A recent meeting in London marked the inception of the Skanska Foundations Group, an organisation bringing together Skanska’s extensive technical expertise in foundations and ground engineering.
The combined strengths of Skanska’s foundation business make it the second largest in the world in the sector. It has a total of 11 foundation companies employing over 4000 people and operating in 14 countries with a combined turnover last year of £370 million.
The Skanska Foundations Group enables the individual operating companies to pool their technical skills, plant and personnel to enhance their capabilities for taking on some of the world’s largest and complex contracts.
The group is directed by a small executive in which Mike Putnam, a director of Skanska UK, has been appointed chairman. It will meet twice a year to discuss new initiatives, some of which are already in progress.
Mike Putnam said, “This gives the businesses a real competitive edge. Although they will continue to operate independently in their own markets, the added depth now available from their sister companies will be a major advantage when taking on technically challenging projects.”
The group has already established an extranet to facilitate communication across the businesses.
Recent examples of collaboration include exchanges of plant between Entreprenorservice in Norway and Skanska Sweden, and Skanska Tetra in Finland and Skanska EMV in Estonia. Engineers from the UK have assisted ground engineering contracts as well as jointly bidding for a diaphragm wall project in the USA for Underpinning.
Mr Putnam continued, “The businesses are working together for mutual benefit - that is the driving force. If a sister company has extensive experience of a particularly type of project you are bidding for, it makes sense to use it.
“We will continue to operate as locally managed businesses, but with the ability to mobilise global support - a unique combination in our sector. The network is focused on a primary objective, to provide added value to our clients in terms of innovation, skill and performance.”
The countries where Skanska has foundation businesses are the UK, USA, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, India, Poland, Norway, India and Hong Kong.