Concrete solutions ASA

CONCRETE SOLUTIONS

Expansion into neighbouring countries as well as ongoing technological improvements are the growth drivers for Hungarian construction company ASA Kft Épitoipari Kft, part of the CONSOLIS Group. Julia Snow reports.

Over three decades now ASA Kft has been the Hungarian pioneer in innovative construction solutions. Its core competencies remain design, production and assembly of precast reinforced concrete structures, industrial flooring and general contracting.

ASA Kft was among the first Hungarian companies to work under private ownership in 1990, and today has its headquarters in Budapest and a 36,000m2 production plant in Hódmezővásárhely. The product offer is segmented into three groups: Building construction elements such as foundations, columns, beams, slabs, wall panels, concrete toppings or floors; traffic construction elements in the shape of buffer walls or safety barriers systems, and finally infrastructure elements, which could be sheet piles, bridge beam systems, stairways, chutes or seepage elements.

ASA Kft’s business activities take place in Hungary and in neighbouring countries through other CONSOLIS subsidiaries: ASA CONS in Romania, CONSOLIS Balkan in Serbia and 3-Betony in Ukraine. The partnerships work well due to complementary expertise and similar technological and social environments.

A key regional partner in the CONSOLIS Group

“Perhaps the biggest change in the development of ASA Kft was joining the CONSOLIS Group in 2008,” explains managing director Bogdan Bulgaria. Present in 30 countries with over 10,000 employees worldwide, CONSOLIS has more than 100 years of construction experience. The group’s activities include rail infrastructure, residential and non-residential construction, civil works, water network infrastructures as well as urban planning and design.

“ASA Kft had some turbulent periods in the past,” according to Mr Bulgaria, “but we managed to tackle each storm, mainly by being open to trends in the Western construction industry and thanks to endless commitment to our basic product: concrete. With the production of our plant in the south-eastern part of Hungary, in Hódmezővásárhely, the excellent technical team, unique technical solutions and innovations, and last, but not least at all, with the support of CONSOLIS, we managed to

keep our position at the top of the precast reinforced concrete building industry in Hungary.”

With a turnover of €18 Million ASA Kft makes a modest contribution to the CONSOLIS Group turnover of €1.3 billion. “Nevertheless, we are confident that with the know-how and firm support of the group we can increase our contribution ” says Mr Bulgaria.

Local expertise

ASA Kft already enjoys a strong reputation for innovation, commitment to quality and integrity, but joining CONSOLIS is described as “an absolute ace in our cards, difficult to top.

“We see the CONSOLIS brand entering into the local market as a win-win.” ASA Kft’s local roots are valuable in large tendering projects, he explains: “Being best aware of local conditions and possibilities ASA Kft is always considered for tendering and project execution. As an independent company we can act swiftly and flexibly, but we also benefit from the overall corporate strategy. CONSOLIS’ support, know-how, experience, technological and financial possibilities is something that very few local players can match.”

Extended offer

So what makes ASA Kft stand out from the crowd? “Our core activity is still reinforced concrete frame structures. However, we have introduced other solutions for increased customer satisfaction. We offer premium category industrial flooring, as well as the entire range of services connected to reinforced and prestressed concrete structures from bottom to top, i.e. design, manufacture, assembly and even general contracting with incorporation of other subcontracted trades.

“Through continuous technology investments we entered the infrastructure and traffic construction market – complete solutions for bridge constructions including different bridge beam systems, public road safety barriers, buffer walls, bridge stairways, chutes, seepages and sheet piles. And we also offer complete concepts for economical and time-saving construction such as concrete tanks, XPREStank® and concrete offices or warehouses Bashallen®.”

Showcase projects

ASA Kft can show exceptional references such as the UEFA Category football Stadium in Debrecen for 20,020 spectators, the industrial flooring of the AUDI Logistics facility in Győr (60 000m2), and the general contracting project of gas-storage extension for E-On in Zsana.

A particular highlight is a production facility with a size of 19,500m2. for RichterGedeon in Budapest, which involved all core competencies from a precast concrete structure through to industrial flooring, as well as general contracting services and R&D activities for precast cantilevers, pocketed cantilevers and unique nodes. “We managed to obtain the trust of the investors in the tender phase by presenting a unique, convincing and feasible technical solution.” reports Mr Bulgaria. The work on the site started in September 2014 and is expected to be finished in March 2015.

Future outlook

As ASA Kft’s business in Hungary and the surrounding countries is growing, the production capacities have to keep pace: “Our last significant investment was the extension of our production area with a modern hall for the production of slab elements with slipformer technology and prestressed reinforced concrete elements, e.g. bridge beams.”

Ongoing growth is the goal, he adds: “Although concrete is an enduring material and the construction methods fairly static, we are not leaning back contemplating our achievements. Instead we strive to do more and to do it better. Offering even more added value to our present products, providing customers innovative alternatives and incorporating new product types and highend solutions developed at group level are perhaps our biggest strengths to underpin our growth potential on the market.” n