Quattrogemini is a Finnish company. It has constructed several successful projects. But its main source of revenue is located over the border, as Operations Director, Pekka Jokela explains: “The four founders of the company all gained extensive experience of the construction market in Russia, back in the 1970s. This gave them the idea of starting up their own construction company, targeting the Russian market.” Over the last 15 years, the founders, Lasse Alanne, Veli-Pekka Henttonen, Matti Sajomaa and Markku Virtanen, and their team, have built a successful construction company and completed a number of high profile construction projects in Russia.

QUATTROGEMINI SERVICES
Quattrogemini operates mainly as a construction contractor, which includes a wide range of services. The company’s range of expertise includes advising clients on regulations relating to possession of land, site investigations, building permits and hiring of engineers.

One of the main benefits of its approach is that it keeps clients clearly informed on realistic timescales and costs, with regard to their construction requirements.

Clients often already have preliminary designs to work from and Quattrogemini produces a proposal based on these, including design development and preparation of drawings for construction work, as well as for mechanical and electrical services.

Quattrogemini can also help clients by suggesting alternative designs and implementation strategies, for their consideration.

QUATTROGEMINI CLIENTS
The company has an enviable client list, including a number of the world’s best known companies, such as McDonalds, British American Tobacco (BAT), BP, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Gillette, Nestle, Wrigley and Toyota, as well as the Finnish and Dutch governments.

Some of the many examples of construction projects they have worked on include production plants, service centres, warehouses, logistics centres, sports facilities, public buildings, offices, shops and restaurants.

The company’s reputation precedes them, as Jokela explains: “We’ve developed some very good contacts with American and European investors in Russia - they know we have decades of experience of working in the country and that their project will get off the ground and be completed, according to timescale, budget and quality requirements.”

Jokela, who has been with the company for six years, was recently promoted to his current post. Before then, he was Project Director for one of the company’s most prestigious projects, which completed in February this year: “We built a factory for Kimberly Clark, near Moscow,” says Jokela. “This was their first factory in Russia and it was the second biggest project Quattrogemini has ever worked on,” he confirms.

And he is optimistic of repeat business from this new client: “We’re very pleased to say that the project completed successfully, on schedule,” he says. “We have had very positive feedback from Kimberly Clark about the project and the possibility of working with them again in future.“

RECONSTRUCTION AFTER THE DOWNTURN
The construction industry has suffered the effects of the recession and Quattrogemini has been no exception. Jokela explains: “Turnover was 100 million euros last year, but we are forecasting around 80 million euros for this year. The drop is due to the impact of the economic downturn, which has made it harder for us to secure new projects.”

But Quattrogemini has a recovery plan: “We would, of course, like to increase turnover to the 100 million euro level again and beyond - we are already making changes to help us achieve this goal,” confirms Jokela.

“Our strategy is to expand the services we offer, so that we are not just construction contractors. We now also offer engineering and procurement services, as well as construction. It is becoming an increasingly popular trend within the industry to provide all three services and we believe it could help our company grow.”

PUTTING THE SCAFFOLDING UP

While the impact of the downturn has been tough on Quattrogemini, the challenges it presents are nothing new. The company has already developed tried and tested strategies, based on previous experience. Although the Russian market has been rewarding for Quattrogemini’s business, it has had its ups and downs and has in the past created fluctuations in the company’s order book.

“Things got tougher in the Russian market back in the 1990s,” says Jokela. “So we established sister companies then, which operate in Finland only. This means we are not reliant solely on income from projects in Russia.”

REPUTATION
Quattrogemini is in a strong position to attract potential new business, in any case, with its impressive track record. The proof of its achievements lies in its portfolio of previous projects, which include Coca-Cola’s distribution centre in Moscow, the Dutch Embassy in Kiev and a car assembly plant for General Motors, which was opened less than a year after construction began.

The company may have not more than 200 employees, but it punches well above its weight in terms of the projects it wins.

One of its biggest projects to date took place between 2003-2005, when Quattrogemini constructed concrete gravity base structures for SEIC, a subsidiary of Shell, in Nakhodka, Russia: “The SEIC project was huge,” recalls Jokela.

“This is a massive company compared to the size of Quattrogemini, but the client was confident that we could handle the project successfully and we did. It was delivered on time and to quality standards. We were particularly pleased with the health and safety figures too.

“It did go slightly over budget, though”, he acknowledges. “But this was due to some design changes during the course of the project.”

BUILDING A NEW FUTURE
Quattrogemini is not short of other competitive advantages to enable it to move further forward, as Jokela explains: “We believe we are a more reliable choice than our competitors in the Russian construction market.

“We are not the cheapest, but we can guarantee we will stay on schedule and within budget. We deliver what we promise and we operate with integrity.”Quattrogemini takes a long view of its business, as he adds: “Our aim is to develop long term partnerships with our clients and to continue to obtain repeat business. It is a high priority for us that our clients trust us and keep coming back to us. And they do.”