Last year was a successful year for bim.GROUP, the independent design office and strategic partner of KÉSZ Group, which is also involved in the works of Hungexpo and the Museum of Hungarian Transport. The company is expanding its portfolio to foreign markets and is looking for additional partners as a specialist designer in Norway and Germany, among others. We talked to Zsolt Ballay, COO of bim.GROUP, about the state of the industry, international expectations, sustainability and challenges.
How did bim.GROUP's year 2021 turn out? Which projects were you most proud of last year?
Last year was a year of growth for bim.GROUP: our headcount increased by 25 percent, which is a particular pleasure for us, and I think it's a specialty in the market that we have a very strong retention rate. Overall, the epidemic did not hamper us, and our revenue was one and a half times higher than in 2020, at nearly EUR 9 million.
Fortunately, we had many interesting and challenging projects, among which I would like to highlight our design activities in the Szeged Science Park, the Jedlik Ányos High School, the Museum of Hungarian Transport and the Hungarian National Athletic Stadium.
Last year, the renewed Hungexpo was inaugurated, of which we are also very proud, but the steel roof structure of the 4,500-tonne multifunctional hall in Budapest was also designed by our engineers.
To what extent is the industry affected by the logistical difficulties, supply chain problems and raw material price increases caused by the coronavirus epidemic?
As an independent general design office, these influences affect us much less than, for example, construction firms. The epidemic has been with us for several years now, so we have built the challenges into our processes, and our day-to-day office operations have also changed: we have moved to a hybrid way of working, with colleagues coming to the office in rotation. As we work with a lot of specialised software, one of the important steps in the company's life was the introduction of cloud-based systems. The next task will be cloud-based data storage so that staff can connect from anywhere.
The company name has recently changed from Bim Design to bim.GROUP. Why did you decide to change the name?
The rebranding process of bim.GROUP started in 2021 and is still ongoing. Our new website will be available in a few days, our image video, which is unique in the sector, is already available to view, meaning we have been renewed in terms of visual elements and the message we represent.
This was also accompanied by the name change. It's also a shift in our approach to operations, recognising the role that marketing plays in our success.
The company is one of the 49 Hungarian companies that have won a grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the HEPA Hungarian Export Promotion Agency. What are the most important objectives in expanding abroad? In which regions and countries are you expanding?
Indeed, we want to use the funding to expand in the neighbouring countries and in the Western European market. Destinations include Romania, Serbia, Germany and Norway. Our marketing activities in foreign markets also help us in this process. As part of this, we made the aforementioned image video: we wanted to make a short film that reflects how we at bim.GROUP think about the design process: we approach the most complex design tasks with engineering precision and artistic creativity. I think we have managed to show what we mean by Art of Engineering.
In these countries we are not primarily a prime contractor, but we are looking for additional partners to work with. We see that there is a strong demand for our specialist design capability in structural and cladding design, and this is how we are able to enter these markets.
What international projects have you been involved in with foreign partners? How do the expectations of foreign customers differ from those of Hungarian customers?
As I mentioned, we have been using our specialist design skills, so we have been mainly working on pavement design and steel structure design.
In Germany, for example, we designed the supporting structures of power plants, and in Serbia we designed steel structures for an oil company. In Norway, an important reference is the design of the cladding for the Kistefos museum. In this award-winning building, the twisted geometry spans a river like a bridge, and we created a unique sheet metal cover.
We have also worked in Hungary in an international context - by a cross-border investor and design team - and among our projects in Hungary, I would like to mention our involvement in the design of the National Athletics Stadium and the National Museum of Transport.
In the international arena, sustainability requirements and the related energy ratings are much stronger, and the so-called well-being factor of the building itself is often examined. Another important milestone in entering the foreign market - and a major competitive advantage over other companies - was the fact that we have ISO certification from the British Standards Institution, which means we can carry out our BIM processes in accordance with these standards. But we have also received an "A" certificate from the Dun & Bradstreet information services and rating company, which proves our financial stability.
How important is sustainability for customers? Is the situation different on foreign markets?
The rules and expectations are getting stricter. What we are seeing is that in many cases, investors are starting to be dragged by government regulation. In France, for example, a decree has been issued that 50 percent of public buildings must be built with renewable materials. The construction industry has many tools, you can build a 10-storey office building out of wood. However, in Hungary, for example, sustainability will soon become a budget issue, as the investment costs are higher, but in the long run, the costs of operation can be significantly reduced. So it is up to the client to decide, we can only suggest such solutions. In Hungary, energy requirements are constantly being tightened, but for the time being, the thinking is rather conservative. Most are doing what is expected under the current legal framework.
Moving on to this year, what do you expect in 2022?
Our business target is to maintain revenue at around HUF 3 billion, and our contract portfolio is already almost half of that, so we are confident. Our operations are helped by the fact that we have a broad portfolio, working on public buildings, sports and industrial facilities.
We have a number of projects that span several years and form the backbone of our capacity this year, but we also have a number of projects in the bidding stage - in different areas - that we are optimistic about.
Otherwise, we can see from our clients that the development of the industrial agglomeration and the relocation of related industries is attracting additional orders, so based on the projects we are currently running, we expect further orders in the sector. All in all, we are looking forward to an exciting year and a successful one!
