Karoly Ecker, General Manager at Tebodin in Serbia and Hungary- Economy recovery in Serbia and accession to EU is only a matter of time

Since it was set up 68 years ago in theNetherlands, the Tebodin company became of the global players in the consultingand construction markets. Today, the company is present in 23 countries withsome 50 branch offices and more than 4300 people.

In Serbia, since 2006, they have beenproviding services in project management, costs and planning, construction management,support in procurement, design, lender supervision. They provide these servicesin the field of oil and gas, real estate, industry as well as internationalorganizations. In his interview for eKapija, General Manager at Tebodin in Serbia and Hungaryis speaking about experiences in Serbia, why they are the first choice offoreign investors in our country as well as about the plans for the upcomingperiod.

How do you see theconstruction market in Serbia, after the big ecomic crisis?

- The crisis is still there in many countries in Europe. South-East Europeespecially suffers a lot, however the potential to grow stays there in themid-term. Being an international company we see signs of recovery on theconstruction market in several regions that varies from country to country. Itis the task of the local government to establish the attractive environment forinvestments.

Do you expect an improvementin the real estate market?

- In countries like Serbia – which is today still less attractive forturistic adventures than for industrial investments – the development ofindustry may somehow stimulate the real estate market, too. Offices (andhotels?) in the first place, then in parallel with the growth of purchasingpower, commercial and residential projects.

Who do you see as competition in the Serbian market?

- In our main market segments, i.e. industrial and real estate projects,there are many local and a few international engineers and consultants who areable to offer similar services to Tebodin. The main differentiator can be theguarantees Tebodin can provide – wide international pool of technicalknowledge, sound financials, insurances and ISO certified work procedures.

How difficult was it for you and at what rate did you succeed totransfer Tebodin’s experience (from all counties where you work) and the way ofoperating in Serbia and the Serbian economic environment?

- As Tebodin has offices in various parts of the world, operating in manydifferent cultural and business environments, this was not a real challenge inSerbia to adapt to local conditions. We tailor our market approach to the localneeds in terms of market and services. What helps us most is the excellentknowledge of our local employees – both the engineers, consultants and supportstaff.

In which areas of the economy do you operate most in Serbia ( realestate, industry, oil and gas...)?

- Currently industrial developments are our main focus, however ourinvolvement in real estate (especially in complex – resindential and office)projects is growing. In line with Tebodin`s core services in other countries,our aim is to gain market share in oil & gas and energy related projects aswell.

Which projects are you working on currently?

- Tebodin is currently involved as a Project Management company on anumber of large scale investment projects currently being developed in Serbia.As previously stated, we have carved out an excellent reputation as the partnerof choice for the industry related foreign investors seeking utmostprofessionalism and expertise in the field of project development – fromdesign, procurement, Construction Management, to a wide range of consultancyservices. Our major industrial clients include, among others, Tigar Tyres (partof Michelin group), CooperStandard, Mitas, Cooper Tires and others.

We have recently, however, alsomade a very significant shift into the real-estate market, proving ourreliability and engineering excellence as Project Managers on a very prominentcommercial development in Belgrade: A Blok Development (Blok 67a, NewBelgrade).

Through our hard work,dedication, and Client orientation we have been able to go above and beyond thecall of duty, and our results really do speak for themselves.

How satisfied are you with your business operations in Serbia, what werethe financial results during the previous year?

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- Our financial results were improving last year and despite of the currentpolitical and economic issues we expect positive result also in 2014.

How do you estimate your relationship with Serbian authorities, arethere any boundaries when it comes to business operations?

- We mainly get in direct contact with authorities when we help our Clientsin their investment projects. We see the signs – at least the intent – ofimprovement, but the actual result may significantly differ between authoritieswithin regions and local municipalities. We (hence our clients) have very goodand quite negative experience as well, fortunately more on theb positive side.However this is sometimes topped with the monopolistic position of utilityproviders.

What are your business plans for the period to come?

- Tebodin continues to consider Serbia (and the whole SEE region) as apromising place for our engineering and consultancy business, having in mindthat recovery of the economy and EU accession is only a matter of time. This isnot just Tebodin`s idea but also the extract of several discussions with ourglobal clients who represent more than 200 of the leading companies all overthe world.

Jelena Djelic

BilfingerTebodin d.o.o. Beograd

Tigar Tyres doo Pirot

Michelin Francuska

Trelleborg wheel systems Serbia doo Ruma

Cooper Standard Sremska Mitrovica

Cooper Tire & Rubber company Kruševac

Karoly Ecker

project managemnet

Michelin group

CooperStandard

Cooper Tires

Ablok

Blok 67a

Deka inzenjering