The economic event is organized under the cap of the platform launched by the development manager of 'Spegra' Maja Borovina Frankić at the beginning of 2023 – Building.hr – with the intention of gathering the best participants from the world of construction in one place, and already in the first half of the year, 850 companies joined the platform
For more than thirty years, the Split company "Spegra" has successfully specialized in performing special construction works, those who are looking for specific knowledge and skills, such as the renovation of the Old Bridge in Mostar or the Zagreb Cathedral, which they are currently working on.
With the arrival of the youngsters in this family company, new ideas and initiatives have opened, so Maja Borovina Frankić, head of development at "Spegra", is preparing the largest construction event in Croatia, "Masters of Building Fair", which will be held in Rovinj in October next year. The economic event is organized under the cap of the platform launched at the beginning of 2023 – Building.hr – with the intention of gathering the best participants from the world of construction in one place and offering them all the information, contacts and other content relevant to the industry. Already in the first half of the year, 850 construction companies accessed the platform.
– Platform Building.hr is a useful and unique business tool that we have created aware of what the market needs, which we are a part of. The idea of Bulding.hr is not from yesterday, it has been developing for a whole decade, and this year we launch it as an exclusive digital ecosystem of the construction market. Construction is generally poorly digitized, a sluggish industry that lacks data systematics, supply and demand, B2B communication, and the time in which we live inevitably imposes a much faster pace and we have decided to offer a solution that, I can freely say, does not exist on the European market. For now, clients respond extremely positively to Building.hr and very well recognize the benefits and benefits they have. The most important thing for us is to continue to grow, achieve successful cooperation and gain the trust of reputable business entities on the market – says Maja Borovina Frankić.
Who all joined the platform? The author says that their clients are "stakeholders" of construction, whether they are companies of technical, economic or any other orientation, and they work in the construction market. In addition to construction companies, they have consultants, IT companies, clients who provide physical and technical protection, manufacturers and sellers of materials, tools, joinery, real estate agencies, development... Absolutely everyone who works on the market or has an interest in construction is invited to join, says Borovina Frankić.
The platform aims to improve the construction sector in every way, emphasizes the creator of the platform, which also encompasses the workforce.
– Due to the increasing shortage of labor in our market, as well as weak fluctuations, and extremely high advertising costs on existing services, we have decided to provide this opportunity to our clients with minimal fees. I am, after all, a member of the family business "Spegra" and everything I built into the architecture of the platform was in the desire to, instead of frustration with the problems we face, provide a solution for them.
It is important to say that the platform Building.hr intends to continuously offer up-to-date data that is important to clients or data about the clients themselves. This certainly implies great work and people who will deal with all the data on the platform, the formation of the entire team, new employees...
–Absolutely. The team Building.hr in just one year has grown significantly, and especially now with the organization Masters of Building Fair. My business policy is that we also have external business partners, and we function as a unique team. High competencies are needed to work on such projects and I wanted partners who have developed specialties and teams that will be each for their own field and to foster individualism in long-term cooperation. So far, this has proven to be a good approach, and in addition, people profiled with skills that work in an innovative and digital environment will grow within our organization.
In the world of construction, reactions to Building.hr are excellent.
– People are aware that this is not the future, but the present. Nowhere do you have accurate real-time data in an automated system without intermediaries. The information and interactive platform Building.hr is the only comprehensive solution for all market participants regardless of size, orientation or interest and meets all the needs that companies may have from a digital tool. I like to emphasize that the platform does not eliminate man as most technologies do, but on the contrary – man is in the focus of action in our country and everything he needs can have in a simpler way. That's why our slogan is "We make it simple".
And finally, the "Masters of Building Fair" seems like a logical continuation of this whole project. It will be the first such large gathering on the topic of construction, which will be held at the end of next year.
– This is the first high-profile event for the construction and real estate sectors, and for the touching sectors, just like on the platform. Consultants, providers of financial services, insurance, logistics, IT, tech, decision-makers, private and public investors... We have a lot of small events in Croatia, and from now on we will have one that suits us considering the importance of the sector in the economy. At this economic event, participants will get everything they need: business opportunities, education, opportunities to develop and implement innovations, finding partners, market news and "networking" – the most important of all sectors that intertwine through business. I realized that even given the capacities of our economy, it is unrealistic that we do not have one big event, just as it is insane that we have an incredible number of small ones. No one has time to go around every event so much, and it is necessary to interact with news and market participants, therefore "Masters of Building" is again a response to, I would say, a shortage in the market. When you go to Germany or Italy or elsewhere in Europe, you know what event you're going to. That's how mbf will be for Croatia.
However, there is still a year to go to Rovinj, there is a lot of work to do in front of Maja Borovina Frankić's team.
– We started the organization in spring 2023. Such a high-profile event requires synergy of teams from all partners involved. The event is conceived in the form of an exhibition part, conferences and a significant number of events with the aim of "networking". It will be held in the capacities of "Maistra" in Rovinj, as part of TDR, hotels "Grand Park" and "Monte Mulini". Everything is organized at the highest level and each concept is analyzed in detail. Finally, we will have a recognizable event for the sector as other countries have and let foreign visitors come to us, not just us abroad. We, thinking of Croatian companies and experts, belong to Europe and Europe we are.
Considering how many companies have joined building.hr, such a good response to the fair is expected.– Everyone is aware that we all need it. No one has time to go to an event every now and then, and maintaining and getting contacts, educating and informing about the offer and the state of the market are inevitable, so the most common reaction is when they realize that by coming to one event they will get everything they need – finally! If we look at it in the form of marketing, and I would always primarily emphasize growth and development, then "Masters of Building Fair" and Building.hr places where investment gives results. Anyone who considers themselves part of the market will be there. I am especially proud of the fact that we have been recognized by reputable institutions in the market that will join the joint realization of this project. My father always taught us to cultivate cooperation with science and the profession, so I imagined that at MBF. And not one profession, but all professions with which construction has contact. In our family, all builders, however, father and mother also had to develop economic skills in order to develop the enterprise. Father recently received an honorary doctorate from the University of Split, the highest degree of honor you can get from science. Brother Ante, along with the Faculty of Civil Engineering, completed an MBA in economics, and I, as a doctoral economist with many years of work in the construction industry, also function positively bipolarly, if that is the right term. In addition, today we all need to be technologically and digitally literate, so all this is a logical sequence. These are ideas that have arisen from real circumstances and operatives, with a broad view, respect and appreciation of all involved, the desire for a positive contribution to the market, and I think that this is the right way for excellence – says Maja Borovina Frankić, who expects the arrival of companies from the region, of course, and from close European markets in Rovinj next year.