Building materials with sales above the 9 billion in 2020

Portuguese Association of Construction Materials Trade (APCMC) points out an average growth of 3.5% per year.

Construction is facing a very good trend and takes with it a whole lack of services.

Building materials, for example, which generated global sales of 8.140 billion euros in 2017, could, this year, reach 8,417 thousand million euros and thus overpass the 9 billion mark in 2020.

Even so, they will stay far from the 10.7 billion of 2008. The increase of 38.2% in the licensing of new fires in 2016 and 24.1% in 2017 supports growth forecasts, but José Matos, secretary general of the Portuguese Association of Building Materials Trade (APCMC) guarantees that you need more houses.

"Investment in construction has been declining since 2001, with small fluctuations, and the same happened with building materials, which were in decline until 2014 and only then began to recover, thanks to urban rehabilitation," says José de Matos. As to the new construction, the secretary general of the APCMC recalls that in 2017 were licensed 14 090 fires, which "is still nothing".

"Of course we will never go back to the numbers before the crisis, just take into account that in 2003, 130,000 new houses were licensed, but we need to build more than double."

Reis Campos, president of the Portuguese Confederation of Construction and Real Estate (CPCI), which brings together the seven subsectors of the row, recalls that there are still 700,000 fires left in Portugal and "must be put at the service of the economy", he says, stressing that there must be a proper private behaviour on the side of the owners.

That means, either they sell them, or put them in the rental market. Even with new housing still at low levels, construction should grow 4.6% this year, driven by urban rehabilitation, tourism and foreign investment, responsible for 4.7 billion euros in 2017, corresponding to 21,8% of total real estate transactions in the year.

Innovation is the challenge

Woods and ceramics are also examples of recovery. "97% of what we produce is for the row house, whether floors, doors, windows, wardrobes or kitchens. Not to mention the furniture.

With the construction crisis, many companies went bankrupt. Others, took their bags and went to run the world, many hitchhiked to the national construction abroad, but not only," says the president of the Association of Industries of Wood and Furniture of Portugal (AIMMP).

The lack of skilled labour force is the major concern. "Orders are not lacking, but there is a shortage of people who know how to work the wood and this is limiting the growth of many carpenters," says Vítor Poças. As of ceramics, innovation and technological development are the great challenge.

The goal is to look for solutions and functionalities that give "added value" to the products while fulfilling the requirements of energy and environmental efficiency, says António Oliveira, economic consultant of the Portuguese Association of Ceramic and Glass Industries (APICER).

Lack of labour force worries

Casais. The shortage of qualified human resources is the major concern for Casais, celebrating their 60th anniversary. The CEO of the construction company from Braga, warns that the issue "is limiting" the growth of the sector.

"The peripheral countries are feeding a growing Europe and, above all, it has closed to migratory flows. That means that it is us who have the problem.

We can hire in Europe, but nobody wants to come to Portugal," says António Carlos Rodrigues. Who "for more than a year" attempts to bring to Portugal his workers from African countries, where he is operating, but without success because "visas are refused."

With 3,500 employees in 16 countries, Casais earned 355 million euros last year. Portugal was worth 140 million, 33% more than in 2016.