The largest builders and real estate developers of Southern Norway were on a study visit to Estonia
21. September
The objective of the three-day visit that ended on 18th
of September was to take a closer look at the manufacturing of prefab and
modular homes and create contacts with Estonian architects and woodhouse
manufacturers.
“Estonia continues to be the biggest exporter of
wooden houses in Europe and several of our companies serve as the most
important pioneers in the field at an international level. As a result, international
interest in our sector and manufacturers is also constantly growing,” Manager
of the Estonian Woodhouse Cluster Lauri Kivil commented on the background of
the visit of Norwegians.
One of the biggest banks in Norway,
SpareBank 1, has developed a
good practice to organise client events, where the most important clients are
taken to foreign countries with an aim to be introduced with various
cooperation options. A representative delegation of 36 members that visited
Estonia was mainly comprised of the top managers of the largest construction
companies and real estate developers of Southern Norway.
KOKO architects showed
the visitors the most outstanding architectural objects of recent times located
in Tallinn, and the delegation also visited the modular home factory of the
second-largest woodhouse manufacturer in Estonia,
Harmet OÜ, in Saue.
“Norwegians are known as very demanding and conscious
clients, especially in the field of wooden houses, where they have very long
traditions,” Member of the Board of Nordic Houses KT, a woodhouse manufacturing
company, Argo Saul said and added: “We are greatly honoured that they decided
to come precisely to Estonia to have a closer look at the options of wooden
house building.”
The study visit culminated in a seminar, which
specifically focused on the manufacturing of prefab and modular homes. It is
known that both Estonia and Norway both have long-term traditions of building
wooden houses, and it is important to share experiences and keep abreast of
current developments in the market.
“The visit will certainly create an excellent baseline
for future business relationships, and contributes to further stimulation of
the export of Estonian wooden houses to Norway and strengthens the existing
cooperation,” Saul confirmed.
Over the recent years, Estonia has become known as the
biggest EU exporter of wooden houses – the production of local woodhouse
manufacturers has reached 70 countries. Nearly 40 % of production is
exported to Norway.
The construction companies and real estate developers
of Southern Norway on a study visit concerning the woodhouse sector of Estonia