Finnish construction technology businesses Congrid and HomeRun are partnering to share their complementary technologies and expand their marketing reach.
Finland’s Congrid, which launched a mobile application for quality and safety management in 2016, has agreed a partnership with another Nordic construction software business, HomeRun. The businesses feel their products complement each others well, and plan to join forces in their international operations.
Congrid
Based in Helsinki, Finland, Congrid was founded in 2013 by a team of construction site managers who had become frustrated with the use of pen, paper and Excel spreadsheets to control quality and safety on construction sites. Congrid’s cloud-based software offers users one platform to handle quality and safety management on any construction project, reducing quality costs, improving safety and maximising site productivity. Over 100 customers include major developers, construction firms, contractors and subcontractors in the Nordic region.
Adoption of its applications was boosted by Finland’s regulatory regime which requires weekly safety measurement. It subsequently expanded into Sweden, and in July 2019 sponsored a London quality conference (read: Finland’s Congrid targets UK H&S market).
The application is available on Android and Apple iOS platforms and, as well as the safety measurement functionality, provides punchlisting, quality inspections and document management tools.
HomeRun
Formerly (until June 2019) known as TaloInfo, HomeRun was founded in 2012 in Helsinki, and – as its new name suggests – has developed a solution more targeted at the house-building and renovation and maintenance sectors. It is a digital tool for resident communication, document management, project management and management of materials selection. By 2017, it had grown to a 10-strong business generating sales of €730,000. It shares some customers with Congrid.
Congrid CEO Timo Makkonen, right, says: “Both companies are aiming to increase their business in the Nordic countries. This partnership will also benefit our existing customers in Finland. We want to help them succeed even better. Our applications complement each other. By combining data, our customers will have access to the best software easily, and they can enter their data into a single system.”
HomeRun CEO Otto Laurila, left, says that both companies already share some common customers. “Our products complement each other well, and both can focus more on their own core business. The partnership makes business sense both in Finland and internationally.”
Congrid and HomeRun are both aiming to reach markets in the Nordic countries, focusing first on Finland and Sweden.
Update (31 January 2020) – Congrid has been ranked 25th, with revenue growth of 1,175% over the past four years, on a list of the fastest-growing technology businesses in Finland: the Deloitte Technology Fast Fifty. CEO Timo Makkonen says Congrid has started to flourish almost entirely without external funding though Business Finland provided assistance with internationalisation as the company expanded its operations to Sweden and the UK.
The Extranet Evolution view
The Congrid/HomeRun partnership is reminiscent of the January 2019 merger of Denmark’s GenieBelt and Belgium’s AproPlan to form LetsBuild (read: GenieBelt and Aproplan merge to form LetsBuild). Both businesses were formed to replace use of pen and paper for managing on-site construction processes. GenieBelt focused on on-site planning and progress communication giving customers a real-time schedule and progress reporting; Aproplan chose to tackle on-site follow-up communication by digitising snagging, drawings and checklists. Both companies experienced demand for functionality that the other company provided.
In the case of Congrid and HomeRun, existing customers were already using both solutions, so developing a partnership will potentially benefit those customers while also strengthening the joint proposition to new prospective customers.
Update (15 May 2020) – Congrid has launched a cooperation initiative with another Finnish technology vendor, Derigo, connecting its Pro3 project management tool to Congrid systems via open interfaces. Derigo established a UK office in London in late 2019.
Update (9 July 2021) – In February 2021, Skanska Finland selected Congrid to provide weekly occupational safety measurements, quality inspections and defect management across 100 sites. Since early 2020, over 500 Skanska employees have used Congrid.
