Nordec Group is the leading steel structure and related façade/roofing supplier in the Nordic markets with a strong foothold also in the CEE markets. In addition, the group is a leading supplier of steel bridge structures for the Nordic infrastructure markets. Headquartered in Finland, the group operates production facilities in Finland, Poland, and Lithuania.
Established just a few years ago, the Group has experienced steep growth unaffected by the global post-pandemic economic downturn. CEO Kalle Luoto explains Nordec’s development since its inception.
“Nordec was created in 2020 by merging two strong players in the industry, Normek and Ruukki Building Systems, giving us the experience and know-how of our predecessors, accumulated over their decades-long operating histories. That really forms the backbone of our operations and our capabilities, enabling us to participate in a wide range of exciting and complex projects.”
“Our strength is the ability to combine the design of the frame, including overall dimensioning and detailing, with complete manufacture and project delivery,” he notes, affirming that design plays a crucial role and is a key driver in achieving overall project efficiency.
“Our design expertise, together with our integrated production, experienced project management and installation capability, will allow our customers to implement their construction projects efficiently and reliably in terms of both cost and time.”
This comprehensive capability and wide-ranging experience in delivering complex projects in a reliable manner is also one of the factors that distinguishes Nordec in the marketplace.
Key partner for key projects
Since the formation of the Nordec Group in 2020, the business has been growing significantly despite the challenging market environment of the last few years and the current economic downturn. “We expect to be close to doubling our turnover by the end of 2023,” says Kalle Luoto.
Over the last few years Nordec has successfully completed many large-scale projects for its key customers, many of whom are long-term partners of the company. The list is long and spans the full range of construction segments.
For example, two years ago Nordec won the contract to fabricate and install all the steel structures for the Kruunuvuorensilta bridge in Helsinki, the highest and longest bridge ever to be built in Finland.
In the area of logistics construction, Nordec has been delivering a number of large-scale projects to many of its key customers, such as the currently ongoing projects in Landskrona, to be built ultimately for the use of DSV.
The company is currently also involved in most of the ongoing Nordic construction projects in the battery value chain, such as the Freyr Giga-Factory being built in the northern part of Norway.
More recently, Nordec has been selected as the provider and installer of steel constructions and load-bearing roof sheets at the production building of Sibanye-Stillwater’s Keliber lithium refinery that is expected to supply the first integrated, regionally produced lithium into the European green energy ecosystem.
Supporting the green transition
“Over the last few years, we have been increasingly involved in sizable construction projects in industrial and logistics buildings but also in virtually all of the construction projects related to the batteries value chain under way here in the North. However, an important part of our project portfolio still consists of office buildings, hotels, shopping centres as well as schools and hospitals.”
He further admits that the current economic climate makes construction investment decisions difficult, but the challenge is being well handled by Nordec. “Luckily the underlying momentum in some of the key segments for us, such as logistics and industrial investments driven by the green transition, continues quite strongly and we have a particularly strong presence and offering in those segments.”
“We have just very recently signed a construction agreement with H2 Green Steel for two buildings in their new green steel plant in Boden, Sweden, under which we will deliver structures for their melt shop as well as the casting and hot rolling operation.’
Sustainable approach
Despite the economic downturn, sustainability remains high on the company’s list of priorities, and is reflected in Nordec’s both external activities & internal operations. “We are actively
involved with many of our customers in executing the industrial construction projects needed to direct existing businesses towards a greener future.”
“Similarly, we are helping to create completely new green or sustainable businesses such as the entire battery value chain, ranging from, for example, lithium production projects to battery assembly and recycling projects. To a very large extent we have been strongly involved in all of these projects in the Nordic markets as well as in the CEE.”
Nordec is also striving to reduce the carbon footprint when it comes to its own supply. “There are various ways in which we can contribute, ranging from designing structures in a material-efficient manner to including usage of complementary materials such as wood in the design, and maximising usage of recycled material applied in projects. In some cases, we also help our customers in terms of designing better energy efficiency of the overall building.”
Ready for new opportunities
He reflects that as the focus on the green transition increases and more investment in being made to mitigate climate change, Nordec will invest in line with increased demand. “We will need to continue to enhance our operations to secure continuous improvement but are also considering capacity expansion as our business grows.”
Speaking about future prospects, he points out that although the macro-economic outlook for the near future is not encouraging, with the construction sector being badly hit particularly in terms of residential development, this will not hinder Nordec’s growth.
“We still see substantial project activity going on in many of our markets and segments, such as green steel, the battery value chain and logistics to name just a few. So, our target is to secure continued growth in the years to come. The green transition is a major driver behind many significant investment programmes and this presents interesting opportunities for us. Needless to say, we want to participate actively in meeting that challenge.”
