The construction company Conresta has renewed its identity: since the end of last year, not only in Lithuania but also in other countries wherein it operates, it now goes by the unified trademark Conres. The changes at one of the largest construction companies in Lithuania, which took the leading position in the sector in the ranking compiled by Verslo Žinios last year, were influenced by the increasingly growing volume of work abroad.
‘Despite the changing winds in the construction sector, we are successfully working, and we achieved growth in 2021 . We are one of the leaders in Lithuania, but we also work in foreign markets. As a result, there is now a need for an international, easy-to-understand brand that reflects both our roots and our modernity while at the same time stating who we are,’ says the CEO of Conres, Lukas Laukaitis.
The CEO of Conres in Lithuania, Lukas Laukaitis
Steady growth
Founded in 2009 , the company started its activities with reconstruction works. Having increased the turnover to one million in 2011, the company undertook its first general contracting project. Today, with more than 200 employees, Conres is engaged in various types of construction. Its portfolio includes modern commercial, industrial, residential, public and administrative projects, as well as reconstructions of cultural heritage buildings. During the 13 years of its existence, the company has built and renovated 162 structures, with a total area equalling 106 football stadiums.
Some of the projects implemented by the company are the Palanga Concert Hall, five-star hotel Pacai, Continental factory and Žalgiris Arena Water Sports Centre. Conres is currently building the Lidl Lietuva (Lidl Lithuania) logistics centre, renovating the Medininkai Border Crossing Point and carrying out works at the Vilnius Combined Heat and Power Plant. At the end of last year, Omniva LT, which is planning to construct the most modern parcel sorting terminal in the Baltic States, selected the company as its general contractor. Conres will not only build but also design a 21,000 sq. m terminal, which, according to the customers’ wishes, can also be expanded by at least 50 percent.
Development abroad
In 2017, the company expanded the geography of its operations and entered foreign markets. Having started with Sweden, a year later it won the general contract tender in the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy and has also been operating in France since 2021 . The total Conres turnover in all countries in 2021 was EUR 121.1 million (EUR 84 million of which was in Lithuania), and at the end of 2022, the planned turnover is EUR 115 million.
‘The decision to change the brand was made after evaluating ongoing and potential projects abroad. We felt that the old name was too specific to the construction industry, and it was as if it embedded us into the housing market only. Conres is a more unique name that better reflects our aspirations and the future of the company. Stable growth and continuity of projects in foreign markets are one of the company’s main priorities, but Lithuania remains the company’s main market,’ says L. Laukaitis.
The new Conres brand name is inspired by the aesthetics of architecture, with its large geometric shapes that resemble construction structures. A stable and reliable brand name composition conveys the company’s values and operating principles. The latter, as well as the motto ‘Building the future’, have not changed – Conres will continue to provide advanced, innovative and sustainable services and strive to maintain the position of the country’s leading construction company.
Sweden, the Caribbean and France
In Sweden, in the Stockholm region, Conres has implemented Design-Build projects of residential and public buildings with a total area of up to 100,000 sq.m. The area of ongoing projects reaches 35,000 sq. m. One of the most impressive projects implemented is the 25,000 sq. m apartment building Nya Gatan in Stockholm. It is so far the largest residential construction throughout the entire Conres family of companies.
Ever since the launch of our operations, we have relied on technology and international building standards, looking for the best and most efficient building processes that would allow us to achieve the highest performance in terms of quality, functionality and durability. We focus particularly on sustainable solutions to reduce the impact on the environment: from optimal design solutions, selection of responsible partners, logistics and optimisation to efficient construction,’ says Vaidotas Macys, CEO of Conres in Sweden.
CEO of Conres Sweden, Vaidotas Macys
For many years, the company has also been working on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy, which belongs to the French overseas territory. Conres found itself in this region having received an invitation to help rebuild the island following a natural disaster and did not plan to stay, but now the Caribbean is one of the company’s most strategically important foreign markets.
‘After the 2017 hurricane that devastated the entire Caribbean region, we received an invitation to come and contribute to the reconstruction of Saint Barthélemy. I won’t hide it, at first we thought about whether it was worth going there because, of course, there were questions to which we didn’t really have any answers, but after we went there and assessed all the possible risks and opportunities, we decided to give it a try,’ Donatas Vaitkus, CEO of Conres in the Caribbean, recounts when speaking about how it all began.
CEO of Conres Caribbean, Donatas Vaitkus
Having expanded our operations to an exotic land, we faced unusual challenges: construction standards and regulations that differed from the ones used in Lithuania and significantly higher supply and logistics risks, which required extremely detailed and early planning of the construction process. In the Caribbean, works need to be done in a seismic and hurricane-prone zone of the highest category, where the probability of natural cataclysms is extremely high, thus all design solutions, construction technologies and building materials must be specific and must meet local conditions and set requirements.
However, the Lithuanian company managed to prove that it is ready to work not only in familiar conditions but also in complex and unusual ones. The best proof of this is the construction of one of the largest, most luxurious and complex buildings on the island – a 5-star hotel. Together with world-class architects, designers and subcontractors, Conres has already implemented five extremely large-scale and several smaller but profitable projects in the Caribbean.
The company’s team working on the island of St. Barthélemy consists of not only highly qualified Lithuanian professionals but also specialists from other countries such as France, Israel and Portugal. According to D. Vaitkus, a multicultural team is a great advantage and adds value to the whole team.
‘This allows for faster professional development, sharing international experience and good practice, understanding the local construction requirements, as well as linguistic and cultural differences, which are certainly not lacking in this exotic land. The trust gained due to the timely fulfilment of our obligations to the highest standards builds our reputation among international investors. This is the key to ensure the continuity of the company’s projects,’ says the CEO of the company who is collaborating with the world’s largest companies (Barriere Group, ES Development, Keller, Gilles & Boissier, etc.).
Work in the Caribbean paved the way to the mother country of the island – France. At the beginning of 2021 , the company started providing general contracting and construction services in France. Conres has undertaken a complex historical heritage reconstruction project in France: building a 5-star hotel with a spa centre and all the technological infrastructure for wine production in the town of Pommard, which has old winemaking traditions and is located in the UNESCO-protected area of the famous Burgundy region. The project is truly exceptional: the company is reconstructing an impressive 12th-century castle, building four new hotel structures and setting up a spa centre, underground technical facilities and wine cellars. The entire complex includes almost four hectares of a Premier Cru vineyard.
‘We started working in France after receiving positive recommendations from clients with whom we worked in the Caribbean. Today, we are already considering new projects and negotiating on the implementation of another project. I am happy that thanks to our ambitious team of Lithuanian and French professionals we are successfully managing processes and overcoming challenges related to the extremely high requirements of French construction project management. In general, construction project management is a very complex, dynamic and challenging process, but that’s why it fascinates us,’ says Audrius Malinauskas, CEO of Conres in France.
CEO of Conres France, Audrius Malinauskas
Design and construction: all done by one company
The strengths of Conres that help it to smoothly implement projects are flexible cooperation, focus on what is important to the customer and the ability to skilfully apply modern technological solutions in its activities.Since its establishment, the company has been called a market innovator that successfully changes the settled waters of the construction sector.The company was one of the first in Lithuania to start applying advanced certification systems and international construction standards, such as LEED, BREEAM, BIM and ISO.The company implemented the latter standard back in 2011, and in 2015, it was already employing the BIM system, which at that time was not as popular as it is today.
Conres works using the Design-Build method, where all work, from design to handing over the keys, is done by one company. This leads to greater efficiency for the clients, optimises costs, saves time and helps render the cooperation between the contractor and the customer a flexible partnership, while also ensuring a smooth construction process, as the workflow is planned during the design stage and the preparations are consistent.