August the 14th, 2021 - The world of Croatian construction has been somewhat shocked by the final choice of Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac about who will construct his much talked about Rimac campus.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, the construction of the first phase of the Rimac Campus project in Kerestinec by investor Mate Rimac, the total construction price of which stands at an alleged 200 million euros, was entrusted to Facies from Strmec, a construction company owned by Josip Mandic.
As the sole founder of Facies, Mandic is also the company's director, while Josip's brother Marinko Mandic is the deputy director. Facies, a medium-sized enterprise, has as such been given the golden opportunity to see the company rise among the "big boys" with Rimac's decision.
The value of the first phase of the execution of the works on the Rimac campus' production and research facilities, which cover about 90,000 m2 and is due to be completed by the end of next year, is estimated at about 300 million kuna.
Although less known to the general public, Facies is far from a brand new company. For the last 20 years, the company has been active in the construction industry (construction is not the only business of the Mandic family) and it employs about 80 workers. However, as those familiar with the situation point out, this is a relative fact, both because of the susceptibility to changes based on market needs, and because of the network of subcontractors with whom Facies have been cooperating for many years.
In their concrete work, it is estimated that the construction part of the works presupposes the engagement of about 100 workers, which would indicate that Facies isn't in short supply, while the deadline for completion of the Rimac campus is considered to be realistic, it implies high intensity in the performance of the works.
The Rimac campus tender, for which there was a huge interest, has turned into an "unprecedented" event for the Croatian construction industry. About 10 companies reportedly applied, including several of the largest builders such as Kamgrad, Strabag and Radnik.
Information about the decision to entrust Facies with the Rimac campus construction resonated with those in the industry, causing quite the surprise. The builders don't want to comment on it officially, and they have only stated that it is the investor Mate Rimac's decision.
How Facies actually beat the biggest market players, which cannot be measured solely by the number of workers and the construction machinery that some of them have, is currently unknown. The question is whether the price offered was decisive, while according to some, the crucial thing lay with who could perform the entire job within the specified period of time and give solid, valid guarantees for the proper execution of the work.
In terms of key business indicators, pandemic-dominated 2020 wasn't good for Mandic's company. It resulted in a serious deficit in the part of total revenues, which, with a drop of a massive 72 percent, amounted to approximately 52 million kuna. Net profit fell from around 2 million kuna by around 86 percent.
At the beginning of the year, new construction contracts were signed by Facies, although their value hasn't been specified, but the company hopes that due to the construction momentum, 2021 be better year than the previous one turned out to be.
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