"In the construction sector, either you are sustainable, or you will not be"

The Gran Via venue of Fira will become the epicenter of construction in Spain with the Construmat fair from May 21 to 23. With a 50% increase in its surface area compared to the previous edition, it will exhibit the latest solutions and proposals related to the sector across more than 10,000 square meters, putting sustainability and innovation in the spotlight.

The fair will serve as a showcase for the sector with more than 300 exhibitors and 600 companies, in an edition that expects to attract close to 22,000 visitors, surpassing the more than 15,000 that gathered in the last edition. This was announced to The New Barcelona Post by Xavier Vilajoana, president of the fair and of the Association of Developers of Catalonia (APCE), who expects Construmat to maintain this growth trend in future editions.

—The 50% growth of this year's edition seems like a declaration of intent.

—This year we are growing in both quantity and quality, and the will is to continue growing in future editions, and to be able to compete again with large international fairs. In fact, the intention is to make an even bigger edition next year, and to continue in this direction, and to hold the fair again every two years when we double in size compared to the current one.

—How is this growth achieved?

—Mainly through word-of-mouth: when a fair is organized, the most important thing is that exhibitors and visitors leave satisfied and transmit that. After the real estate crisis, there were editions where the fair didn't quite know where to position itself. In the last edition, we decided to return to our origins after the pandemic, focusing on allowing the sector to showcase its novelties and everything it had been working on in its engine room in recent years, especially in the areas of sustainability and efficiency.

—Has this return to its origins also attracted more international companies?

—We have also grown and hope to continue growing in this regard. We have international and multinational exhibitors and companies from all over the world, from Europe to America, passing through Asia and North Africa. Moreover, this is the first edition held with a guest country, and on this occasion, Morocco has been chosen. Its commercial relationship with Spain and the joint organization of the 2030 FIFA World Cup led us to believe that this was an unbeatable edition to invite Morocco.

—This will also be the first edition to feature a corner dedicated to technology companies linked to the sector.

—For the first time, we will have a space for proptechs, where more than twenty companies will show how technology is ahead and how it anticipates the needs of our sector.

—What are the trends and innovations that address these needs?

—Technification, digitalization, and industrialization have gained a lot of ground in the sector in recent years. So much so that construction is absolutely not done as it was 40 or 50 years ago. Decarbonization, the circular economy, the reuse of materials, and zero-energy buildings are examples of progress towards sustainability. Now, in our sector, either you are sustainable or you won't be; it's an obligation.

In the coming years, construction with more sustainable materials, such as wood and recycled concrete, will be more common

—Among other elements, industrialization has facilitated the incorporation of female labor into the sector, where women are present in about 12%. This incorporation is occurring mainly in managerial and intermediate positions, and not on the construction site, where it is more difficult. In this area, we try to attract both female and male personnel, because there is no renewal of the workforce.

—And how do you attract new workers?

—We do a lot of education about the benefits of our sector, especially towards young people entering the labor market. We try to reach the worker of the future through initiatives such as information campaigns.

—What will the landscape be like for this worker of the future?

—Construction will be a sector with a lot of activity. The needs at the residential and infrastructure level exist. Cities are expanding, and we are at a lower production rate than we need. Furthermore, we have a major challenge ahead: the rehabilitation of a very mature real estate stock.

—And what will these homes and cities of the future be like?

—Construction with more sustainable materials, such as wood and recycled concrete, will be more common. I see cities as a whole much more sustainable, with very low consumption levels, approaching zero consumption, and capable of generating their own energy. We will see a lot of this at Construmat, as we are a fair of the present and the future.