Building without blocks

When Marathon Building Technologies, Inc. was conceptualized in 1995, it was the height of the construction boom. Investments were pouring into Asia in what was then hailed as the Pacific century.

"We wanted to bring in non-conventional building materials to support the industry and to bring construction output up to par with the rest of the developed world," said Maristela Soriano, assistant to Marathon president Robert Lee.

Towards this end, Marathon secured a license from Emmedue srl of Italy to manufacture a new generation technology known as the M2 construction system. The initial investment to bring in the equipment was $4.8 million.

"We were going to be the sole manufacturer of M2 prefabricated panels in the country with enough surplus to serve the Southeast Asian market as well. But by the time we started our operation in 1997, the Asian financial crisis was underway," said Soriano.

Unfazed, Marathon spent its first five years slowly developing the market for prefabricated construction materials. It focused on individual selling, using its in-house marketing staff and, just recently, its accredited distributors. To date, only 5% of housing units are made from prefabricated construction materials.

"The product sold itself. Once the customer saw the many benefits of the M2 construction system, there was an 80% probability that he/she would decide to use it," said Soriano.

Product

M2 is an earthquake-resistant, semi-bulletproof and insulating system recommended for internal and external walls, roofs, floors, and stairs. It is six times stronger than concrete hollow blocks and is highly resistant to fire, rust, termites, mold and mildew.

Its biggest selling point, however is the price. Including labor costs, a 15-square meter finished wall will cost P5,047.18 or P336.48 per square meter if M2 is used and P5,463.66 for a 15-meter wall or P364.24/sqm if concrete hollow blocks are used.

"Using M2 reduces the time it takes to build a house by 50% because it is lightweight, can be custom-built from the factory and has a simplified installation procedure," said Soriano. "Savings in construction cost also come in when you reduce all the other reinforcements for the hollow blocks like the steel frame, the cement, the form works and, of course, the labor and curing time."

As part of its customer service, Marathon assists the contractor in estimating building costs, and then provides technical assistance during installation.

"When they give us a design, they normally already know how much it will cost to build it using hollow blocks. So when we give them our comparative estimates, they immediately see the savings."

Having survived the slowdown, Marathon is already preparing for the recovery of the construction industry in the next two years. Production capacity can easily be revved up from its current 33% utilization to meet the needs of the local market. Marathon also holds the Emmedue franchise for Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei and New Guinea.