This means that more than 1,000 apartments, 600 hotel rooms and numerous office, commercial and industrial buildings were built, their annual turnover already exceeds HUF 15 billion. Bernecker’s reference projects include such jewels as the full scope reconstruction of GoBuda-Eurocenter where within 10 months 45k sqm had to be completely rebuilt, or Liberty Offices which gives place also to a dual branded hotel with 332 rooms.
– A number of the general constructor companies are specialising in a special field and/or an industry, you are doing the opposite, you are present in almost all market segments. Why?
Attila Bakonyi (A. B.): Since the foundation, in the last 24 years we have always aimed on building our focus-markets conciously, we strieved for wearing several hats from the beginning. There are different focus points in each segments and for achieving those, you need different kind of knowledge which results in my collegaues having wider expertise, adding significant value to our customers as well.
– Can you give an example?
A. B.: We put the experience gained and the new developments into practice, implementing them into other sectors. For the industrial buildings deadlines are really tight hence prefabricated structures and process engineering are of core importance. For a hotel or a residential building you need to keep your eyes on the details of the professional and finishing works. The knowledge gained on these projects, the intellectual toolbox and experience can be translated into other areas as well.
Zsolt Tomán (Zs. T.): The various segments of the construction industry behave differently. There are times when residentials are the top favourites, another times the industrial sector is driving the market demand, sometimes new sub-markets are arising like hotel business or the current blockbuster, the worker’s hostels. We believe that the broader our knowledge, the more adaptive, flexible and resilient our company will be.
A. B.: We are lucky to work with such developers who recognising our commitment, place trust in us by awarding projects from other market segments as well. In return we put ourselves into our customers’ shoes: cost effectiveness and value engineering are growing in importance which we can support by recommending certain optimization solutions during design or along our co-operation.
– Does it mean that even during this economic downturn you are not concerned?
A. B.: Crises come and go and then they re-appear again, there is nothing new in it. The secret of staying on your feet is that you need to prepare for a marathon, thinking in perspectives. We build long-term partnerships which are based on reliability and predictibility. Everything else - meaning prices, deadlines, technical specifications – comes only after these 2 core values are rock solid.
Zs. T.: We are not worried and we have several reasons for that. Adapting to volatile market situations was always one of the key strengths of Bernecker. Secondly we recognise that the investors are not cancelling, only delaying their projects until non- favourable interest and financing conditions disappear from the markets, plus we continuously receive requests for quotations. Thirdly the current situation provides an exceptional opportunity for strengthening further our company: we can hire and integrate highly experienced engineers, experts from the labour market who will be the main pillars of our future operations when real estate market will recover.
– So from investors point of view reliability and predictibility are the most relevant. What else do they consider?
A. B.: These two are the most important business aspects, without having these in the right level, it is irrelevant what kind of offer you send to your partner. From market aspect the level of your price and the cost-effectiveness are the determining factors. Due to growing interest rates keeping deadlines grew in its importance, although we always put high emphasis on this matter.
Zs. T.: More and more business decisions are driven by full project lifecycle calculations, advising the investors in what kind of materials, equipments to be installed in their future buildings, adding also the ESG aspects during the construction to their list.
A. B.: No matter what new demands our customer will have - as well as in the past or in the future - Bernecker is committed to fulfill our partners’ expectations as a reliable and professional partner.
Photo: Zsolt Tomán (left) and Attila Bakonyi (right)
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