Modular construction in Ukraine has taken off in order to rebuild the country. John McMullen, marketing director, Modular Building Institute explores the task at hand
Bruce Talley, chief operating officer at OFC Incorporated, is trying to ensure that Ukraine’s eventual rebuilding efforts are based on a technology known for its speed and adaptability: modular construction.
During his most recent visit to Ukraine, Talley was invited to share his knowledge of the industry at several building conferences. His first stop: KyivBuilds.
Hosted in Ukraine’s capitol May 16-17, the KyivBuilds conference was attended by over 7,300 people, with 161 companies exhibiting.
There Talley spoke to a group of Ukrainian mayors, developers, and architects about modular housing. Talley then travelled to Irpin and Zhytomyr to talk about modular building applications in those cities.
Modular construction will help to provide much-needed housing in Ukraine
“The quality of modular building and the uses are much greater than I realized. Modular building will be in great demand in Ukraine to solve housing,” said Oleksandr Markushin, Mayor of Irpin.
“I learned a lot from Bruce’s presentation. I think modular building will be very important for Ukraine’s rebuilding,” said Artem Shira, director of Nerex, a water treatment and purification company.
Following his talks in Kyiv, Irpin, and Zhytomyr, Talley attended the UNation conference on May 20th in Odesa. Topics included rebuilding, tech incubators, and the reforms that Ukraine needs to instate to attract foreign investment, as well as regional issues affecting Odesa.
Also discussed were several large business parks to be developed in Ukraine, with retail, housing, Olympic training, medical, offices, and redevelopment of an airport.
Modular construction is both time-saving and cost-effective
The opportunities for modular construction in Ukraine, it seems, are boundless. But for the industry to make an impact, inroads will need to be made.
“In general,” said Talley, “I’m in Ukraine to meet with people, look at potential production sites (especially in western Ukraine, but not limited to there), and discuss modular housing and container conversion applications for apartments, homes, retail, offices, schools, and hospitals.
“Everyone is interested in solutions that will save time and money and control costs and outcome. Clearly, employment is driving a lot of thought. However, at each event I have attended that has been a lot of discussion around Smart Cities and sustainable development. So much has been damaged in some areas, that instead of rebuilding like it was, cities will look and work differently with new infrastructure.
It’s early yet to make predictions on when rebuilding efforts can be made in earnest, but Talley sees an opportunity for the global industry to get involved when the time is right. That said, it won’t be a cake walk.
“When we’re talking about getting involved in Ukraine, there is a steep learning curve,” says Talley. “There are cultural and legal barriers that will be new to many, especially to North American companies. So, it’s possible. But if a manufacturer or builder wants to acquire our abilities, our knowledge, our culture, cultural understanding and language skills, and ability to bridge that gap, I think we can do that very well.”
