IN line with its commitment to back up the construction boom across all parts of the country, especially in provincial areas, Holcim Philippines Inc. recently sealed the deals for the supply of cement to a construction organization in Davao and support the local government’s program for skills training of qualified constituents.
The building solutions provider renewed its supply engagement with the Davao Constructors Association Center Inc. (DCACI) by providing up to 400,000 metric tons of cement to this building group of 179 construction member-firms. They first tied up in 2018, with the provision of 320,000 tons of cement.
DCACI President Antonio Y. Uy expressed his gratitude for the partnership and lauded Holcim Philippines for introducing its new high-performance blended cement Solido as a better alternative to ordinary Portland cement used in infrastructure projects.
“The continued partnership of Holcim and DCACI is like Solido, which gets stronger over time. It is a great innovation because of its environmental and cost advantage over Portland cement, which helps us take care of nature while having savings,” he said.
Another development that took place was the cement maker’s signing of a partnership with the Region 11 offices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Technical Education and Skill Development Authority (Tesda) for training on forklift operations, masonry, carpentry, welding and plumbing for the residents of the communities near its Davao plant.
Holcim Davao will extend an undisclosed amount of funding assistance and host the training to be conducted by Tesda for 25 beneficiaries, who will be certified as skilled workers.
The social welfare arm of the government will select the trainees from barangays near the cement manufacturing facility and provide assistance in mentoring and processing support for the employment of beneficiaries.
This collaborative effort forms part of Holcim Davao’s Stakeholder Engagement Program aimed at supporting community development through various industrial and construction-related skills training, livelihood and employment.
Holcim Davao Plant Manager Xavier Kennedy said the new partnerships are timely and relevant as the city’s construction industry is seen to sustain its growth over the medium term.
“These partnerships are a reflection of our commitment to support the development of our communities and the rest of Davao,” he said.
“These programs provide our partners with a steady supply of cement and equip members of the community with needed skills to participate in the city’s healthy growth,” he added.
For Ernesto S. Nadera, the acting chief of the Korea-Philippines Vocational Training Center of Tesda, such initiative is very helpful to the people as it improves and upgrades the skills and living standards of beneficiaries.
“This will also increase their employability while strongly supporting the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program,” he added.
Holcim Philippines is a member of the Lafarge Holcim Group, the global leader in the building materials industry present in 80 countries with more than 80,000 employees.
The cement-maker has manufacturing facilities in La Union, Bulacan, Batangas, Misamis Oriental and Davao, as well as aggregates and dry-mix business and technical support facilities for building solutions.
Image credits: Holcim Philippines