Last year was a period of many challenges for Adrem, a company with activities in the energy sector, which emerged as a result of legislative changes that affected the entire market. Despite the difficulties, the group ended 2019 with a total turnover of 40 million euros, and for 2020 it estimates an increase of 10%, based on the portfolio of contracts with a value of over 115 million euros. The Adrem Group includes three Romanian energy companies – Adrem Engineering, Adrem Invest and Adrem Link – has invested over 20 million euros in the last 5 years, in the development of electricity production capacities from renewable resources, machinery and equipment, solutions IT and staff development. For the next 4-5 years, the company’s management estimates that the evolution of the Adrem group will be solid, based on long-term contracts, and profitability will be increasing.
Adrem is a Romanian entrepreneurial company, part of ABBC Group, which has subsidiaries on four continents, in countries such as China, Switzerland and the USA.
Adrem is a Romanian entrepreneurial company, part of ABBC Group, which has subsidiaries on four continents, in countries such as China, Switzerland and the USA.
Interview with Corneliu Bodea (50 years old), CEO of the Adrem group and President of the Romanian Energy Center (CRE). The manager has 28 years of professional experience in the energy market.
– Despite the difficulties encountered on the energy and construction market in 2019, with a lot of work, involvement and dedication, we managed to achieve a large part of the proposed objectives, and this year we will continue the activities and identify solutions to help us return to advantage. We managed to maintain a turnover of 40 million euros in 2018, despite GEO 114. In 2019, we maintained our ability to contribute to maintaining the security of the energy sector by providing complex services and products and by expanding product portfolio dedicated to end consumers. We estimate that this year we will have a 10% increase in turnover. We will resume the strategic objectives of 2019 and will continue to be involved in major projects, in particular general entrepreneurship and energy efficiency, in gas transmission and energy distribution infrastructure. We will also continue the strategic direction of diversifying the client portfolio in the B2C area and, implicitly, of developing services and products for the final consumers of energy, industrial, municipal or domestic.
– What impact did the application of GEO 114 have on the group?
–One of the biggest effects was the impact of the ordinance on our customers, which led to a decrease in the volume of works. With the measures required by law, our partners had to reduce their allocated budgets, which led to the allocation of our project budgets. Thus, we had to adjust costs quarterly, rethink the business model and identify new development opportunities, such as diversifying the portfolio with energy efficiency products and solutions. However, it was also a good measure, which we also benefited from, namely the increase of the minimum wage in construction. It was advantageous because the main problem of the market was the lack of staff, due to going abroad. And in the future, I hope to see more beneficiaries and a positive effect on the economy. For Adrem, the impact of this measure was two million lei because we increased the salaries in the chain in order to keep the peace in the company and increase the motivation of the employees. The amendment of the ordinance brings a new period of unpredictability, although it was an absolutely necessary measure. We hope that this kind of hasty interventions in the economy will disappear in the future!
– What are the main projects you are working on and what projects did you contract in 2019?
– Among the most important projects of Adrem are the contracts for periods of four and eight years for the provision of services such as maintenance and administration of measurement groups, with some of the main energy and gas distributors – CEZ, E.ON, Enel and Electrica. We are also involved in major projects for the expansion and development of gas transmission and energy distribution infrastructure: BRUA and complex SCADA automation solutions for SDEE Transilvania Sud. At the same time, in 2019 we focused on smart metering, smart grid and digital transformation projects. In addition, an important step we have taken is to diversify the B2C portfolio with new products and energy efficiency solutions. Last year, we became one of the authorized installers of photovoltaic systems for individuals, within the “Green House” program, launched by the Environment Fund Authority, and this year we will continue these activities to get back on track. In 2019, we contracted about 115 million euros, almost 10% more than the previous year. I estimate that in the next 4-5 years, the evolution of the Adrem group will be solid, based on long-term contracts, and profitability will increase.
– What are the future directions of action for the development of the company?
– In the next period, we aim to increase the portfolio of B2C clients, maintaining the satisfaction of the current ones, and to be a reliable partner of the communities in which we operate. We have recently adopted a diversification strategy aimed at developing energy efficiency services and products for both energy-using users such as municipalities, industrial and retail consumers, as well as for residential consumers and large office buildings. small. An important investment that we set out to make this year is the development of human resources. Currently, we are working on an internal training program for staff from all departments and from all positions, and in the external environment we are involved in various programs for the development of students, high school students and entrepreneurs. Personally, I have an ambitious plan that I follow and that brings me great satisfaction: to use my experience of almost 30 years of entrepreneurship to guide and inspire other entrepreneurs in my turn. I hope that in this way I will make my small contribution to the evolution of business and to the modernization of our country.
– What are the difficulties and challenges you face in working?
– The unpredictable legislative framework, such as GEO 114, is an example of a tough challenge you can take on as an entrepreneur, especially when talking about businesses with tens of millions of euros and hundreds or even thousands of employees. Following the ordinance, we were forced to reorganize at an extremely fast pace, because certain provisions of it concerned the area of constructions related to network infrastructure, in which we also operate. These provisions have pressured us to move hundreds of employees from one company to another overnight and reorganize so that we can offer employees the maximum benefits. Another challenge is, indeed, the labor shortage, which is becoming a critical issue, not so much in our company, but in the market as a whole. With Adrem, we managed to build a strong employer brand, in the vast majority of areas where we are present, thus maintaining and even attracting new employees quite well, the staff turnover being 8%. We could not maintain this percentage without giving people a vision and together with the management team to inspire them for that vision. Therefore, I believe that in the long run, Romania needs a concrete vision and country plan through which to regain the trust of the citizens, to show them what it can do for them and to give them confidence in the future.
– What do you expect from the future Government?
– I think the biggest expectation is to strengthen the market and ensure a predictable environment in which all players can carry out their activities safely. There is an acute lack of predictability that we entrepreneurs have become accustomed to, which has made us much more adapted to unforeseen situations. But this does not mean that we can continue like this indefinitely and, of course, in this way we cannot progress. Another expectation is the completion of the National Energy Strategy, a project in which I was also involved and which took place during three governments and which is not yet applicable. In order to give confidence to Romanians and to develop sustainable projects that are also applicable, the current and future government should create a country project that will bring us progress and the security of tomorrow..
Article published on https://www.agendaconstructiilor.ro
