Formerly a micro-enterprise with several employees, today one of the dominant actors of the Hungarian construction industry. Their proud of all what they achieved by the work of a quarter of a century is justified. We have talked with the owner, Gábor Grabarics, the founder.

-          Break it down and let us sum up these twenty-five years!

– Five times five makes just twenty-five! When I come right down to it, really, we had significant turns in roughly every five years in the past decades. The first five years, the heroic age between 1993 and 1998 was characterized by small revenues of a few tens of millions, by much work and even more troubles and insufficient means of production. We embarked on RC construction and appeared in the market as structural builders. Actually, we worked just for being able to buy the desired tools. I started with four skilled workers. I consciously avoided sudden growth, we were very cautious later on, too, in fear of uncertainties. Later I saw many firms of skyrocketing growth then going bankrupt. We always focused on the job that we encountered with maximum effort, and we succeeded. This, nevertheless, required continuous growth in terms of means of production, staff, site, office, IT fleet, regional IT development – more and more needs emerged.

– As an engineer – I got my degree in the old regime – I was trained strictly for the technical side of the trade. Business skills and HR management had to be learned on the job. Maybe youngsters today are not aware of the fact what huge competition benefit they have in the possession of profound knowledge. In up-to-date university education fundamental business and financials are evidence in any sector.

– At the beginning of the second five years from 1999 to 2003, Baumax was our first general contracting project at Budaörs. This became a well-known building, eye-catching also for the market. The subsidization of home building between 1997 and 2002 – time of the first Orbán government – boosted the housing market. Our general contracting activity ran in during these five years, we constructed 150 to 200 apartments each year. We named ourselves general contractors but we were actually engaged only in the housing market where we grew and achieved revenues of 3 to 4 billion.

– In 2004 to 2008 we progressed – based on conscious business policy – from the extremely labor-intensive, meticulous, not very lucrative housing sector towards the building of commercial facilities. In the former we saw rather high risks, regulation changed and demand decreased as interest subsidization ceased. Although foreign currency loans boosted this market again but by that time we constructed commercial buildings, business centers and hypermarkets, and did not go back to the housing sector. To date, our best year was 2008 that we closed with revenues of 11 billion. Then the economic crisis arrived.

– All the five years from 2009 to 2013 were used for recovery. Our revenues fell back by 50 to 60 percent, we had large outstanding amounts in Hungary and in Germany. Looking back to that time I do not understand how could we survive these five years. We managed that period of time incredibly disciplined, we were able to produce just what we required to sustain ourselves. I am proud that we did not need to dismiss anyone. We had no means for development but some tender money helped to avoid that all our facilities get obsolete.

– The last five years from 2014 to 2018 have been devoted to upswing. We have had to grow exponentially, maybe too fast. To date we have reached revenues of 18 to 20 billion and I cannot imagine what could we achieve if we possessed the required resources.