On 6 and 7 January 2025, Forum Braga was once again the venue for TBM – The Big Meeting Casais, the annual event now in its fifteenth year. The theme chosen to get things off to a good start in 2025 was “Exploring Markets and Mindsets”. The event brought together more than 600 employees in person and 400 online.
As before, TBM this year was dedicated to inspiring participants to think beyond the traditional, encouraging in-house intrapreneurship and the discovery of new business opportunities. The Chairman of the Board of Directors, José da Silva Fernandes, opened proceedings by stressing the Casais Group’s responsibility to maintain the standards of excellence and rigour for which we are known, especially after a year marked by receiving several awards, including the prestigious “Construction Company of the Year” award received from Jornal Construir, a trade journal for the construction industry. António Carlos Rodrigues, CEO of the Casais Group, presented the objectives for 2025, highlighting the importance of innovating and revolutionising the construction sector.
“The market is increasingly competitive. That’s why we have to be able to take advantage of Casais’s growth and the platform we have. As a Group, we have great potential to be involved in major projects, but each company needs to be able to be self-sufficient and independently bring in its own projects.”
The first day of TBM saw the announcement of the winners of the Mestre Casais 2024 award and an analysis of the 2024 results, presented by Dr. Carlos Rocha, the Group’s Executive Director. Case studies, such as Kaizen Quadrina, One Green Way, Quilonga Grande and Très Cantos Madrid, provided concrete examples of how innovation and training boost business.
The “Exploring the Casais Universe” round table featured the Group’s Executive Committee—António Carlos Rodrigues, Carlos Rocha, André Rocha, Mário Fernandes and Hélder Araújo—who discussed strategies for making the Group’s companies more independent and more competitive. During the day, it was also possible to attend a presentation by José Manuel Fonseca, CEO of MDS, who shared his inspiring journey and how, sometimes, a strategic step backwards can generate results for an organisation that were never even imagined before. The day ended with a musical performance by Luísa Sobral, who delighted those present in the Grand Auditorium.
The second day began with a morning run, led by the Casais Group Employees’ Association, which promotes employee health and well-being. Gonçalo Marcelino, a director at CUF, then shared how he went from production to management and highlighted the importance of training to lead with excellence. Sandra Santos, non-executive director of BA Glass, EDP, Titan Cement and Navigator, spoke about how “Growing takes work”, but with purpose and resilience, it is possible to achieve sustainable profitability in the industry. João Paulo Oliveira, CEO of Triangles, showed how digitalisation and innovation have placed the company at the top of bicycle export rankings in Europe.
In the afternoon, Os Improváveis provided an improvisation session, highlighting optimism and creativity as the engine for finding solutions as essential pillars in the sector. The panel on Industrialization, AI and Innovation featured individuals prominent in the business world: Ana Casaca (Galp), Vitor Gregório (Bosch) and Bernardo Caldas (Mollie), who explored how artificial intelligence can transform the future of construction. Towards the end of the second day, there was room for questions and answers with Nuno Almeida – Country Manager of Casais España, Henrique Pereira – Middle East Coordinating Manager, Sérgio Mota Pinto – Country Manager of Casais Mozambique, Daniela Vieira – Homing Homes Business Manager, Raquel Silva – Marketing and Communication Manager, Casais Group, and Ricardo Pilar – Production Manager, Casais Construction.
António Carlos Rodrigues led the event Wrap-Up. He urged all participants to take responsibility for collaborating and striving for goals that had never been achieved before, saying that:
The future of the Casais Group depends on our ability to explore new markets and continuously innovate, while maintaining our commitment to excellence.
