Construction and property

Construction projects continue to grow in cities

Projects within Construction and property make up one third of all the revenue of the engineering consultancy industry in Sweden, according to the Swedish Federation of Consulting Engineers and Architects. The construction sector is expected to slow down in 2012. Primarily the cyclically sensitive housing sector will be affected. Total construction investment in Sweden is not expected to change in 2012. Rejlers’ operations within the customer group Construction and property have continued to expand in 2011, establishing a foothold in new markets. The number of employees in Sweden has grown by just over 30 per cent.

Our operations consist of installation engineering assignments primarily within electricity, telecommunications and security, as well as HVAC, environmental technology and architecture in Finland. This customer area accounts for just over 10 per cent of Rejlers’ total revenue. It is estimated that Rejlers’ order inflow for 2012 will be positive in the cities.

Modern IT solutions simplify the construction process

Every construction project tends to become a unique solution in terms of construction and design. On the consultant side, new IT solutions have changed work with construction and design. For instance, this creates the opportunity in the design stage to simplify the installation work since the solutions can be visualised, for example, in 3D. With modern technology, this development will continue. Remote jobs is an example of certain assignments being moved to low-cost countries.

We build energy-smart properties

The demand for commercial and residential space outstrips supply in the large urban regions, but the housing market is now reporting lower investment. The assessment is that demand for consultancy services related to new office space and commercial properties will continue to be healthy; these are the areas where Rejlers’ operations are concentrated within Construction and property. New, energy-smart projects are being planned, such as remodelling and new construction of properties with a focus on energy efficiency, which generates new assignments.

Healthy market in the cities

Demand for Rejlers’ services is positive, and we are hiring more consultants within Construction and property as well. We are retained for large, prestigious assignments that sometimes go on for years. Many of the assignments are for public-sector customers, whose order volume tends to increase when the economic climate is weak. Rejlers possesses broad expertise within Construction and property, encompassing power supply, power and lighting, control systems, communications networks and security, as well as computerisation of building services. In Finland, services are also offered in project planning for heating, ventilation and sanitation, architecture and environmental engineering. Rejlers’ operations within Construction and property are primarily focused on the metropolitan areas of Stockholm, Helsinki, Gothenburg, Malmö and Oslo.

Years-long agreements with major customers

Among Rejlers' customers in the Construction and property area are public and private property companies, entrepreneurs and management companies. Public sector property owners are less sensitive to the economic cycle than other companies are. For instance, this is the case for schools, health centres, hospitals, local public transport, prison services and police stations. Rejlers has framework agreements in place with major clients; these agreements take several years to complete. Key customers include Skanska, Peab, Jernhusen, Finnavia and the National Property Board Sweden.

New markets to the east

Rejlers has a good position on the market in the Helsinki area. After the acquisition of Lausamo Oy, which was completed in 2011, Rejlers now has just over 50 employees within Construction and property in Finland, as well as an office in Moscow. The acquisition has provided us with a large assignment on behalf of the Helsinki Music Centre, comprising project planning for all electrical engineering, from lighting to the telecoms system. The assignment required innovative design solutions, using 3D technology, among other things. In Moscow, we are involved in assignments related to several large construction projects. These include a project for The City of Moscow in which we are providing design, architecture, HVAC and automation technology for the renovation of state offices.

Over the course of the year, Rejlers has been awarded other significant assignments in Finland. We are project planning electricity, telecommunications and security systems for Finnair’s construction of a new head office at Helsinki airport. Rejlers is also project planning heating, cooling, ventilation, automation and gas systems for the renovation of Björneborg Hospital.

New environmental technology lowers energy costs

In Belgium, we have received a large order for Munters, where Rejlers is serving as the project manager. The assignment consists of delivering energy-efficient cooling systems for data processing centres. The technology is environmentally friendly, and saves the customer 75 per cent on energy costs. This cooling technology is also being used in Facebook’s construction of its first European data processing centre in Luleå, in which Rejlers is also involved.

Targeted project management

Project management is becoming an ever larger part of Rejlers’ assignments. Working on project management in construction projects requires knowledge about quality, the environment and the working environment. Different types of projects require different types of project managers, with projects ranging from product development or construction projects to organisational development. Over the course of the year, we have carried out project management assignments for the Municipality of Danderyd, Stockholms Hamn AB and the Swedish Transport Administration.