Climate Resiliency

Meet Matt Fisher – Guidance and Oversight

Posted on April 4, 2025April 4, 2025 by Keri-Ann

Meet Matt Fisher - Guidance and oversight

Matt serves as the Chief Legal Officer of The Metrontario Group, which is the parent organization of AnyWay Solutions. In this capacity, he plays a key role in overseeing a diverse range of business ventures within the Metrontario Group’s extensive portfolio. These ventures span various industries, including residential and commercial real estate development and management, nuclear medicine, marine agriculture and consulting engineering for climate resiliency, to name just a few.

Matt has played an active role in AnyWay Solutions since its inception over 25 years ago, having co-founded the company alongside Zeevik Halber, the CEO, and Alex Campbell, the Director of Engineering. Throughout his career, Matt has thrived on the camaraderie and shared sense of humor that exists within the company. He values the close-knit, eclectic team of employees who are spread out across the globe, working together to achieve their common goals.

One of Matt’s most cherished memories from his work with AnyWay Solutions dates back to a project in the early years of the company. AnyWay played a critical role in building soil block homes for a struggling community located just outside of Johannesburg, South Africa. This experience was particularly impactful for Matt as he witnessed firsthand the difference that his team’s work could make in the lives of people in developing regions. It was a defining moment that shaped his understanding of the positive social impact that the company could have.

Since that pivotal project, AnyWay Solutions has continued to contribute to numerous infrastructure projects in developing regions around the world. The company remains committed to its mission of connecting communities through the development of infrastructure that prioritizes both accessibility and climate resilience. As the team moves forward, it continues to innovate and expand its reach, always striving to make a lasting impression on the communities it serves.

Looking ahead, Matt is excited about the prospect of further expanding AnyWay Solutions into new countries and regions. “I’m confident that our people will continue to forge meaningful relationships and have a positive impact, wherever we go,” he says, reflecting on the company’s promising future.

Meet Alfer Parreño – A Rising Star

Posted on February 12, 2025February 12, 2025 by Keri-Ann

Meet Alfer Parreño - A Rising Star

Alfer Parreno is a Design Engineer at AnyWay Solutions and the newest member of the team. He was drawn to AnyWay after learning about their climate resiliency solutions in developing nations, and about the innovative engineering projects designed to make transport infrastructure more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

Alfer earned his Civil Engineering degree from the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos in the Philippines and became a licensed Civil Engineer in 2021. After completing his studies, he worked at the Philippines’ Department of Public Works and Highways before joining AnyWay in July.

At AnyWay, Alfer appreciates the learning opportunities provided to him and is always eager to enhance his skillset. He enjoys working on a diverse range of projects around the world, solving unique engineering challenges, and learning from a team of experts. Alfer embraces using new technologies such as Lidar, satellite data, and AI. He enjoys finding ways to integrate these digital tools into engineering solutions to solve clients’ problems while streamlining workflows.

As a young engineer, Alfer finds great satisfaction in seeing his projects come to life. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see how the bridges, roads, and flood mitigation structures I’ve helped create improve people’s lives,” he says.

Alfer believes that communication and listening are key to both personal and team success. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling, exploring new places, and photography.

Looking ahead, Alfer is committed to helping AnyWay provide climate-resilient solutions to clients, particularly in remote areas of the world. He looks forward to continuing his work with developing countries to provide long-lasting solutions for transport infrastructure and flood mitigation. “The continuous improvement of satellite data, along with advancements in AI, gives us the opportunity to take a data-driven approach to remote locations that lack reliable data. I hope to see this technology continue to improve,” he says. Optimistic about the future, Alfer believes that technology will play a critical role in accelerating climate resilience efforts, enabling communities to adapt and recover from the impacts of climate change.

Meet the Team – Herb

Posted on February 11, 2025February 12, 2025 by Keri-Ann

Meet Herbert Betz – Bridging the gap

Herb Betz represents AnyWay Solutions in the Philippines. His connection with AnyWay began in 2008 while he was working in Bentiu, South Sudan. Over the years, Herb and AnyWay collaborated to develop the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) base, specifically for Rotary Wing assets. Fast forward to today, Herb continues to work with AnyWay as part of a team in the Philippines, where he focuses on introducing climate-resilient transport infrastructure solutions to government agencies and local partners.

Herb values the family-like culture and tight-knit community at AnyWay. He appreciates the team’s dedication, the multicultural diversity, and the valuable insights he gains from the many leaders within the company.

In his current role, Herb is committed to bringing AnyWay’s solutions to the communities in the Philippines that would benefit from them the most. He describes his work as “bridging the gap”—understanding the challenges the Philippines faces in connecting to outside markets and leveraging AnyWay’s solutions to address these issues. With a strong focus on the effects of climate change, Herb is dedicated to finding solutions that can help Filipino communities become more resilient, especially in the face of recurring flooding. Herb feels that his role is a natural fit because he is passionate about environmental issues and poverty. As he puts it, “No child should go hungry, and every child needs a home. Climate change will create more climate refugees in the future, so we must find solutions now.”

One of Herb’s most memorable experiences was meeting AnyWay’s current CEO, Zeevik Halber, and the team in Tel Aviv during their early work days on the first South Sudan road. He deeply values the trust and friendships he’s built with the company over the years. “I feel blessed to work with this organization and lead the team in the Philippines,” he says.

Outside of work, Herb is motivated by his family and his faith. He enjoys golfing and spending time outdoors, especially in the Philippines, which he describes as one of the world’s most biodiverse regions, with over 7,000 islands to explore. “If I have my family with me, it’s the best,” he says.

Herb believes that his success is found when the team succeeds. He looks forward to continuing to help the country and his company achieve greater success in the years to come.

Observatory Garden – Jaffa

Posted on February 9, 2025February 26, 2025 by Keri-Ann

PathWay - Observatory Garden

Tel Aviv – Jaffa Municipality

Project Objective:

The Municipality of Tel Aviv–Jaffa was looking to upgrade existing gardens and parks around the city so that they would comply with new regulations and standards relating to accessibility for people with disabilities.

One of these gardens was an observatory in Jaffa, which overlooks the old port of Jaffa and the Mediterranean Sea. The goal was to create a walking pad that would comply with the Israeli standards for urban development for people with disabilities, but would also merge nicely with the historic sandstone architectural design of the garden.

The Challenge:

Casting a traditional a concrete pad would have been a lengthy and expensive process, requiring complete excavation of the existing garden and placement of metal web reinforcement throughout the area. Worse yet, a concrete pad would have detracted from the traditional architectural beauty of the garden’s sandstone design. Accordingly, the client turned to AnyWay to see if the casting the garden’s pad with PathWay could deliver a faster, cheaper and more aesthetically pleasing solution.

As this was the first large-scale project for PathWay, it was agreed that it would also serve as a demonstration to the Department of Gardens and City Development of the Tel-Aviv Municipality.

The Results:

The project (360 SM in size) was completed in a single day. PathWay was spread using a concrete pump and levelled to a smooth surface. No metal webbing, re-bar or undelaying geomembranes were used.

The project successfully achieved all three of the client’s goals. The work was completed at less cost and in less time, without destroying the historic gardens. The path was confirmed by the client’s specialist architect to be compliant with the Israeli standard for accessibility of urban outdoor areas (I.S. 1918), and its appearance accentuated the garden’s existing sandstone structures – achieving the aesthetic results the architects were hoping for.

AnyWay’s Role:

AnyWay handled the work related to garden preparations for the casting of PathWay and supplied the PathWay low-carbon emission concrete and concrete mixers to the site. Additionally, we leveraged our contacts to arrange for the concrete slabbing.

PathWay - Observatory Garden