Dear colleagues,
I had hoped that I wouldn’t have to mention the corona virus anymore in my end-of-year message for 2021, but unfortunately... During this fourth wave, we all know at least someone, from your family, friends or colleagues, that has been affected by the virus. How this pandemic will evolve further, is immensely hard to predict. Research and well thought-out collective efforts are our best means to protect ourselves and the people we love. The motto Optimism is a moral duty[1] is perfect for this pandemic, which will definitely go down in history.
Optimism is also something you have all massively shown in 2021. We have proven again how resilient we are collectively. An example of this can be found in Europe, where we haven’t suffer any losses in terms of revenues because of the pandemic, even while respecting all the measures that were imposed. Measures and working methods were changed at short notice more than once, but it was fantastic to see how flexible you all were and how quick you adapted, often even with much enthusiasm.
The results of 2021 haven’t been fully evaluated yet, but some things are sure already:
Flanders / Brussels is having a good year, in which it performs better than the postulated budget. Getting a consistent gross margin of 10% on all projects isn’t always successful, however, all projects are managed very well from start to finish. Thanks to our powerful teams, we can set the bar higher each time. This results in us gradually growing a stronger position and that gives us energy.
The Netherlands won’t live up to the expectations in 2022 either. This is mostly due to one project: the A16 in Rotterdam. Recently, we have reinforced the team there and the whole company is helping with full support and enthusiasm to rectify the situation. Fighting back is deeply rooted in who we are, of which we are already benefiting from. The reinforcement of the teams is also in line with the strategy Nic and his team are implementing in the whole country. That way, we can focus again on our core business, the projects.
Wallonie and Luxembourg won’t reach the envisaged results, this is mainly due to two projects that are costing us more than expected. The necessary talks with the clients are going positively. As always, we are cautious in terms of finances in these sorts of situations as long as there’s no agreement. I except that this situation will have a favourable outcome in 2022.
France is at a turning point in its existence. On the one hand, there are three medium-sized projects that we accepted a couple of years ago with terms that we shouldn’t have agreed upon, which results in us now having financial difficulties. On the other hand, other recent projects, like Saint-Denis Pleyel and Tour Triangle, are reasons to be optimistic! There as well, we will have to manage all operational and contractual challenges well to achieve the envisaged results. In 2021, we expect slightly positive results, but for 2022, our ambitions are significantly higher.
Lastly, I would like to express my admiration for the efforts that we’re made and results that we’re achieved in terms of safety and health on the site of Saint-Denis Pleyel. Because of your commitment and passion, that site is now, at least to me, the perfect example for our Group and even for the sector. The site is an epitome of order and cleanliness, which also increases quality and productivity on site. Safety and results are going hand in hand.
In Italy, we are participating in only one project, with one single, but incredible, full time employee active. The works between Perugia and Ancona are progressing steadily. In the beginning of 2022, we will beginning to work on the tunnel, thus we’ll enter a new phase. This experience in Italy is also very interesting for us, as Italy is the home of many well-educated engineers who sometimes use different techniques than us and from whom we can therefore learn.
I want to wish you two things for 2022 professionally. They are closely related to those of 2021, because we certainly need to further develop them:
1) Make being curious part of your attitude: Curiosity has two important benefits in a professional environment. Firstly, it ensures that misunderstandings and problems are avoided and secondly, it brings out more creativity, which benefits our problem-solving competences.
2) Lean planning & digitalisation of all our projects: together with the Engineering team, we developed a road map in which we make a selection of tools for digitalisation that we will use for the tenders and launches of our projects. There, clear choices have been made, so that we can learn and evaluate more quickly.
Finally, I would like to wish you a happy holiday season and a splendid start of the new year.
I look forward to further collaborating with you in 2022.
Jan
[1] Sir Karl Raimond Popper – Austrian - British philopher (1902 – 1994)