Dumitrache: Innovations and Community Focus
There's a lot of discussion about innovation in the office sector and in retail, but this isn't so obvious in the industrial sector. What are the most important innovations CTP has been offering tenants in the past year? _x000D_
At CTP, innovation is involved in the way buildings are designed, constructed and operated. We invest in smart buildings because it is important for us to be a sustainable company for our tenants and for the environment. CTP applies the highest technical standards on the market for industrial premises and targets the highest energy efficiency ratings and the lowest energy consumption for its buildings. Key standards related to that include without limitation indoor and outdoor LED and Smart LED lighting; roof skylights which ensure natural light, indoor temperatures controlled by BMS systems to best suit the season; insulation systems that provide maximum energy efficiency. All of our buildings in Romania have ISO 14001 (environmental management) and 50001 (energy management) certifications. We certify our buildings under the BREEAM scheme. We already have four buildings certified for construction in Romania and in a few months, we will have the environment certification for other buildings in CTPark Bucharest West, all with "very good"qualification. _x000D_
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What do find your tenants asking for in terms of innovations? Do you prioritize ways your tenants can operate more efficiently or do you need to improve employee satisfaction levels? _x000D_
Our tenants are very interested in monitoring and limiting their utilities consumption both due to concerns related to environment protection and to cost management, but they also focus on offering their employees an enjoyable, friendly and healthy workplace. It is important for them to offer their employees good working conditions especially in a period when workforce is one of the scarcest resources. _x000D_
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What types of innovations are you implementing that improve your ability to maintain your portfolio efficiently, cutting costs and improving margins? _x000D_
In the Czech Republic, we are running a pilot project which is to be extended in all our parks. We are gathering data and analyzing it to see what, where, and when the building is consuming to determined what we can change in order to make it more efficient. _x000D_
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Besides producing energy, how do you ensure the buildings are energy efficient, requiring a minimum of heating and cooling? _x000D_
We use high-quality thermal insulations and top-quality HVAC systems. The walls are thicker (15 cm) and the roof is 20 cm thick insulated with mineral wool in order to offer comfort at all times of the year. _x000D_
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The choice of materials is of key importance. Does it pay off to use the highest quality materials to ensure they last a long time? _x000D_
All materials used in construction are acquired from ISO certified suppliers. We think it is more efficient to use quality materials. It can be slightly more expensive but can bring more savings afterwards. _x000D_
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It's typical to look at industrial parks as individual sheds occupied by a random collection of tenants who have nothing to do with each other. Managers of office buildings are increasingly trying to add value to those buildings by building communities within them. Is this feasible in your type of business? _x000D_
We don't want to build "individual sheds", but communities in our parks. We think Coming Together is Power. This is the key to success. We are both the developer and administrator of the parks, so our job is to make sure the tenants' needs are fulfilled. Our park managers are always ready to help their tenants, with whom they work closely to find out what their needs are. One important step we have already taken is to bring high-school pupils into our parks in order to assess the labor opportunities these industrial parks with lots of tenants can provide. We have also launched a project to assist our clients to find labor more easily both for standard daily working shifts, but also for peak periods.