Adding feathers to their caps

Tomasz Cudowski, Eurobuild CEE: When was it that you realised that the pandemic was something serious?

Michał Małaszyński, management board member, APP-Projekt: The turning point for me was certainly when the MIPIM investment fair in Cannes was called off – it’s the most important event in the sector, which everyone is waiting if for all year. But prior to that, here in Poland the crisis only dawned on us slowly as the projects we were involved in were one by one put on hold. These projects were all at the design stage, but those that work had already begun on had to continue and somehow we managed to do this without too much trouble.

What has been the biggest challenge for you during the pandemic?

Jacek Korwin-Małaszyński, management board member, APP-Projekt: For sure it was the lack of fluidity in terms of moving from one project to another. Our company is structured so that one project leads onto another and they mesh together. Many of these were put on hold. So we also began to work remotely using IT tools. Of course, people were still doing the deliveries and the work on building sites, but now under a strict health and safety regime. Some investors stopped the work on some of their projects and only concentrated on those that were at an advanced stage, while others wanted to finish the building work as quickly as possible or reschedule the starting date. There were also some who just focused on the work that could be done without the need for meetings, such as reports and surveys. All of this required a lot of reorganisation in our company.

Did you succeed?

MM: Of course. We’ve worked on many projects and have a lot of experience of managing in a crisis.

I see that APP-Projekt is becoming increasingly involved in a larger number of projects and in a greater number of roles. It’s not only cost and project management that you do. You also take on project inspection and supervision and have even been employed as general contractors and designers. Is there anything you can’t do?

JK-M: When it comes to construction, probably not [laughs]. Our versatility is down to the fact that our firm is – as we like to put it – a real project supervisor, that offers a comprehensive service and is involved in every aspect of an investment. We’re not just a company that coordinates the work of subcontractors.

Do people sometimes come up to you and ask: “Listen, I’ve got such and such a budget, build me something that will give me a revenue stream?”

JK-M: Of course, and that does indeed happen quite a lot. We can find a suitable plot and do the market research, and get all the permits and organise the construction. And at the end we just hand over the key to the investor. They don’t have to build anything themselves or waste time overseeing the project, which they might not know how to do anyway. Instead they can have one company responsible for everything and just receive a single invoice.

I bet it’s quite a big one…

JK-M: [laughs] Not necessarily. APP-Projekt is still a family firm and we don’t have too much bureaucracy, so we don’t have the same kind of costs as international corporations; and because of this we’re also a lot more flexible and can make instant decisions. And although we are mainly involved in medium-sized projects of between PLN 20 mln and PLN 200 mln, we’ve also worked on contracts worth over a billion złoty. We work with both the smallest and the largest investors and also with some of the best. In Poznań we have been working very closely with Echo Investment, where we are the project supervisor for three big investments for which we are also the designer, the general contractor and the project manager.

What are your plans for the future? Is there any new territory left for you to conquer?

MM: Of course. Among other things we have started to work with a fund that’s building a large apartments for rent portfolio. We believe that this is a market with a future.

And what about the near future? I’m asking this although I already know the answer: do you intend to take part in the Eurobuild tennis tournament, since you have supported it for years as the main partner?

MM: Yes. The APP team is going to be exceptionally strong this year. We were really worried when the June tournament was called off in the spring, as we look forward to the tournament in much the same way as MIPIM. The Eurobuild tennis tournament is also an important event for the sector, if not the most important [laughs]. And it’s definitely important to me because I’ve been taking part since 2009.

That year you did really well – you were the champion. Are you going to be holding aloft the winner’s trophy once again on September 11th?

MM: We’ll see. For sure, as always APP-Projekt will be just giving it everything we’ve got.

JK-M: But this time it’s going to be different. I’m going to win! [laughs]