Wim Sarens addresses the dynamic reality of 2020-2022 at the ESTA Awards
Wim Sarens presented the key note address during the ESTA Awards 2020
30
September 2020

The ESTA awards 2020 were organised as a virtual event which was a combination of the awards as well as a session on market updates on the key issues faced by the crane and specialised transport sector. The two hour long event held on 24th September was attended by around 400 international delegates.

Sarens CEO, Wim Sarens presented the key note address talking about the current dynamic market trends. The two other speakers included Atul Arya, Chief Energy Strategist, HIS Markit and Chris Sleight, MD, Off-highway Research.

Wim Sarens, a Belgian national, he is an Engineer and competed his MBA from INSEAD and has previously worked for McKinsey before joining the family business and taking over as the CEO in 2009.

In his key note address he discussed the current market scenario and the impact of Covid-19 and other challenges faced by the heavy lift and specialised transport sector. The pandemic has caused project owners to postpone and even reconsider spending which has impacted the growth. He added that despite the slowdown the key drivers that will improve the growth of the sector include:

  • Growing demand for energy and sustainable energy solutions around the world
  • Increased outsourcing of equipment rental and engineering services
  • Growing investments in large scale infrastructure worldwide
  • Increasing size and rising complexity of projects
  • Modularisation trend and increasing size of modules

The service providers will have to change their strategies accordingly and adapt their SHEQ policies to continue serving the clients safely.

He finally added that working towards a brighter future will necessarily include investing in human capital and training them to deal with increased complexity and safety concerns.