PlaceMakers strengthens NZCBIA ties
16 Sep 2024, Community & Sponsorship, News
PlaceMakers has increased its ongoing support for Chinese builders with the launch of a new scholarship in partnership with the New Zealand Chinese Building Industry
The PlaceMakers x NZCBIA Scholarship covers tuition fees of up to $2,500 per year. The inaugural award was presented to Yuqiao Chen at the end of this year’s New Zealand International Building Expo & Summit (NZIBES) in Auckland, of which PlaceMakers is a Diamond Sponsor.
“PlaceMakers values the Asian building community and remains dedicated to fostering collaboration and growth within the construction industry,” says Keven Chen, Head of Asian Business at PlaceMakers.
“This scholarship will support access to the industry and helps ensure a well-stocked pipeline of talented, qualified builders in New Zealand.”
The scholarship was presented alongside the NZCBIA Excellence Awards at a gala dinner attended by 840 people.
“As a proud sponsor of these awards,we are highlighting our commitment to promoting industry excellence,” says Keven.
National Coverage
The NZIBES North Island event has been held every year since 2018 and last year expanded to include its first South Island expo, held in Christchurch.
2024’s Auckland event was hosted on 9-10 August at the Due Drop Events Centre and attracted 110 exhibitors and more than 10,000 attendees over the two days.
The South Island NZIBES event will return for a second year on 1-2 November at the Air Force Museum in Christchurch and NZCBIA President Frank Xu is expecting attendance to more than double from the 1,100 visitors last year.
“In Auckland, our focus is on providing a service to local Chinese builders and developers. In Christchurch, our focus is on the wider industry. As Christchurch is underrepresented in terms of trade expos and events, we want to make ours one for everyone,” says Frank.
This year’s theme of ‘Capability, Capacity, Collaboration’ is all about helping NZCBIA builders to bounce back from a slow year and connect with the wider community.
“This year presents a real opportunity for Asian builders to survive and thrive but, to do so, they need to promote that they have capacity and capability. Our expo can help them find potential clients and partners.
“PlaceMakers is at the centre of that. Their understanding of the local Chinese building community and connections to the rest of the industry, not to mention financial support of NZCBIA, allows Chinese builders to show their potential to New Zealand’s wider industry.
“Our relationship with PlaceMakers is one of the most important ones we have. Our organisation has existed for nine years and PlaceMakers has supported us since the beginning.”
Building Connections
Through its continued support of the NZCBIA and NZIBES, PlaceMakers has embraced the opportunity to connect with its customers in a more personal way, adds Keven.
“The event is a great opportunity for us to network with builders from the Chinese community and the wider sector, while attendees are able to speak to suppliers in Mandarin or Cantonese and get a first-hand look at their products.”
The PlaceMakers zone included displays from suppliers such as GIB, Comfortech, Milwaukee, Future Build, Bremick, Eliment, United Steel, Garador, ECKO, ClayMark, Laminex, Nero, Mico, Raymor, Adesso, and Complete Reinforcing, alongside customers including Mars Living, SIGNArch, Wish Construction, and Indelible Homes.
Cultural understanding
In addition to its collaboration with the NZCBIA, PlaceMakers has invested in building specialist teams of Mandarin and Cantonese speakers with a strong understanding of Chinese culture, and has dedicated staff in Auckland, Canterbury and Otago on hand to support Chinese builders.
Frank says that PlaceMakers support is highly valuable, thanks to account managers who speak the language and understand the culture.
“PlaceMakers Cantonese and Mandarin speakers really focus on delivering a personal experience and, because of a shared cultural understanding, they can fully deliver on that,” says Frank.
“For example, I’d never call a Kiwi sales rep over the weekend but I have no hesitation calling a Chinese rep after hours. Another example of how PlaceMakers understands cultural differences is with trade events. Kiwi builders like to attend trade breakfasts before work but Asian builders would prefer to have an after-hours trade event.”
Another example of shared cultural understanding regards the preferred method of communication by Chinese builders, explains Keven.
“Most Chinese builders prefer to use WeChat to communicate and place orders. So, we set up a PlaceMakers WeChat account for trade support staff to better serve those customers.”
Long-term partnership
PlaceMakers and NZCBIA have planned several collaborative events for the rest of 2024. There’s one planned with GIB in November, as well as a session with James Hardie in November.
“GIB and James Hardie are releasing new products; so, in collaboration with PlaceMakers, we’ve arranged sessions for the manufacturers to take our builders through the new spec.”
With Keven and his team of 65 staff committed to making the lives of Chinese builders easier, PlaceMakers relationship with the NZCBIA continues to grow stronger.
PlaceMakers x NZCBIA Scholarship winner Yuqiao Chen receives his cheque from James Peters, Chief Executive of Fletcher Distribution
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