It is more than two decades since the Kőház Ltd. was founded in Pécs, Baranya County. It has grown into a significant, decisive company of the construction industry under the leadership of Csaba Nemes. The secret of their success is that they work in high quality, well organized, well-managed way and they continuously train their staff to secure income and professional development. Csaba Nemes, both as a businessman and as a private person, works on creating in Pécs an economically and socially attractive environment. His work was recognized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Pécs-Baranya by an Angster József Prize.
– I founded the predecessor of Kőház Ltd. in 1982 and the company developed well until the explosion of the economic crisis. We also lived in several business forms – says Csaba Nemes. “During the crisis, many construction companies have faded, so we were lucky, because we already had good reputation and our motto has become reality: “Whoever works once with us, wants to work with us afterwards always”. During the crisis we had work all the time, not too much, but we survived and now we can ripe its fruit. The key to our success is that we have a customer circle, our staff is excellent, I have a colleague who has been working for 35 years, have been here for 30 years, and have lots of people who have 20 years of work. With such devoted staff we can bring the quality that we call “Kőház Quality” and which is our trademark.
- So, perseverance, appreciation and training of staff, knowledge of new techniques and trends is the key to success.
- Yes, in the construction industry, continuous learning is essential, as the materials and techniques are changing, so it is important that the colleagues who work for us are open to learn new techniques. This is the basis for the company’s success.
- It is also worth noting that your colleagues have been working for such a long time in the company. What is the strength to keep them at Kőház Ltd.?
– I find it important to have a good, personal relationship. It’s not a good thing if someone doesn’t want to go to work in the mornings. The nice atmosphere is evitable at the workplace, and it has its practices: to be esteemed financially, but also in other ways. We try to pay attention to everybody, birthdays, and other holidays are important as well. I can say that this is a great family, we know each other’s joys and sorrows, even though nearly 100 people work in the group now.
- The Angster József Prize also expresses the commitment to Pécs. Why has the company remained in Pécs, what is it giving to the city and what does it they get from it?
- I was born and I live here in Pécs. At the beginning we worked a lot around in the country, while now we are almost exclusively work in Pécs. Most of our employees are in Pécs or near, with their own transportation from small villages. Personally, Pécs means very much to me. I travel to Budapest a lot, but I feel like I’m home here. We do a lot of work in Pécs, where the financial gain is not the decisive factor but rather the local patriotism, to help my city.
- What kind of co-operation and support can your company expect?
- With the help of the Chamber a construction cluster emerged, and I was asked to be the vice president. I support this cooperation; this kind has long been waiting for itself in Pécs.
- Where can Kőház Ltd. develop further?
- We are facing new challenges, which we have to deal with very cautiously, so I estimated a careful progress on the future of the company. One of the reasons for this is that I don’t know when the current shortage of labor is going tostop, and the other reason is that both the economic professionals and the chamber say that the current build-up in the industry will fall back after 2020. I take these into account in the development of the business. We have also applied for machinery purchases, new premises, new office building, which will change the company, so today a kind of healthy development is characterized by Kőház Ltd.