Ruukki Energy sandwich panels were used for the construction of the NOVUS Logistics Center, the first BREEAM-certified food logistics complex in Ukraine, the Rauta press service reports.
“Especially for the logistics terminal, Rauta specialists, which is the exclusive importer of Ruukki sandwich panels in Ukraine, have developed a project of enclosing structures with unique nodes that provide maximum airtightness and significant cost savings during the operation of the facility,” said Rauta Director Andriy Ozeychuk.
As reported, in the spring of 2024, Novus Ukraine LLC, which operates the Novus hyper- and supermarket chain, launched the NOVUS Logistics Center in Kyiv, built according to the BREEAM green building principles with loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The complex was BREEAM certified at the design stage, and now, after commissioning, the company is preparing the facility to receive the international BREEAM certificate for new buildings, rating Good.
With an area of more than 50 thousand square meters and a height of 15 meters, NOVUS Logistics Center is designed for 5.2 thousand pallet spaces and has 18 temperature zones – from -30 to +24 degrees Celsius.
According to Konstantin Parshin, Head of Operational Logistics at NOVUS, thanks to the use of Ruukki sandwich panels, the temperature inside the main room does not fall below the set 15 degrees in winter and does not rise above 20 degrees in summer.
The release emphasizes that the use of Ruukki Energy sandwich panels ensured the building’s airtightness up to q50 = 0.01 m3/h∙m2 and thermal resistance of structures up to R = 7.47 (m2∙K)/W, which are the best indicators for cold storage warehouses.
Founded in 2014, Rauta Group LLC (Rauta) is an engineering and construction company engaged in the design, supply and installation of sandwich panels, ventilated facades and prefabricated buildings. It is the exclusive importer of commercial products from the Finnish concern Ruukki to Ukraine, as well as the developer of a number of innovations that reduce the cost and time of construction.
CONSTRUCTION, NOVUS, OZEYCHUK, RAUTA, RUUKKI, SANDWICH PANELS
The use of Ukrainian-made sandwich panels increased by 15% in the first half of 2024, while sales of imported products decreased by 12%, Andriy Ozeychuk, director of the engineering and construction company Rauta, told Interfax-Ukraine.
“In the first half of 2024, the volume of the Ukrainian sandwich panel market in absolute terms amounted to just over 1 million square meters, which is similar to the figures for 2023. At the same time, the use of Ukrainian-made panels increased by 15%, while sales of imported products decreased by 12%,” he said.
Ozeychuk also emphasized the change in the structure of sandwich panels: their share of mineral wool is decreasing, while the demand for panels with PIR (polyurethane foam – a fire-resistant insulating material based on polyurethane) filler is growing, which has the highest thermal insulation properties and a lower price.
“From 2021 to 2024, the price in euros of PIR-filled sandwich panels decreased by 18%, while mineral wool-filled panels increased in price by 37%,” he said.
At the same time, the Rauta director stated that today the construction of new facilities is actively developing only in western Ukraine, while in other regions it is limited to spot projects and the reconstruction of destroyed buildings.
According to him, the main problem of the construction market, in particular the sandwich panel segment, is a large market decline of 60-70% compared to 2021. Most investors take a wait-and-see attitude and do not risk investing in new projects.
At the same time, despite the war risks, the owners of most of the destroyed commercial and industrial facilities have invested in their restoration to quickly restart their businesses, allowing them to continue to operate efficiently.
In particular, Rauta has implemented a number of large-scale restoration projects, including the Retroville shopping mall in Kyiv, the production shop of the Chernihiv Automobile Plant, and the Novus supermarket in Bucha (Kyiv region).
According to Ozeychuk, the industry’s acute problems are a shortage of personnel, especially among skilled laborers, as well as blackouts.
“For some positions, we have to look for specialists for several months, and sometimes train employees ourselves. That’s why salaries and, accordingly, the cost of construction are rising. Blackouts, which last from two to six hours a day, reduce the productivity of builders, increase the time and cost of construction by 20-40%,” he said.
According to his observations, the program for the restoration and protection of critical infrastructure facilities has the greatest impact among government programs.
“In general, by the end of 2024, we expect the sandwich panel market to remain at the level of 2023 with a possible growth of up to 10%,” Ozeychuk summarized.
Founded in 2014, Rauta Group LLC (Rauta) is an engineering and construction company engaged in the design, supply and installation of sandwich panels, ventilated facades and prefabricated buildings. It is the exclusive importer of commercial products from the Finnish concern Ruukki to Ukraine, as well as the developer of a number of innovations that reduce the cost and time of construction.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/
Commercial real estate restoration projects account for up to 20% of Ukraine’s construction market, Andriy Ozeychuk, director of Rauta engineering and construction company, told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Despite the military risks, the owners of most of the destroyed commercial real estate are investing in their restoration to restart their businesses, which allows companies to continue to operate efficiently. In particular, about 80% of commercial facilities destroyed during the full-scale invasion and located far from the war zone have already been rebuilt or are in the process of being rebuilt,” he said.
According to Mr. Ozeychuk, the figure is lower in the segment of industrial and warehouse buildings, at about 40%.
“For most of these facilities, the owners are looking for financing,” explained the Rauta director.
According to him, among the restoration projects Rauta was involved in were the Retroville shopping center (Kyiv), the production shop of the Chernihiv Automobile Plant, and the Novus supermarket in Bucha (Kyiv region).
Rauta’s experience in restoring commercial real estate shows that often an additional requirement of investors during the restoration of facilities is to improve their energy efficiency and architectural attractiveness, which allows them to optimize costs during the operation of buildings.
According to the World Bank, as of February 2024, Ukraine’s reconstruction needs were estimated at $486 billion, of which about 25% were commercial real estate.
Rauta is a leading provider of reliable construction solutions in Ukraine and the European Union.
According to Opendatabot, Rauta Group LLC was registered in Ukraine in 2014. Its authorized capital is UAH 388 thousand, and its revenue for 2022 is UAH 102.396 million.
The full-scale invasion radically changed the geography and size of the construction market, caused personnel changes, influenced the legislation and also opened up new business segments for Ukrainian construction companies.
Rauta director Andriy Ozeychuk told about trends and changes in construction during 2022-2023.
To date, total amount of losses is more than $150 billion, including the largest losses suffered by the housing stock ($56 billion), infrastructure ($37 billion) and industry ($12 billion). During the two years of the full-scale invasion, about 15% of the production facilities of construction materials were destroyed. At the same time, the segments of rolled steel and dry gypsum mixtures experienced the greatest losses.
Demand
In 2022, the size of the Ukrainian construction market decreased by approximately 65%. In 2023, there is a tendency to consumption growth of construction products and services, and according to the yearly forecasts, the market is expected to increase by 20%. At the same time, the size of the residential real estate market in hryvnia equivalent will remain at the level as it was last year, non-residential construction will grow by 15%, and infrastructure will show an increase of 40%.
The demand structure for new residential real estate in Ukraine has changed dramatically. Front-line regions experienced the biggest drop in construction market to almost 90%, the central part – a decrease up to 70%, and in the west, construction increased by 15%, which is associated with the relocation of businesses and internally displaced persons, as well as the active development of real estate resorts in the Carpathians.
The primary real estate market was reoriented mainly to the west of Ukraine. Developers in other regions are mostly focused on finishing current projects, which were started before March 2022. Currently, most investors do not dare to start new construction projects and take a wait-and-see attitude.
In the Centeral, Northen and Eastern Ukraine, the demand for the reconstruction services of destroyed buildings and structures has significantly increased. A business that has suffered the destruction of real estate needs the reconstruction of buildings in order to resume functioning.
Currently the fastest-growing construction segments are the infrastructure reconstruction, primarily bridges and social buildings, at the expense of state budget and donor funds.
In response to wartime threats, new segments of the construction market appeared: structures for the protection of critical infrastructure facilities and modular reinforced concrete shelters designed to protect people during air raids, artillery fire, etc.
Prices
In 2022-2023, the cost of construction increased by 53%, which led to a similar price increase for the primary real estate market. The construction cost price will continue to grow, which is determined by objective processes, including increased demand and inflation.
Import reorientation
Suppliers of construction materials, which previously imported products from the russia and belarus (glass, bitumen, rolled steel, cement, sandwich panels, etc.), were forced to reorient themselves to supply goods from EU countries and Turkey.
Due to the closure of Ukrainian ports, the import of construction materials by sea (rolled steel, chemicals, decoration materials, etc.) became impossible. Today, the import of these materials to Ukraine takes place mainly through Romania, which has led to an increase in their cost.
At the end of 2023, complications arose with the import of raw materials and construction materials due to blocking by Polish and Slovak carriers of checkpoints on the border with Ukraine. It also caused an increase in prices and delivery times of imported construction materials.
Personnel
During the full-scale invasion, the reduction in the number of the working population of Ukraine amounted to about 35%. The mobilization and emigration of qualified specialists caused a shortage of personnel in the construction industry, which is felt even against the background of a significant market decrease. In the future, this may lead to an increase in wages, which will further increase the cost of construction, but still it will not solve the problem of the lack of qualified personnel.
In this regard, rapid construction technologies, which require a minimum number of workers, are becoming more and more popular. For example, the construction of buildings from sandwich panels requires much smaller number of specialists than in case of installing building from small pieces of materials.
During reconstruction, Ukraine will need a large number of construction specialists, therefore, in the future, we are likely to expect labor migration of qualified personnel from the EU and labor specialties from Asia.
Legislation
Among the main legislative innovations in recent years, there is a notable trend to improve people’s safety and improve the energy efficiency of buildings. Thus, the adoption of amendments to Law No. 2486-IX regulates the requirements for the arrangement of bomb shelters during the construction of new buildings. Also, DBN B.2.6-31:2021 changed the requirements for the minimum permissible values of the reduced heat transfer resistance of the envelope structures of buildings, which increased by an average of 28%.
Preparation for reconstruction
Currently, most Ukrainian investors are preparing for reconstruction and are actively calculating the cost of construction, but as a rule they are waiting for the end of hostilities to start new projects.
International financial institutions are also planning to get involved in reconstruction and are gradually entering the Ukrainian market. The key criteria for financing post-war construction in Ukraine will be transparency and speed of project implementation, so international organizations are already starting to establish partnerships with reliable Ukrainian construction companies. At the same time, priority is given to companies that work with European materials and technologies, which allows to create modern architecturally attractive and energy-efficient buildings.
Rauta has developed several options for master plans development, taking into account different needs and funding opportunities, which may include projects for houses with 1-2 rooms with a separate entrance, own bathroom and kitchen.
“The concept of settlements for migrants is based on the highest speed of construction, comfortable layouts and increased energy efficiency,” said Andriy Ozeychuk, Rauta director. “The unification of production processes and ease of installation make it possible to ensure the mass construction of camps in any region of Ukraine in a few months.”
A distinctive feature of the Rauta proposal in comparison with alternative solutions for temporary residence is that houses made of sandwich panels can be effectively operated for decades and, if necessary, people will stay in such settlements for a long time with a comfortable standard of living.
If sometime the need for such settlements disappears, then the houses can be easily dismantled and moved to other places, as well as repurposed to perform new functions: recreation facilities, administrative centers, outpatient clinics, small commercial or office buildings, etc.
You can see the refugee houses layouts and possible options for master plans at the link.
Kyiv-based Rauta Group LLC, in cooperation with the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Steel Construction Center, has developed a design of prefabricated mobile hospital, which can be constructed within two weeks.
The company said that a mobile hospital has enough space for accommodation of 72 patients and comfortable conditions for work of medical staff. The construction contains two autonomous zones with wards for patients in moderate and critical condition, as well as an intensive care unit, offices for the chief doctor and head nurse, rest rooms for the staff and other premises.
The hospital structure consists of prefabricated sandwich panels which meet all construction standards, sanitary requirements, safety regulations and energy efficiency standards. The design of the building provides a possibility to use renewable energy sources such as solar panels and heat pumps.
Technologies and materials which are highly resistant to viruses, bacterium and frequent sanitation are used in the structure.
The life-time cycle of such a building is more than 30 years.
General Manager of Rauta Group Andriy Ozeychuk said that the project is highly optimized for using ready-made solutions that can be mounted manually without use of wet processes and welding.
“If necessary, such a modular hospital can be easily disassembled and moved to another region, as well as expanded or converted for other purposes,” he said.
Ozeychuk also stressed that “the project of a domestic company should draw attention of the Health Ministry for systemic response to challenges of the pandemic, as well as for the elimination of negative influence of any epidemics and disasters on Ukrainian citizens in future.”
Rauta Group was set up in 2014. Its core business is the design of constructions, supply and assembly of construction materials. The company has a license for the construction of facilities with medium (CC2) and high (CC3) consequences.
According to the unified state register, the owner of a 100% stake in the statutory capital of the company is Andriy Ozeychuk.
The statutory capital of the company amounts to UAH 388,600.
