Finnpartnership:

Betonimestarit Oy exports building expertise to India

A few years ago, Betonimestarit Oy went to India to identify opportunities for producing concrete frames and elements. The company is headquartered in Iisalmi and it has production at various locations across Finland. It had previous experience of international markets from Sweden.

The Indian government is supporting a residential housing programme which requires local construction companies and real estate investors to adopt new technologies and an international partner. Betonimestarit had received several contact requests and went to India to learn more about potential partners. It ultimately selected an Indian steel industry manufacturer to establish a joint venture.

The shareholders of the joint venture are the Indian Simplex Group and Sarga Energy and the main owner of the Betonimestarit Group, Invest Saarelainen Oy.

Production of elements launched

The joint venture’s concrete element factory has begun operations in Khopol, near Mumbai.
The first production hall is complete and the production of wall elements has been started. A production line for hollow-core slabs is under construction.

Some of the equipment for the production facility has been supplied by Elematic, a Finnish concrete element manufacturer. The total value of the project exceeds 10 million euros. The funding is from Indian business partners and Betonimestarit is supplying the necessary know-how.

Finnpartnership providing support

Betonimestarit received business partnership support from Finnpartnership for preparing its business plan and seeking partners in India.

Identifying Indian business partners was successful, a joint organisation was established and production has been started. The form of funding provided by Finnpartnership has been good and functional.

Finnpartnership also granted support for training the personnel of the joint venture, but this support was not used by Betonimestarit. Starting of the training has been the greatest challenge of the project. Betonimestarit has negotiated with several vocational institutes and polytechnics but has not received quotations for training either in Finland or on-site in India.

A new way of construction in India

Element construction is still an unfamiliar construction method in India. Houses are usually built entirely on site. Constructing an apartment building takes typically 2-4 years, while the same project in Finland usually takes a year.

Besides shortening the building time, element construction preserves natural resources and improves safety. With concrete elements of consistent quality, the required strength is obtained with less cement and other raw materials.

An entrepreneur needs honesty, openness, hard work and above all patience in India. Finding the right partner is very important.