23
CONSTRUCTION EUROPE
SEPTEMBER 2014
O
ver the past few years, it seems
that a line drawn across the middle
of Europe would divide the more
successful countries from the ones still
struggling in the wake of the financial crisis.
This division, suggesting that the north is
doing much better than the south, is only half
the story, however, as Northern Europe has
seen some countries’ construction industries
doing noticeably better than others. The
figures in countries to the very north have
been catching the eye – sparkling in an
otherwise rather dull European market.
The Nordic countries are easily packaged
together, but they are very different in terms
of culture, language and other characteristics.
Their construction industries operate in
different ways, and they have not responded
in the same way to the financial crisis.
The vice president on the FIEC (European
Construction Industry Federation) steering
committee with responsibility for the Nordic
and Baltic countries is Kjetil Tonning. He
also looks after business development for
Norwegian contractor Veidekke, which is a
major player in Norway and also operates in
Sweden.
Tonning said, “As I remember it, Sweden was
the first to recover after the financial crisis.
They recovered surprisingly fast.”
Now, though, it is Norway that is making
the running in the region. Erik Sollerud,
commercial director of Norwegian Caterpillar
dealer Pon Equipment, was clearly happy in
the way Norway had pulled out of the crisis
and he said that construction in the country
was looking steady for the next 10 years. He
added, however, “Sweden and Denmark are
still hurting.”
Sami Laitila, sales director for construction
equipment at Finnish dealer Rotator, said,
“Until 2008, we had good sales, then the big
dip was in 2009. Sweden has done better,
and Norway the best of the last few years.”
He admitted that the mining business had
helped in Finland.
SIMILARITIES
Norway, Sweden and Denmark are closer
to each other in many ways – for example,
similarities in language – than Finland.
Looking at these three, Norway has a
population of around 5.1 million, Sweden
9.6 million, and Denmark 5.6 million. When
it comes to the size of the countries, Norway
has a land area of approximately 324,000km
2
,
Sweden is close to 450,000km
2
and Denmark
43,000km
2
.
Tonning said that with Norway and Sweden
a similar size on the map, it is not, perhaps,
surprising that their construction markets are
broadly on a par. But the population numbers
might suggest that Norway would be closer
to Denmark for its construction figures.
He said there were several reasons why
this was not the case. “One of the differences
is that Sweden has people living in the big
cities. Drive a little way north of Stockholm
and there is no one.”
Indeed, large parts of Sweden fall into the
less-than-five-people-per-km
2
category.
Norway is a very long, thin country – its
The Nordic countries
have proved an
interesting place for
those watching the
ups and downs of the
construction industry.
Sandy Guthrie
heads
north
Northern stars
NORDIC REGION
The E6, one of Norway’s important road
and rail projects, seen here two years ago
at the start of the work. More on page 28
Tonning, “Financial resources are there”
