error by applying technology to the road compaction process. A machine equipped with an intelligent compaction system provides four basic functions: It measures the stiffness of the soil or asphalt, it controls or guides the compaction effort in response to the measured stiffness, it displays the stiffness measurement to the operator and it maps and records the compaction results. Such a system would enable the user to produce detailed plots of the stiffness levels, the number of roller passes that have been applied, and even the times of application at any location on the job-site. As Sri Lanka has embarked on a major drive to upgrade its road network, advanced road compaction techniques will enable building long lasting roads while minimizing the compaction costs, which represent a significant portion of the total cost of the road paving. A larger number of local contractors, who experienced this technology for the first time during Construct 2013 exhibition, expressed their desire to employ this technology. “Over the years, Construct has become synonymous with innovation, and knowledge sharing. This is a regional gathering of construction industry leaders where we share information on current developments and showcase the latest technologies that will define the future of the industry,” said Riyad Ismail, CEO of UTE. Local construction has now reached its highest growth stage since independence. There is a great need for electrical and mechanical technicians in the industry. Identifying this need, UTE recently inaugurated a training centre affiliated to Caterpillar and modified their service workshop with an investment of over US$ 2 million. Accordingly, at Construct 2013, the company focused on displaying their training and product support capabilities. Youth who visited the UTE training stall at the exhibition were able to gather a thorough understanding of available career options in the construction machinery and power generation sector. Over 5,000 customers, enthusiasts and industry stakeholders attended the exhibition. United Tractor and Equipment Ltd. is the sole authorised dealer for Caterpillar in Sri Lanka since 1947. Now a diversified group with interests in construction and heavy machinery, power generation and distribution, material handling and storing, water distribution and waste management, welding equipment and engineering services and information and communication technology, UTE provides engineering solutions to an array of Sri Lankan industries.