My name is Arjen. In this article I will explain how ICE clients are well placed to grab opportunities in the shift from real estate development to urban renewal projects.

A few weeks ago, the construction industry was rocked by a rapidly spreading "rumor" about Shanghai's property policies. The rumor originated from a WeChat screenshot that claimed news that "revolutionizes the real estate market." Although it is still impossible to verify the authenticity of the contents of this rumor, its claim that "the city will no longer approve new shopping malls, office buildings and other commercial projects" and will allow "no more large-scale demolition and construction" was a mean blow to the real estate industry.

In focusing on this negative news, many industry insiders missed out on the positive side: accelerating urban renewal and ensuring socio-economic stability. In fact, any ICE clients had already anticipated on this market development and have invested in resonance free piling equipment to take advantages of the opportunities in this market segment. Urban renewal includes the development of old districts, the reconstruction of the old city, the secondary development of land, the transformation of the nature and function of the land, the transformation of industrial zones, the renovation of the port area and the waterfront areas, etc. The purpose of urban renewal is to demolish, transform, invest and build in deteriorating areas of the city, replace the functional decay of the material space with a new urban function, and make it develop and prosper again.

Although the investment of urban renewal projects may be smaller than that of new projects or large-scale demolition and construction projects, the construction industry can also find opportunities to make money while also making a difference to life in the city.

 Many of our clients have seized the opportunities already. Recent urban renewal projects that used our resonance free vibratory equipment were the renovation of Crowne Plaza Silver Star Hotel next to Shanghai Cinema on Xinhua Road, where steel piles foundations piles were vibrated inside the building; the installation of elevators on steel foundations at pedestrian overpass bridges in downtown Shanghai; steel foundations at The Bund; as well as the extraction of super long combi wall steel piles in Hangzhou city.

In the time of economic headwinds, I hope this will cheer up users of ICE equipment and help all of us to overcome the tough times! You are already reading this, so if you’re not yet an ICE user come join our growing group of clients!