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Idle
cranes in abandoned construction projects had become a
potent symbol for the devastation caused by the Asian
financial crisis a decade ago.
So it was
surprising to find out that Dennis L. Warren decided to
get into the crane business at precisely that time.
Looking
back,
Warren, president of the Manitowoc Crane Group Inc., initially
described the period as “interesting.”
DENNIS WARREN (middle),
president of the Manitowoc Crane Group, with his
engineering team
“It was
one of the most horrifying moments in my career because it
was a matter of survival,”
Warren says in an interview with the BusinessMirror.
In 1997
Warren agreed to represent French-made Potain cranes in
the Philippines. Fortunately, when the Asian financial
crisis struck, which resulted in major business
dislocations in the country,
Warren says he was not abandoned by the head office, which pledged
its full support for the joint venture for the long haul.
“My
partners were very supportive and they assured me that the
Philippine office will reap the harvest once the
construction industry goes full blast once again,” he
recalls.
“I am glad
to say after 10 years the chairman and other partners have
kept that promise. All our customers are very happy and
loyal to the Potain brand,” he adds.
Warren
is no stranger to the construction business. His other
company, Pacific Orient Winds Corp., is a distributor of
major construction equipment, and Potain Inc. was
originally supposed to be a spinoff.
Before the
crisis hit,
Warren
was looking to capitalize on the economic boom. “It was
supposed to be the first joint venture of Potain in Asia,
but it turned out that it was the only joint venture in
the Asian region until now,” he says.
Warren
recalls that the construction business was among the
industries that suffered heavily from the crisis, forcing
Potain to abort the other planned joint ventures in Asia.
Still, the
company’s chairman remained commitment to support the
Philippine—even after the Milwaukee-based
Manitowoc
acquired Potain in the late 1990s and took over the
operations.
Warren
credits his team’s malasakit for sticking with the company
through thick and thin. Warren and his colleagues worked
like a well-oiled machine, dishing out quality technical
support to all Manitowoc’s requirements in the Asian
region.
“Through
their talent, dedication and teamwork, we were able to
survive a very, very tough period,”
Warren
says, stressing that unlike other companies, he didn’t
have to resort to retrechment at the time. “All of this
happened because of the support given by the team. What
else can we do to show our mother company but to perform
our best to our abilities?”
Moving on
Warren
is also all praises for the technical skills and
competency of Filipino engineers, which have been valuable
in supporting the service requirements of the Asian
market.
In fact,
many of his former employees have moved on to work on
greater challenges. One of them, for instance, was
assigned in the Three Gorges Dam project in China, where
the engineer will be part of the maintenance team handling
Potain cranes in the project.
 Another
engineer is permanently based in Singapore.
The
Philippine office was also requested to deploy an engineer
in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan to assist
French engineers for repair jobs.
Building
strong relationships with customers is key to Manitowoc’s
business strategy. It tries to be with a customer from Day
One—starting from the bidding process. The company even
meets with the client’s engineers and estimators on the
deployment of cranes in the construction project.
If the
client wins the project,
Manitowoc’s
involvement goes further than merely installing the crane
on site. While the project is ongoing, Manitowoc ensures
that the cranes are running efficiently and encountering
minimum downtime.
“That
means a 24/7 routine for the crane. It’s the lifeblood of
the project. If the cranes stop, movement of materials
also goes on a halt,” Warren points out.
In case
the client loses in the bidding, Warren says they will
still stick with them since
Manitowoc believes in long-term partnership. “We treat our clients not
as customers but partners,” he says.
Being a
stickler to quality and safety certainly has paid off.
Manitowoc has not had a single accident in their crane
operations.
Getting
into construction
Warren, an
AB Economics graduate of De La Salle University, got into
the construction scene by accident. His first job was as a
corporate analyst at Davao Timber Corp., which required
him to deal with the “nonmoving” heavy equipment for
logging operations.
He also
worked at the Aboitiz Mining and Construction Co. as a
sales supervisor, where he had the opportunity to interact
with engineers. After four years, he joined Atlantic Gulf
and Pacific Co., another construction company.
Given his
exposure to the business, he was already confident to put
up Pacific Winds. Although not an engineer, Warren says
his exposure in heavy equipment is adequate to handle the
job requirements.
“What I
needed was very good technical people to work with me, and
together we can move the company,” he concedes.
Still, the
learning curve was not quick or easy. There was a lot of
difficulty because he had to do a lot of research, go to
project sites and get his hands dirty, so to speak.
“Up to
now, I am not still a specialist. I still need my
technical people with me when discussing technical matters
with clients,” he admits.
Today
Manitowoc controls 60-percent to 70-percent Philippine
market share for tower cranes.
To relax,
Warren joins his buddies in the BMW Owners Society during
weekends to their bike rides in Tagaytay. “Whenever
there’s a chance we go for short rides in our bikes to
enjoy the scenery,” say Warren, the grandson of prewar
national basketball player Francis Warren.
Making
customers happy
Customer
satisfaction is a basic business philosophy of Manitowoc,
Warren insists.
“It is
something that is practiced every day. We really try to
partner with them in the long term,” he says.
This
commitment to customers was tested in the Medical City
project under contractor Summa Kumagai. During the
concrete pouring stage of the project, a lightning hit a
major part of the tower crane resulting in damages in the
equipment.
As a
result, there would have been a delay in the completion of
the project, which will be detrimental to the contractor.
The project engineer contacted Potain to provide
assistance.
Warren
recalls that Potain had to contact all its sources to get
the necessary spare parts to make the tower crane
operational again in the soonest possible time.
In just
three days, Potain was able to airlift the necessary spare
parts to the Philippines to continue the project. Although
the accident was due to force majeure, Warren says
Manitowoc walked the extra mile to satisfy the customer,
even if this entailed additional costs for the company.
“We will
not leave any stone unturned until the customer is happy.
That is not a sales talk. Of course, there will be
problems in the business and in resolving them. What we do
is let our customers fully understand what is going on.
When they know you are doing everything to resolve the
issue, they can develop trust toward you,” he explains.
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