4 questions to Guillaume Paradis, ECT Sales Manager
The FFB and FNTP are predicting that 2024 will be a difficult year for the construction industry. What do you think?
The sector is in crisis, particularly the new housing sector in the Paris region, which has been in difficulty since the2nd quarter of 2021. Our customers are worried. And this uncertainty is amplified in the Paris region by extremely low visibility over the Paris 2024 Olympics period.
We are also seeing a slowdown in Public Works activity, even though a number of major infrastructure projects have been announced for 2014, such as line 17 of the Grand Paris Express project and the first section of the Seine-Nord-Europe Canal (CSNE).
How does ECT support its customers in the construction industry?
ECT has chosen to continue supporting its loyal and long-standing customers. This support takes the form of new digital services made available through our customer interface. We have also decided to apply a pricing policy in line with the current construction market.
In 2024, ECT will also be expanding its presence beyond the Paris region. We’re about to start operating a site in Eure and another in Oise. And we’ll be present on the sales front with the ECT Hauts-de-France agency, which is continuing to expand.
In 2023, ECT will be setting up operations in the Hauts-de-France region. Have you noticed any market differences?
There is little difference in terms of market structure. Our earth-moving customers need environmental engineering and sites close to excavated soil production areas. This proximity enables them to keep up with the pace of earthworks on their excavation sites and optimize their truck rotations. However, we find that there are fewer players than in the Paris region, in line with the size of the region.
An important development in 2023 is the change in traceability regulations with the new obligations of the National Register of Waste, Excavated Soil and Sediments (RNDTS). How has this affected ECT and your customers?
ECT’s teams worked for over two years on this regulatory change, making a major contribution to defining the terms and conditions of application. So we were ready well ahead of schedule to meet RNDTS traceability and data collection obligations.
On this subject, we have provided extensive support to our earthmoving customers, both directly and in their dealings with their principals. Several webinars have been dedicated to the implementation of RNDTS regulations. Our extranet interface now includes a specific RNDTS function: all the necessary data is accessible to facilitate data collection and transmission to RNDTS.
