With a reputation for high-specification aperture solutions built with top-quality materials and in collaboration with worldwide leading brands, SP Techniques Ltd is a name to reckon with in the construction industry. Design & Build caught up with Gordon Calleja, its Managing Director.
SPTechniques Ltd may not seem like an old name on the market. Indeed, as a limited liability company, it was set up only six years ago. However, Gordon Calleja, the man and motor behind this company, has been in the business for the past 20 years. So, while the name of the company is relatively recent, the experience and expertise it draws upon are rock solid.
“We started out as a metal and iron works company and we evolved as the materials on the market changed,” observed Mr Calleja, thus presenting to us a company with a considerable agility in adapting to change.
“there are constants which will remain: Quality of service, quality of product, quality of efficiency and quality of maintenance”
Mr Calleja said that while materials are constantly changing there are constants which will remain: “Quality of service, quality of product, quality of efficiency and quality of maintenance,” ticked off Mr Calleja as he listed the company’s non-negotiable variables.
in Gozo, enhancing aesthetics, security
and insulation; by SP Techniques
This inevitably begged the question: in an age where deliveries from many companies notoriously miss deadlines, how does SP Techniques fare? Mr Calleja was confident in his reply: apertures to an apartment would normally take in the region of 3 weeks while a block of six apartments would normally be finished in a matter of six weeks. “Once we take on a project, we work on it from start to finish. Partial measurements or installations normally spell havoc,” frowned Mr Calleja, clearly not a fan of incomplete or mismanaged work.
Personal involvement
The material currently most in demand is PVC, imported from Germany and also from Turkey. Both, he stressed, are quality products which come with a guarantee. “In this way we can assure quality for all budgets,” said Mr Calleja. He said that there is no difference in the guarantee of quality provided.
“Extending the workforce to grab a bigger chunk of the market would be detrimental to the company’s brand positioning as we would then have to face the consequences of declining standards”
Leading a team of six operatives, Mr Calleja said that the company is not in favour of outsourcing. Before being employed with the company, any prospective recruit is rigorously observed. He explained that in this way he has the opportunity of molding and shaping the employee into the ethos of the company, training them to consistently reach the minimum standards which are considered as acceptable.
“If we were to employ half a dozen new workers, how could the company’s output be carefully assessed? Extending the workforce to grab a bigger chunk of the market would be detrimental to the company’s brand positioning as we would then have to face the consequences of declining standards,” observed Mr Calleja, adding that “in any case this would go against my modus operandi – I couldn’t do that.”
An eye for detail
As the owner of the company he is directly involved in every order to ensure that the client is completely satisfied. And that is where experience tells. “On my site inspections, whenever I deem an element of finish or installation to be not up to scratch, it will simply go down, and redone. There is no other way of ensuring quality standards. And this is why I prefer to keep these matters in my hands,” said Mr Calleja.
“The company works on both modular and customized models”
He is a stickler for attention to detail, roping in his wife and Administrative guru of the company Anne Marie Calleja into these quality control inspections. “It’s a matter of pride: we install these apertures as if we were preparing them for our own home,” she assured us.
Exacting standards
The company works on both modular and customised models, emphasising that measurements are always taken on site by the company staff and that the work is made to measure. There are various clients which have been serviced by SP Techniques Ltd but Mr Calleja is loath to mention a satisfactory challenge.
photos: (above) Aluminium and Glass Railings
and (below) an Aluminium and Glass Staircase;
proudly installed by SP Techniques
Evincing the traditional hallmarks of a perfectionist, Mr Calleja observed that “It breaks my heart to say this but I am never completely satisfied with what we achieve”. He said that the current rush for grabbing projects is leaving developments in a half-baked state with artisans down the line left facing problems. “For example: if the levels of a window are off, we can still install a window, no skin off our back, but then what will happen when eventually, water will seep through that window?” queried Mr Calleja, noting that repercussions from all elements of finishings induced by imperfectly-prepared groundwork by workers from separate companies which work on the groundwork are far more common than they ought to be.
What lies round the corner for SP Techniques? The answer was swift and precise: consolidation and maintaining the same level of quality and training. Adaptation and innovation remain high on Mr Calleja’s agenda with constant training into new materials and techniques. This, he said is crucial to maintaining a front seat in the market. With this sort of outlook, SP Techniques can look forward to a bright future.
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