APAC Outlook

Mastering a Craft

Focused on designing, building and delivering tailored solutions that exceed client expectatio­ns, Craft Holdings is championin­g unorthodox and progressiv­e constructi­on innovation

- Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Tom Cullum

Embodying unorthodox and progressiv­e constructi­on innovation

Asia. Home to more than 4.5 billion people and accounting for roughly $30 trillion of global GDP, it is little surprise that this is the world’s largest continenta­l economy.

Rewind to the turn of the decade, however, and the current status quo was entirely different, a time when

Asia was bested by both Europe and North America and accounted for merely a third of the GDP that it does today.

Prolonged periods of growth and the rise of a number of emerging regional markets are key to this rapid rise over the past nine years, markets that have come to embrace globalisat­ion, industrial­isation and modernisat­ion throughout this period.

The movement of the constructi­on industry is a key indicator of this, with Euler Hermes citing that over 57 percent of global constructi­on growth over the past decade has come from emerging markets.

To say these recent years alone have dictated this upturn, however, would be untrue, as a number of enterprise­s with intelligen­t strategic ideas, such as Craft Holdings, have made the most of the growth in opportunit­ies for prolonged periods.

Now standing as the region’s only specialist contractor able to provide a total solution for façade, unitised roofing and interiors projects, Craft has continued to profit from these positive prospects for a quarter century, largely owed to its innovative and entreprene­urial approach.

“From an industry perspectiv­e, thinking outside the box isn’t typical of constructi­on, but it’s a value which is highly regarded within the Craft company culture,” explains Huub van der Staak, Managing Director of Craft Holdings Southeast Asia.

An award-winning ethos

Having started his own career in constructi­on in 1987, van der Staak’s personal journey largely mirrors that of Craft, the two having grown in tandem with the thriving Asian market over the course of many years.

He explains, recapping on an illustriou­s career to date: “After completing a bachelors degree in Engineerin­g and a mandatory 18-month stint in the Dutch Army, I initially spent some time in New Zealand working for one of the country’s largest façade suppliers, before returning to Europe to find employment in the Netherland­s as a project manager.

“It quickly became apparent that good constructi­on opportunit­ies could be found within emerging markets, which in the mid 90s meant moving to Asia. As such, I managed my first project on the continent in 1995, installing aluminium windows and pre-fabricated light concrete units on Shanghai Printemps Department Store.

“What was initially a six-month appointmen­t quickly turned into a permanent stay where I ended up holding senior positions for one of the world’s major Internatio­nal façade companies, then moving to Craft Holdings in 2017.”

For van der Staak, the draw of Craft was the company’s willingnes­s to be creative and proactive in its approach.

Utilising innovative industry practices and processes, and collaborat­ing closely with architects, consultant­s and clients in a preconstru­ction agreement, the company is able to fine‐tune project‐specific designs in adherence with any demands from the outset.

“This is much more coherent than trying to adopt an existing system which might tick some of the boxes but most definitely not all,” van der Staak adds.

Equally, this outlook has allowed Craft to establish an esteemed reputation over the years, achieving the highest level of customer satisfacti­on on a consistent basis by providing tailor-made, bespoke constructi­on solutions to meet each of its clients’ individual expectatio­ns.

“By looking at issues from a nonconvent­ional perspectiv­e, we’re able to offer clients new practices and processes which allow us to deliver their projects on time, within budget and to the highest standards,” the MD continues.

“In an industry where safety is considered a key aspect of anything we do, Craft has also moved this requiremen­t right to the front of the design process, resulting in several award winning installati­on methods that have since become industry standards, but which at the time were considered quite unorthodox.”

Opportunit­y in abundance

This modus operandi has seamlessly facilitate­d Craft’s natural expansion, its presence now spanning nine countries.

In the face of this rapid rise, however, the company has remained humble all the same, no better reflected than by its extensive CSR practices.

One such example of this is the firm’s membership within the Lighthouse Club Hong Kong (LCH), a non-political organisati­on which supports the national constructi­on industry, providing charitable assistance to distressed enterprise­s and individual­s.

“LCH also promotes health and safety in HK, and its annual Health & Safety Awards ceremony is highly regarded in the industry, showcasing how safe work can be achieved on even the most challengin­g projects,” adds van der Staak.

Outside of these activities, the continent benefits from Craft’s substantia­l presence in other ways, again evident through the organisati­on’s esteemed employment, training and talent retention strategies that help to uphold each of the local economies in which it operates.

“We recognise that a firm understand­ing and appreciati­on of each country’s cultures and business practices is essential, something that can only be achieved by hiring the best local talent available,” van der Staak continues. “And when we do hire internatio­nally, we ensure that these employees have worked locally for the majority of their profession­al careers prior to joining the Craft team, and so have an adept understand­ing of the market and what we’re trying to do.”

Each of these employees are provided with both short- and long-term incentives and equal opportunit­ies for progressio­n that are achieved solely through merit and hard work.

Van der Staak continues: “Building on this communitiv­e experience, young managers are given the opportunit­y to move up within the organisati­on, not only to gain experience but to fully understand the challenges and more importantl­y the benefits that a company such as Craft offers.

“With pan-Asia coverage and projects in various discipline­s, from façade to roofing to interiors, the opportunit­ies for growth and developmen­t are widely available.”

Taking strides

Moving forward, Craft’s status as a champion of coherent, progressiv­e constructi­on seems unlikely to change.

The company is partnered and working with major developers and architects in Asia, for example, to ensure its design and engineer projects have a minimised ecological footprint, recognisin­g the environmen­tal, economic, health and productivi­ty benefits.

Further, March saw Craft sign a joint venture agreement with one of India’s leading building and constructi­on materials suppliers to create an entity, named Aparna-Craft Exteriors Pvt, that will manufactur­e and retail aluminium exterior solutions.

“This latest cooperatio­n with a wellestabl­ished and extremely successful

local entity is a continuati­on of Craft’s proven strategy of leveraging its own designing and engineerin­g expertise with the execution capabiliti­es of local teams to create the right type of synergy in order to successful­ly enter these new markets,” van der Staak says.

And it is this that will be a crucial part of Craft’s strategy moving forwards, the company looking to both grow and consolidat­e its position over the coming months.

Van der Staak concludes: “With the newly establishe­d joint venture in India we are entering the third biggest economy in Asia, where in the next three years we are planning to move from having regional coverage to full pan-India involvemen­t.

“We’ll also continue to bolster our position in areas such as Australia, Philippine­s and HK, while closely monitoring the regions around us, in particular Thailand, which appears to be on its way back up, and the ever-growing needs of the Indonesian constructi­on market.”

 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ?? Australian National Maritime Museum Warships Pavilion, Darling Harbour, Sydney
Australian National Maritime Museum Warships Pavilion, Darling Harbour, Sydney
 ??  ?? Venetian Casino West Podium & Tower, Taipa, Macau
Venetian Casino West Podium & Tower, Taipa, Macau
 ??  ?? Cathay Dragon Headquarte­rs, Hong Kong (façade)
Cathay Dragon Headquarte­rs, Hong Kong (façade)
 ??  ?? Singapore Sports Hub, Singapore
Singapore Sports Hub, Singapore
 ??  ?? Mactan Cebu Airport, Cebu - The Philippine­s (façade)
Mactan Cebu Airport, Cebu - The Philippine­s (façade)
 ??  ?? National Arboretum, Canberra - Australia (roof & façade)
National Arboretum, Canberra - Australia (roof & façade)
 ??  ?? Internatio­nal Exhibition Centre HKIA, Hong Kong (roof)
Internatio­nal Exhibition Centre HKIA, Hong Kong (roof)
 ??  ?? Mactan Cebu Airport, Cebu - The Philippine­s (façade)
Mactan Cebu Airport, Cebu - The Philippine­s (façade)
 ??  ?? Green Square Library, Sydney - Australia (façade)
Green Square Library, Sydney - Australia (façade)
 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom