Soben Founder and CEO, Scott Smyth recently travelled across the Americas, spending time with Soben clients colleagues. He discovered a continent full of opportunity, where Soben has laid strong roots.Â
In my last article, I celebrated Soben’s international growth in 2022 and shared our roadmap for continued progress. As CEO of a rapidly growing global organisation, it’s important to me that I stay close to what is happening ‘on the ground’ – even if that’s thousands of miles away. This means spending time with our people and clients internationally, whenever I can. So, it was with excitement that I headed out for a tour of our operations in North and Latin America last month.
Soben launched in the Americas in 2021, with industry expert Joe Cusick at the helm. Since then we’ve grown a high-performing team, who are working on some of the most prestigious developments on the continent; from high-tech industrial facilities to colocation and hyperscale data centres for some of the world’s biggest tech companies. More recently, we reinforced our investment in Latin America, welcoming industry veteran Marco Mora as Country Director Mexico.
My journey took me from Glasgow to New York, through North Virginia, Washington, Florida, California, and ending in the vibrant city of Santiago de Querétaro in Mexico. Along the way, I had the honour of meeting clients, Soben employees, and a wider network of industry leaders who shared their optimism and passion for development in the region.
Supporting Emerging Industries
One of the surprising highlights of my trip was a visit to a client in North Virginia – one of the largest legal marijuana producers in North America. I was fascinated by how savvy investors are professionalising what was once an illicit industry. As I toured the 20,000ft2 production and growth facilities I was blown away by the high levels of innovation and automation. There was an unwavering commitment to continuous improvement across all elements of production and distribution, and a genuine focus on innovating to create a product exactly tailored to customer requirements.
Shifts in the Data Centre Market
I also took the time to visit Soben’s largest data centre client in the region – one of the country’s leading technology companies. The data centre industry in the US is going through substantial change. The market isn’t shrinking, with industry forecasts for capacity remaining strong, but the major players are having to reassess their strategies. Against a backdrop of uncertain economic conditions, some traditional hyperscalers are increasingly looking to colocation. What I heard didn’t come as a surprise, and reflected many of the findings reported by our data centre specialists in Soben’s recent Data Centre Trends report.
Artificial Intelligence – Opportunity or Threat?
One factor in this massive increase in data capacity is the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The speed at which AI is entering our everyday work lives is breath-taking, with the sudden proliferation of tools like ChatGPT, and Microsoft’s 365 Copilot, announced last month. Artificial Intelligence is already having significant implications for hyperscalers, with escalating demands for computing power creating a massive shift in power and data requirements.
The rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence is a topic of personal interest to me – and not just because it’s driving investment in an industry where Soben has built deep expertise. I’ve been reflecting recently on its potential impact on Soben, and the rest of the construction industry. What happens to traditional architects and surveyors when a computer can accurately create drawings, models and cost plans? Personally, I see only progress – an opportunity for reinvention, innovation and creativity, rather than cause for alarm. At Soben, we’re already investing heavily in the latest software to strengthen our offering to clients. As the capabilities of these technologies develops, it only promises to improve our decision-making and drive efficiencies. I see a future where Soben’s industry experts use technology to create more time for innovative thinking, and bringing their incomparable commercial experience to maximise outcomes for every client.
Commitment to Diversity
The improved efficiency and productivity brought by technological advances will also challenge traditional ways of working in our industry. Again, I welcome this. At Soben we are working hard to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation. This means providing the flexibility each of our employees needs to work in a way that suits them, offering remote working, and role-modelling a healthy work-life balance. And it’s paying off. One of the things I love about our American business is its incredible diversity. Our American business is a third female and over half of our employees in the region come from ethnic minorities. It’s wonderful to see our clients’ commitments to diversity in action as well. I spoke with one silicon valley leader about diversity in tech, famously a huge issue. He shared some of his company’s uncompromising hiring policies to improve diversity – a real commitment to progress.
Sluggish Sustainability
On a less positive note, I was surprised at the pace of change around sustainability. Sustainability is a priority for Soben. In 2022, we launched our Carbon Cost Management service, to help organisations achieve their net zero goals – a major focus for our clients in EMEA. However, I was interested to hear that although it’s on the agenda, sustainability commitments are simply not filtering down to the reality of how projects are built.
I believe there’s a real opportunity for business and construction leaders in the US to get ahead of the game and influence real change – rather than being reactive to government legislation. Sustainability is also a perfect example of an area where new technologies, like AI and digital twins, can contribute to significant progress in calculating and reducing carbon emissions. There is a growing body of evidence to show that it makes commercial sense to adopt sustainable strategies, particularly in construction, where change is so urgently needed.
Infrastructure – Land of Opportunity
One thing that was evident everywhere I went, is the scale of investment in infrastructure. The impact of the $550 billion federal investment in America’s infrastructure is creating huge opportunity for the construction industry, that is offsetting the downturn in other sectors. Overall I noted positivity in the market. There is huge opportunity for those who are prepared to be flexible, with sectors such as Transport & Infrastructure, Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals seeing notable growth. For companies like Soben with deep expertise in these markets, this is welcome news.
I believe there’s a real opportunity for business and construction leaders in the US to get ahead of the game and influence real change – rather than being reactive to government legislation. Sustainability is also a perfect example of an area where new technologies, like AI and digital twins, can contribute to significant progress in calculating and reducing carbon emissions. There is a growing body of evidence to show that it makes commercial sense to adopt sustainable strategies, particularly in construction, where change is so urgently needed.
Commitment to Mexico
I ended my trip in Mexico, where we have operated for the past two years. Mexico is on a huge growth trajectory, with foreign direct investment in the country in 2022 up by 12% compared to the previous year. According to the Mexican government’s Economy Minister, 400 companies are currently looking to relocate to the country, including Tesla. Soben has chosen the region of Querétaro as our home in the country. I was thrilled to celebrate our commitment to the region with 50 industry leaders at our official launch party. The energy from the government officials, funders, developers, architects, engineers, contractors, and construction lawyers present was enough to send me home buzzing with excitement for the region, and the value Soben can bring to its prosperity. I was moved at how Soben has been welcomed in Mexico, and am thankful for the support and enthusiasm of the local community.
Celebrating Team Soben
What really made my trip special was having the chance to meet the committed, passionate team we have built in the region. We have a truly talented team of professionals across the Americas and I am honoured that they have chosen to continue their impressive careers at Soben. Seeing how their relationships have grown with our clients into trusted partnerships – and in some cases friendships – made me incredibly proud. It was clear that Soben has now been accepted as a trusted and respected leader in the market. There is heaps of opportunity for young, dynamic companies to positively disrupt the market and add a fresh perspective – Soben is doing just that.
To find out more about how Soben can support your company in the Americas contact [email protected].
