18 www.business-review.roBusiness Review | January 24 - 30, 2011

What is Remco's presence onthe industrial constructionmarket, locally and interna-tionally?“If we talk about the RemcoGroup of companies as a wholewe have offices in The Nether-lands, Romania, Bulgaria, Polandand Ukraine and as such active inthese countries via our local enti-ties. But apart from that we havea much broader internationalfocus. Our Polish companyachieved four contracts in Be-larus, the Dutch mothercompanyis active in the Dutch Caribbeanwith a 4.500 m2 project at Cu-raçao and a 17.500 m2 on Aruba.Also we are in advanced talks fortwo projects of 10.000 and 12.000square metres in Russia. ButRemco Romania at present isstealing the show with a 21.700m2 construction in Gabon. I thinkwe are one of the most dynamiccompanies in our sector. Never adull moment!”

What were the main challengesyou faced in business develop-ment last year?“In our nearly 40 years of exis-tence we have seen and survivedmany economic bush fires and fi-nancial crises before. So we haveseen it all in the past and becauseof our robust financial position weare not to worried about the crisisand its effects on the business. Inactual fact the crisis separates theboys from the men and the shake

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REMCO rocking all over the worldout in our industry is a blessing forthe clients. Only serious compa-nies will survive. In 2010 we havefocussed on the establishment ofRemco Afrique as a further sup-port under our business model.The Dutch and Romanian teamsare involved in this operation andat present we are fairly busypreparing proposals for projectsin Nigeria, Ghana and Tunesia.”

What type of strategy did youadopt last year to counteractthe effects of the crisis?“We have not changed our strat-egy at all. We had -, have and willcontinue to have a mixture of “op-erational excellence” (reliability,responsibility, efficiency, superborganisation) and “customer inti-macy” by being active with opti-mal translation of the client’srequirements into project charac-teristics and by passionately ad-vising during the entire route. Wejust expanded our geographicalcoverage by adding the Africancontinent and Moldova to our tar-get audience”.

What are your expectations for2011 in terms of new projectsand developments?“Quite positive. We see confi-dence returning in the market.Clients and banks increasinglyunderstand the enormous growth– and development potential inRomania and conclude that theycan not continue “crying in thecorner” about the misfortune ofthe last two years. We do notneed words but acts to guide therecovery and that is what we do”.

How do you see the segment of industrial constructions recovering/ unfolding thisyear?“Apart from the traditional projectsin the manufacturing and logisticssectors we are of the opinion thatespecially the food processing willbe picking up in the sense thatRomania will be increasingly selfsupporting in this respect if not fur-ther transforming to a food export-ing country. That is why we are

launching in the next few months“REMCOOL”, a series of refriger-ation - and freeze warehouses toserve this part of the market”.

What type of industrial solu-tions does Remco offer on thelocal market?“Simple question, simple answer.We have extensive – and ex-haustive intake interviews withthe client to define his require-ments with military precision. Wewant to know everything fromtheir production processes and lo-gistic movements in order to havea very detailed overview. Afterthat our dedicated specialistteams establish the most eco-nomical solution based on abroad range of pre-engineeredsolutions. We have proven de-signs due to the repetition effectand as such clients are never in-volved in experiments”.

Are you planning any changesor adjustments to your productportfolio?“Obviously we keep an eye on de-velopments alike application ofsolar panels and other energysaving issues, but basically suchdevelopments are going veryslow. The main thing will be to de-velop a series of refrigeration -and freeze warehouses as statedearlier in the interview”.

What are your main clients?What industries do they comefrom?“We are somewhat selective inour order acceptance. This maysound arrogant but it is not. Oursuccess ever since 1996 in Ro-mania is based on operational ex-cellence customer intimacy andthat strategy only works on spe-cific projects and with specificclients. That is why we mainlywork for foreign investors and thelocal elite companies. They ap-preciate our approach very muchand can count on us. We keepour promises and commitmentsfrom start to finish of the project”.

Did you notice a change in your

customer base over as a resultof the crisis?“Definitely! Our customer baserapidly expands and that is not asurprise. At least not for us. Inthese hectic and uncertain timesclients are in desperate need ofreliable partners that are worththeir trust and that take good careof their money. There have beento many “hit and run” contractorsuntil the peak period 2007/2008that promised a lot but did notperform. We are known for ourhigh quality, financial stability andwillingness to provide our clientswith all kinds of financial bonds toprotect their advance paymentsand ensure completion of theproject. The word apparently hasspread around as we have seen -and still spot many serious in-vestors knocking on our door”.

How do you see the potential ofthe local market for industrialsolutions?“Romania simply is a sleepinggiant. It should and will wake upsome day and returning to moreeconomic activity again in all sec-tors of the economy and continueto catch up with prosperity levelsseen elsewhere in Europe. Forour business this means a lot ofwork. And we are ready for it!”

What segments show the mostgrowth potential/are more in-teresting to explore?“A recent survey shows that it willtake Romania some 24 years toreach 50% of the prosperity lev-els of Western Europe, 37 yearsto reach 75% thereof and 43years to close the gap. For a busi-nessman in the construction in-dustry this is alike a candyshop asso many things in basically everysector still have to be developed.On the other hand as friend of thenation and the Romanian people Ionly wish that by a mixture ofmentality change and economictailwinds these periods will besubstantially reduced. The coun-try and the people deserve it, butit only can be achieved by dedi-cated – and hard working”.

Jan van Vulpen, General Manager -Remco Romania

19www.business-review.roBusiness Review | January 24 - 30, 2011