Fair play at Ta’ Spekna Turnkey Services

One of the most—if not the most—renowned names in trenching, draining and maintenance services is Ta’ Spekna Co. Ltd, formerly Salvu Fenech Ta’ Spekna. This family-run business has naturally extended into a sister organisation, Ta’ Spekna Turnkey Services – an entity which not only provides Turnkey Contracting but which also supplies the industry with those products they have found to be best for Malta’s construction needs.

Ta’ Spekna Turnkey Services benefits from the joint experience and expertise of Vojko and Maria nee’ Fenech Martinović, who run the show together. While Maria was born and bred in the world of construction and development, Vojko, now in his early forties, has spent the last fifteen of his twenty years in Malta working on turnkey projects. He brings a wealth of contracting knowledge to Ta’ Spekna, whose fifty-year-old history now benefits from Vojko’s additional reputation for timeliness—a quality that makes him particularly stand out in an industry often beset by delays.

His football career, both as a player and as a coach has instilled in Vojko an inherent passion for utter fairness in all things. And as a supplier of anything to do with construction and finishing – including fibre glass, primers, paints, and liquid membrane – the logic behind Vojko’s choices of such materials is simple: he uses the best products to give the best service; at the fairest price.

Vojko prides himself on never compromising on the quality of his material, which he not only sells to clients but also uses in the company’s own projects. He can vouch for his supplies precisely because they have been tried and tested under his own supervision. By way of example, he explains that he does not stock in liquid membrane with a short lifespan, even though it may be cheaper. He has tested materials which he imports directly from Turkey, Tunis, Italy, and Serbia.

Vojko is also keen to provide products that are flexible enough to meet local needs. This is where his direct experience in the field translates into expert advice for his clients.

He refers to a particularly hardy sample of fibreglass which he has selected because of how construction operations are normally carried out locally, explaining that any new construction needs one year to settle before finishing works may begin, but in practice, no one really waits that long here in Malta. This means that the fibreglass used in such projects ends up cracking, so he has resolved that issue by working with material that is less likely to crack, especially in problem areas prone to humidity. Ta’ Spekna Turnkey Solutions also supply a Tunisian brand of quality paints and finishing products specifically because Tunis’s climate is similar to Malta’s, thereby guaranteeing the product’s adequacy to its local application.

Vojko is as discerning as he is categorical in his decisions; if the material does not meet his expectations, he rejects it. He is also assiduous in obtaining the best material, describing how he would send samples of products he has personally approved of to a partner factory in Serbia, from which he demands the same high standards.

Developers save money when working with Vojko because he imports everything directly and this cuts costs for all the stakeholders concerned

Ta’ Spekna Turnkey Solutions also represents Verlass, a German company whose products are manufactured in Turkey, which he admires for its rigorous and practical German technology and design.

Always spurred by innovation, Vojko is currently working on introducing the supply and installation of underfloor heating and cooling systems. In addition to the traditional electrical system, they will also pioneer a water-based heat pump technology, the installation of which will be more economical than for its electrical counterpart.

Clients are typically contractors and companies engaging in industrial-size projects, and with Vojko in charge, they can expect to receive their ordered products in weeks. In addition to the relatively short delivery time, his clients can also benefit from what he calls “the highest quality for the best price”. In fact, Vojko, who estimates that 90% of their hundred of clients are fellow contractors, sees no contradiction in the fact that his clients are also his competitors. He says that he has a good working relationship with his competitors who choose to collaborate with him because the quality and prices of his materials are unbeatable.

One of the factors behind Ta’ Spekna’s competitive edge, besides Vojko’s dedication to quality, is therefore the competitive prices they offer. The key to their successful pricing strategy lies in this simple dictum: “Don’t be greedy,” he says in a matter-of-fact voice, further explaining that when he was buying from local suppliers, he could observe a hefty price discrepancy that did not necessarily correlate to a product’s quality, so he started importing products himself and selling them at a fraction of the retail price. He has also purposely selected companies that jointly operate a quarry and a factory, so that the collection, adjustment, packing, and transport of materials are all handled by the same entity; this mode of operation reduces costs for Vojko’s clients.

The key to his successful pricing strategy lies in this simple dictum: “Don’t be greedy”

True to their commitment to be a one-stop supply shop, Ta’ Spekna Turnkey Solutions is the direct importer of a variety of products in aluminium and PVC. Developers save money when working with Vojko because he imports everything directly and this cuts costs for all the stakeholders concerned.

And there is another distinguishing feature about this organisation. Vojko’s personal sense of discipline and commitment guides the operations collectively, ensuring that any project taken on is carried out properly and on time. Although problems and hitches are an inherent part of construction and turnkey projects, Vojko is used to the difficult nature of his work and he is ready to rise to the challenge. “I have problems every day,” he chuckles, before adding, more assertively, “and every day I solve them.” His main problem stems from clients who make mistakes during the installation phase of the materials he has supplied them with. If the material is not installed or used properly, its potential quality will be undermined.

In such cases, Vojko is more than willing to help his customers find a solution. He will conduct onsite visits to inspect the issue and give further instructions and assistance as may be required. Because he strongly believes that things should be done right, he is always on hand to show his clients how to get the best out of his materials.

Vojko promises that if he is in charge of a project in its entirety, there will be no delays

While Vojko has proven his willingness to address and solve the problems which arise from time to time, his success seems to be founded on a work ethic that prevents problems from arising in the first place. His values centre on discipline, timeliness, and exactitude. In fact, he has even severed relationships with other project partners when they do not take their work as seriously as he does. In his profession, organisation is key; his aim is to do a job properly and to always finish what he has started. It is his strong sense of commitment which makes his operation stand out in the industry. Just as he refuses to inflate the prices of his materials, he exhibits the same restraint when taking on new projects. He only commits to as much work as he knows he will be able to handle in order to deliver consistently satisfactory results to his clients. For this reason, Vojko promises that if he is in charge of a project in its entirety, there will be no delays.

Vojko is the project manager for Ta’ Spekna Turnkey Solutions, though he is sometimes assisted by another project manager, and with Maria, he runs a team of six. He is also in partnership with another entity which exclusively provides them with a hand-picked team of dedicated and highly-skilled personnel. Vojko refuses to exploit cheap labour, so instead, he offers attractive salaries for a small team of workers whom he monitors and knows he can depend on. He specifically says he would much rather have a small team of reliable and satisfied employees than trying to stretch out their income to cover a larger but less competent team. Once again, his avoidance of rapacious economic shortcuts has landed him and his clients with long-term rather than short-term gains.

A surprising thing about Vojko is that he is possibly as well-known as a veteran in turnkey contracting as he is for his past as a football player for the Maltese league. As a footballer, he says, he was very technical and driven to succeed, while as a coach, he was known for his discipline. It is these same qualities that mark his reputation in his current career, for which his personal motto is that, if you’re not going to do something right, you shouldn’t bother doing it at all. Time and time again, he emphasises this fundamental principle of his work ethic, rapping the desk in front of him with every syllable as he says, “If I do something, I do it the proper way.”