Three years on the rollercoaster
Or at times it has seemed that way - most entrepreneurs and operators in the construction industry recognise the situation. Three years ago, in March 2020, the pandemic revolutionised working practices across all sectors. For us at HauCon, it meant a rigorous reassessment of markets and forecasts. We took corrective actions and changed our practices to adapt to the exceptional situation. We came through a difficult year well, all things considered.
In 2021, we invested in recruitment, communication, and product marketing with good results. Our turnover increased and we were able to start last year on a good footing.
February 2022 saw another sharp turn, as the situation in the world steel market changed due to the war started by Russia. Ukraine has traditionally been an important steel producer. Raw material flows were temporarily disrupted, and our Baltic and Central European producers had to look for substitute suppliers. However, after March and April, the situation stabilised and deliveries of special products to Finland continued as normal.
See you in Mikkelänkallio
Our premises in Kauklahti, Espoo, were getting small and the area was being rezoned. The move, scheduled for last summer, was a bit of a challenge, but everything went well in July. Our pick-up warehouse served customers as usual throughout the week of the move.
Our Mikkelänkallio warehouse has even more space for shelf products now. We are also expanding our range of small concrete construction products. Our warehouse team will ensure that deliveries are made quickly, if necessary, even on the same day in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.
We have also invested in product design. We have both Timo Hiitola and Niklas Jansson to support structural designers already in the initial dimensioning of the object and bring different implementation options for comparison.
Adding value through Nordic Partnership
We meet regularly with our HauCon colleagues from other Nordic countries to share information on construction projects and practices. Both our Danish and Norwegian colleagues have a lot of experience in special concrete construction products, including large infrastructure construction projects such as tunnels, port, and bridge structures. We would be happy to tell you more about them.
Even at the end of this year, many things may be different from what I thought in January. Decisions to start housing projects are postponed, but the depth and duration of the economic turnaround remain to be seen. Construction business cycles have become shorter in recent years and external financial factors such as pandemics or war make forecasting challenging. Nevertheless, I am confident about the future.
Over the past couple of years, we have added new structural systems and products to our portfolio, been involved in numerous exciting projects and established strong partnerships. This has been reflected in the growth of HauCon's business. A big thank you for our success, even in challenging times, goes to all our staff and our customers.
Björn Lindgren
+358 50 552 1455
bl@haucon.fi