Malta’s Design & Build, Turnkey, MEP and Maintenance Contracting Specialists

an interview with Andrei Grech; Founder and Managing Director, AG Group

Great oaks from little acorns grow. At the tender age of 19, Andrei Grech had launched himself as an electrician, fast gathering force and beefing up a team of personnel who today are veteran cornerstones of a large enterprise: the AG Group.

In just shy of 20 years, Andrei has built an empire in construction activities related to mechanical, electrical and plumbing installations, maintenance contracting, fumigation solutions, underfloor heating, turnkey contracting, and general finishing projects.

Design & Build caught up with this man whose vision and perseverance, seconded by a near-obsession on operational efficiency, are the pillars supporting his success

Andrei Grech had spent the grand total of six months as a full-time employee before branching off into his own business. “I liked the work, which I was good at, and decided to take the plunge on my own”. This was Andrei Grech’s opening salvo by way of introduction. It says much of a man: decisive, direct, confident. From small operations, AG group can today be classified as a leading entity which caters for projects ranging from hundreds to millions, offering the same level of dedication in all their endeavours.

While success does not happen overnight, by his mid- 20s Andrei; a self-made man, was already employing a dozen or so people and by the time he was 30, the number had grown exponentially. The Group now employs 125 persons, with women leading at key positions in a largely male-dominated environment. As the business grew so did its requirements, taking on, as it were, a life of its own. “You need to employ people – the right people – and create a structure that works. Every dimension which evolves needs its own assembled and smoothly-operating sub-structure,” he said.

Andrei has been willing and capable of delegating to a management structure that responds directly to him while professionally running their departments, and in turn, the Group itself

He leads the company as a CEO and has a team ranging from the more traditional management positions such as the CFO to more sector-specific management such as Purchasing and Stores.

This, too, is a key differentiating factor behind the Group: the industry is typically rather flat, whereas Andrei has been willing and capable of delegating to a management structure that responds directly to him while professionally running their departments, and in turn, the Group itself.

For Mr Grech, relationships are key. AG Group employs skilled workers as its regular workforce, and they are the lynchpin of the works on the sites. Indeed, the core of Andrei’s original workforce has remained solidly and loyally on board; a matter to which he is most grateful and proud. And in a time when job mobility is typically highly fluid, Mr Grech said that skilled workers respond well to a good relationship at the workplace. “We keep decent and respectful relationships with all our team. The environment is pleasant and our salaries are very respectful to the people’s roles, experiences, skills and loyalty. They are my friends and my family,” said Mr Grech.

ON GROWTH AND CHALLENGES

Originally starting off with standard fare such as apartments and houses, AG Group now caters too for mega-projects, servicing all needs in the M&E sphere in particular, but not less so in general contracting and finishings. “When things started to truly grow, we obviously started facing more complex challenges,” observed Grech. “We therefore had needed to adapt and work according to the situation as it presents itself.”

No matter how big the project is, our structure encourages and facilitates adaptation at all levels of complexity, expertise and timeliness

The group as such, AG group, was born three years ago, even if its different components have been long in the making. The group includes turnkey, finishes and maintenance as well as, in the most recent foray, apartments constructed by the group.

Mr Grech was very clear that all operations are handled by their experts. He explained that AG Group was structured to manage and deliver any construction project including excavations, demolitions, and construction works, wherein the Group teams up with skilled  professionals “who have proved time after time their reliability and expertise throughout the years. No matter how big the project is, our structure encourages and facilitates adaptation at all levels of complexity, expertise and timeliness,” smiled Mr Grech.

FLEXIBILITY IS KEY

A key aspect to the success of AG Group is the fact that Mr Grech lays a lot of emphasis on “the need to understand the challenges so that one can rise to and overcome them with ease.”

“if the execution commences to indicate that complexities were bound to arise, one must always have had a prepared, better alternative in its stead”

This aptitude for flexibility too has been crucial to Mr Grech’s success. His first step in adaptability was in striking out on his own, the second in solidly investing to finance the ‘bigger picture’. “I love this work. Leading teams and projects and solving issues is in my DNA.” In fact, Andrei’s rather unique style of managing every project is to sketch it and its processes in their draft entirety, and thus lead on thereon with his Line Managers, Team Leaders and core personnel tasked with the project in question.

Andrei is adamant that decisions need to be made and that it is crucial to have the right people to make those decisions. “One should always have options such that if the execution commences to indicate that complexities were bound to arise, one must always have had a prepared, better alternative in its stead,” observed Mr Grech. Plans, he said, will rarely go completely smoothly: from human error to unpredictable weather, and adaptability to different scenarios is thus crucial to operating a successful business.

THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THE JOB

One of the projects that Mr Grech finds most memorable, and rewarding is the Rabat Primary School which AG group finished completely including the sports areas, marble, woodwork and solar panelling. He approaches work with a passion. “When I get a project,  I can visualise it as finished. Then I see not only what skills I am going to need to finish the project but also the size of the workforce needed. This is a skill that I have acquired over the years.” So attuned to such projects is Mr Grech, that when visiting sites he can tell

even at a cursory glance, and from the ‘sound’ of work, if other simultaneous operations carried out by other parties on the same site will experience either delays or issues as there would not be enough people at work on the project.

“The environment is pleasant and our salaries are very respectful to the people’s roles, experiences, skills and loyalty. They are my friends and my family”

Mr Grech added that he makes sure his input in the project is planned around any travel abroad he may have scheduled. The office infrastructure is also perfectly capable of absorbing any absences he may have planned. He added that as a contractor, he is keen to deliver on his promises so he is very detail-oriented.

EFFICIENCY EQUALS QUALITY

One of the new areas which AG Group is working on is  that involving High Voltage Electricity. “We are in touch with experts, we have sat for rigorous courses, and we are constantly developing our expertise in this complex area too,” said Mr Grech proudly. He added that such projects have already been executed “at the typical level of quality and timeliness of AG Group.”

All this requires materials and supplies in an island where space is at a premium. Design & Build had to ask: what about storage? As in all other areas, Mr Grech is super organized: not simply shelving but also barcoded for easy reference and retrieval. “At a glance, we know that if we go into a project we have enough stock to see us through, or where the gaps exist, and if and what we have to order,” said Mr Grech. With regards to material, he insisted that “quality is of the utmost importance since quality is what will give enjoyment and peace of mind once the project is finished.” He added that while the market dictates parameters in terms of costs, a high level of operational efficiency and productivity can take the edge off higher costs. This often results in pricing which matches those of average providers, he explained, adding that “the client gives us their trust and we reciprocate by delivering well above average results”.

“while the market dictates parameters in terms of costs, a high level of operational efficiency and productivity can take the edge off higher costs”

One of the more innovative aspects of the AG Group is the 24-hour maintenance service that the group provides. This is an on-call service that is available 24/7 and provides support in case of emergencies in mechanical and electrical issues. “Sometimes you get a hotel, or a home, which has sprung a leak, or a home. Time is crucial here more than ever. When we finish a project, we offer an after-sales service that is second-to-none, so that the project is bullet-proof on all possible levels”, said Mr Grech, adding AG Group also provides highly efficient and cost-effective maintenance agreements to their clients; ranging from condominia to home owners, hotels, office blocks, and so forth.

Another innovative aspect is the way the project is planned. Mr Grech said that if the project is given to AG group, the planning would be in such a way as to minimize the downtime in between services and installations. “In this way, there will be no breaks and delays between one contractor and another,” said Mr Grech.

A BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD

Looking to the future, Andrei Grech explained that the business is part of his life and he will strive to keep things interesting and lively: “The business… yes certainly we will always strive to keep constantly improving but, more importantly, we will keep building great relationships, among the members of the Group as well as with our clients.”