Business View Caribbean | September 2022

84 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 9, ISSUE 9 Leaders in Construction Albo Aruba N.V. was founded more than 40 years ago and is one of the most well-known and leading construction companies in Aruba. * Construction * Renovation * Restoration * Civil Work * Crane Rental * Service & Maintenance Barcadera 122, Oranjestad Aruba +297 528 5825 www.alboaruba.com residential to a really big industrial airport. You have to have diversity but also the ability to deliver turnkey, otherwise you don’t survive.” Rising costs have posed a challenge for the company in recent months, hitting especially hard due to AWM Infrastructure’s location. “Because we are on an island, we are the first ones who are affected, we are really double hit,” says Bijen. “It’s not only the rising costs of materials, but the transport costs also went up.” Along with increasing costs, AWM has also been affected by availability of materials and slower lead times. As Bijen recounts, “It is a challenge to get it here in the first place, and then to get it here in time. The lead times have been going up like crazy. As a small island, if we get materials, for instance, from Europe, there are not many lines that sail directly to Aruba. So, when they go via a hub, you’re always depending on how busy it is there. Maybe your vessel was lying outside, sometimes they just canceled vessels. It’s a big challenge to get materials here.” Importing everything from bitumen and aggregates to PVC piping and steel, he conveys, “We basically have nothing we can produce ourselves. All the base materials, we have to import.” AWM Infrastructure employs 106 full-time people, and approximately 25 temporary employees, many who have been with the company for several years. Bijen admits that getting new talent is another challenge facing AWM. “Aruba is obviously a sunny island, and that’s the fun part. However it’s a challenge to work day in, day out in a hot sunny, dusty and noisy environment. We look for new talent on island but also hire staff from outside our borders. We are training the people ourselves, trying to get the older people to train the youngsters, and refreshing the staff, because there is no education on the island. In terms