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Industrial Services

The Condecta Group, which became part of Arbonia with the Looser takeover in December 2016, represents the Industrial Services Division. The company offers total solutions in the fields of construction, industry, trade, the public sector and event services. In Switzerland, the Condecta Group is one of the leading suppliers of selferecting cranes, modular space systems and sanitation units as well as soil protection and blocking systems. Its headquarters are located in Winterthur (CH) and it has an additional seven production and warehousing locations both within Switzerland and in adjacent countries.

Market trends

By ramping up its sales activities, the Condecta Group saw an increase of the trade channel involving space systems, cranes and construction equipment over the course of the year. The company’s used crane business revenue reached the previous year’s level. Although price sensitivity and pressure from competition have both been growing since 2015, the crane and space system rental business recorded a positive performance. Demand was high in the area of event services, as it always has been. The already high levels of revenue and profitability grew even further as a result of the expanded product portfolio, the numerouslarge-scale events serviced, and the rapid integration of WMS WC-Mietservice GmbH (WMS).

With the purchase of WMS WC-Mietservice GmbH, the division further consolidated its market position and geographical presence in the area of mobile WC systems. This acquisition will enable even more comprehensive coverage for the construction site and event activities that are already offered across Switzerland. With WMS, it will also be possible to launch additional products such as modular space systems, construction site facilities and isolating equipment in new market regions.

The Condecta Group is currently building a new site in central Switzerland, which will clearly optimise the supply chain and lay the foundation for additional growth in that region as well as in the Bern region (CH). The new location will pool two regional sites and warehouse locations that had been used up until now.

For modular space systems, the focus was on ensuring that the Condecta Group’s largest project to date ran seamlessly. In the city of Winterthur (CH), the Group constructed a temporary residential facility providing accommodation for around 120 asylum seekers.

Products, technology and innovation

2016 once again focused on delivering solutions and sustainable products tailored to the customers’ needs. The new product range for water pollution control, introduced this year, now offers not only the equipment for a self-constructed sedimentation and neutralisation tank, but also a comprehensive consultation and planning service that covers every aspect of plant engineering as well as operations monitoring, maintenance and emergency scenarios.

In the area of cranes for large-scale construction sites, the SSG 160 top slewing crane was successfully introduced to the market. The key advantages of the new tower slewing crane are found in its boom length, spanning up to 65 metres. In February 2017, the Group will present this as well as other new products and services at the Baumag trade fair in Switzerland.

A process-based, efficient method of planning projects and routes is an indispensable part for the service-driven division. This is what led the Group to begin evaluating an integrated system during the reporting year, covering order receipt and management, tracking, as well as scheduling and planning functions – and achieving more efficiency throughout the supply chain in the process. For the time being, the Group is deploying this new automation solution in the area of event services, and intends to roll it out to cranes and space systems during the next stage.

Outlook

The Swiss construction industry is likely to stabilise for reasons relating primarily to residential construction, which points to be moderate growth. The increasing competitive and price pressure are posing a significant challenge. For this reason, the primary focus will be on implementing efficient, customer-oriented processes, systems and structures, with the aim of sustaining the margin over the long term. Over the coming year, the goal is to improve the supply chain and production network, particularly integrating the new site in central Switzerland. Further investment in rental stock should result in increased capacity.