The bigger the better Főmterv, Hungary’s leading engineering consultancy, has more than 60 years’ experience in civil engineering and infrastructure design. Due to its extensive specialist knowledge and highly trained design engineers with exceptional problem-solving skills, the firm is often invited to work on large-scale and challenging projects worldwide. Edina Beale reports.
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őmterv was established by Budapest Council in 1950 for the restoration of the capital city after the war. All centralised specialist design and development units were set up to work in the city on civil engineering projects including road systems, utility systems and bridges. When privatisation took place in 1992 the employees accessed company shares and have become the owners of the firm. Today Főmterv employs 300 people; from this, 240 are professionally trained specialist design engineers. The activities of the firm have been extended over the decades, but the preparation of transport development strategies remains its core activity. From the total of 1100 qualified design engineers in Hungary, one quarter works for Főmterv; this is reflected in its market position as Főmterv is dominant in most of its activities, taking about 25–30 per cent share of the domestic market.
‘We solve problems’ Most projects Főmterv is involved in are large-scale, challenging assignments. In fact its philsophy is: the bigger the project the better. The company is eager to utilise its specialist engineering knowledge and decades of experience to resolve difficult engineering tasks. It was Főmterv that prepared Hungary’s national transport development and transport strategy plan, but the majority of the capital’s sewage system planning has been designed by the firm too. The
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renovation of the Margaret bridge, the rail link between the International Airport and Budapest inner city, many motorway systems, Zalaegerszeg proving ground for autonomous vehicles, the Budapest–Belgrade rail upgrade and the engineering design of Metro line 4 are just a few of the company’s more recent assignments. Clearly Főmterv is the first choice when it comes to large-scale and complex projects. “Főmterv has remained in the market for so many decades because we not only complete the given tasks, but more importantly we solve problems,” says CEO Tibor Keszthelyi. “We are not cheap but guarantee the highest standards and therefore partners with serious and risky projects invest in us.”
Exporting the knowledge Owing to its excellent reputation, Főmterv has managed to build relationships abroad and has worked on several foreign projects in recent times. It has planned large water systems at the Austrian border and designed gas transport pipes towards Slovakia, while important projects in Romania included sewage system design and motorway planning from Cernavoda and Constanta. The Doha Metro in Qatar is one of the world’s largest metro systems currently under construction, and Főmterv took part in this massive development project, as Mr Keszthelyi reveals: “We
