Socially Responsible Since Starting My Enterprise (2. strana)

BUSINESS Firstly, it was our biggest contract so far and it informed huge numbers of people about our company’s expertise. Secondly, the construction is absolutely unique. Even though we have done more work in various zoos, this one remains absolutely extraordinary. I also think highly of the Františkov Housing Estate, which was our first development plan; we built it and I was also a partner in the construction from the very beginning, from when the real estate was identified (situated in the centre of Ostrava, the premises of an organization gone bankrupt in 2008, all covered in wild flora when we came in), to the preparation, design, and sales of the flats. Both these jobs were awarded Construction of the Year awards, therefore I believe they also appeal to the expert jury. Our recent contracts have been very inspiring projects which earned us three awards in the Construction of the Year competition in 2019. This is a huge success for me and all the company. You participate in the renovation of many heritage buildings, and bring brown fields back to life. Are they standard jobs for you, or do you feel something special about the cultural heritage? Cultural heritage is a regular part of our job, though we do not always have the necessary references to win public competitions. When we do, it is a very enjoyable work: I believe that not only myself but everybody in my company enjoy collaborating on renovating historical sites. It is great to see how our ancestors who did not have the technologies of modern civil engineering succeeded in making what is now a common standard, to bring these features back to life. It is nice to see people doing masterpiece plaster jobs even though you hardly ever recruit a builder with proper qualifications. My most memorable brownfield project is the Visitors Centre in the Lower Area of Vítkovice, built in 2015. At the same time, we were building Bolt Tower and Gong Hall there, too. I am very happy that we have these buildings in the Lower Area of Vítkovice which are so significant. If we succeed in building more constructions of this kind, I will feel very happy. You have been an entrepreneur for all of your professional life. What opportunities are there for regional construction companies? I am afraid that regional construction companies are in a difficult position when competing with large international builders. We may win a competition thanks to our qualification and competence when realizing the construction projects, but great international companies with multibillion dollar turnover may reduce their prices just to keep their regional operation busy before they win another project which smaller business cannot win due to a lack of the right qualifications and references. What a pity that our politicians have not invented a tool within the past thirty years to support local businesses in these competitions. Ostrava is not Prague; private businesses do not invest so much here. Most businesses then compete to win public contracts, which results in price dumping far from the reality of actual costs and decent profits. Yet I believe that if young people stop moving to Prague from Ostrava, if they stay in our region instead, a better quality of life is just a matter of time, and new businesses, more homes and more construction will appear. Do you build only when contracted, or do you also create your own development projects? We recently built the Žárovec na Čeladné Housing Estate development project for a client. In 2017, we finished another similar project as our own, where Bystroň Group was one of the partners of the developer and, at the same time, the builder. It was the forty-two-flat Františkov Housing Estate in Silesian Ostrava. We are currently preparing our own projects to be realized via Bystroň Development. I know you as a keen sportsman. Is it only a hobby, or an opportunity to develop business relations? I have the most positive relationship with sports. I have played various sports since I was little: I played ice-hockey, did trackand-field and I am still an active sportsman. It is a great hobby and leisure I cannot live without. It is the best and most efficient compensation for the pressure I occasionally suffer at work. The hobby has become a business in a way. It was a coincidence that the facility where I am a business partner became the home for the greatest fitness centre in Ostrava in 2014. This is where I start myself up almost each morning. I also motivated my children to play sports. My eldest son used to play ice-hockey; now he is a coach at our fitness centre and a fitness coach for the RT Torax Poruba hockey players. My daughter finished High School in Minneapolis, USA, and is going to study Sports Management at university, and my youngest son, who works in our company, spends a good share of his time in the gym, too. I am glad my children enjoy sports, and I believe that they will feel the same forever. Even though I currently play sports only for leisure, I do my best for our enterprise to be socially responsible. For years we have sponsored sports clubs in the Ostrava district, I am often surprised that it is not more common for businesses to do that. I think regional sports deserve the attention. Thank you for the interview. Otázky připravil: Vít Ruprich Foto: archiv Bystroň Group a.s. Dolní oblast Vítkovice, informační centrum www.bystrongroup.cz POSITIV 2/2020 ǀ 27