Construir interviews Pedro Gon?alves, Marketing and Sales Director at GRUPEL

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“Gensets can be a complementary source of energy to [renewable] systems. The future will be in this joint generation.”

What impact has the growth of the construction and real estate business had on your activity?

Grupel provides numerous solutions for the construction sector. In recent years, there have been many construction sites around the world particularly Portugal and Spain, to which Grupel has provided power through our generator sets. The growing activity of this sector has meant, therefore, an increase in business for Grupel as well, since our generators have achieved a great reputation for their quality, robustness and adaptability to the conditions of the worksite (such as dust, dirt, outdoor operation, easy mobility, etc.).

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In the last two years we have witnessed a technological acceleration and a digital transformation, with emphasis on greater connectivity. How does this reality influence your business and product development?

Yes, this acceleration has also left very real marks at Grupel. Not least because we have been actively pursuing it in different parts of our action. Even during the pandemic, and probably in counter-cycle, we undertook a huge investment program, equipping our plant with the most modern technology in the industry.

More recently, we started a partnership with the Kaizen Institute, which is supporting us in implementing methods to optimize our production process. A strategy that accompanies a long-standing effort to digitally transform our processes and to integrate all the systems we work with, from the shop floor to engineering and logistics.

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What trends can you anticipate? And what are the main challenges they pose? As a company that operates in different markets, are these issues and trends transversal to the different geographies?

Grupel will continue to work to provide its customers with an excellent service, and innovative products, such as hybrid models (of which we will have news later this year, with the start of some major projects).

However, as you rightly say, we are a worldwide company, and we must be aware of the different needs in the different geographies. This is essentially our biggest challenge.

On the other hand, the area of special projects, in which we invest so much, will also be where more demands will occur, due to the complexity of the projects.

One of Grupel's mottos is to be one minute ahead, and we will do everything to make this happen.

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What is your analysis of the Portuguese market and its evolution? Which segments do you see as having the greatest growth potential?

We foresee that power generators will continue to gain an increasing relevance, even in Portugal, where the electric grid is safe and stable.

There seems to be a change in mentality, even in the case of grid stability, due to the events in the Ukraine. The consumer is more aware of this need.

There will always be a need to secure power to support activities that take place in remote areas where the power grid does not reach, or in sectors where a failure in supply will have disastrous consequences, such as healthcare, large construction sites, infrastructure, data centers, and many others.

In construction and infrastructure, for example, the demand for generator sets should continue to grow, since they are highly competitive areas, which absorb a relevant part of our country's GDP.

Furthermore, generators can make a difference in supporting renewable energies. In Portugal, where this type of supply is growing by leaps and bounds, generator sets provide a great support, ensuring that even in case of breakdown, they will continue to operate or shut down safely. Gensets can even be a complementary source of energy to these systems. The future will be in this joint generation.

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From this perspective, what investments can you anticipate??

Similarly to what has been happening, Grupel will keep investing in its improvement in order to offer all customers high quality energy solutions, more diversified and aligned with market trends.

To do so, we will continue to invest in the optimization of our processes and in equipment that enables us to do so, from state-of-the-art machinery to software. We will also continue to expand our facilities to better accommodate the growing volume of orders coming in, to be more agile in production and to ensure better conditions for all those who work with us and who make us the leader brand that we are today.

Above all, we will increasingly invest in developing new products to keep up with the needs, trends, and requirements of the market and the various sectors for which we work, ensuring products, solutions, and services that are adjusted to what they seek and really need.

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What is the weight of the national market in your activity?

Until last year, Portugal was the market with the greatest weight (when analyzed individually) for Grupel, having been recently surpassed by Spain.

However, in terms of notoriety, due to our proximity and our role in the Portuguese business world, it is clear that we are more recognized in Portugal, and that is where we like to be a reference, the number 1 supplier.

In the national market we have the capacity to be the first brand that any person or company thinks of when they need generators and energy solutions.

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What are your main foreign markets and how do you show up for them?

Currently, the African markets represent a large part of Grupel's turnover, not only in the telecommunications sector, but also in more demanding projects, such as power plants, water treatment plants, mines, and oil and gas exploration.

Also, the Latin American countries have a great preponderance in our business volume, both with distribution partnerships and with large scale projects in the water treatment, power plants and infrastructure sectors.?

More recently, we took a big leap within Europe, with Eastern Europe being our best market of the year, and with Grupel being able to consolidate its presence and notoriety in countries such as France, Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom, with more and more businesses and partners.