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