FirstQ, an association of European design offices in the building services sector, gained two new members in November. The network was joined by Sweden’s leading HVAC design office, Bengt Dahlgren, and Belgian building services office Ingenium.
Granlund joined the network in autumn 2015 and has been actively involved in developing its operations since then. CEO Pekka Metsi thinks that the FirstQ network’s activities are developing favourably and he considers it positive that the Nordic countries have strengthened their role.
Including the new members, the FirstQ network employs almost 2,500 professionals in Europe and the companies have combined net sales of approximately EUR 230 million. As such, FirstQ is one of the world’s largest networks of building services professionals.
FirstQ’s objective is to raise the profile of building services and boost expertise by developing together. The members support each other’s businesses, particularly on international projects. ”The network’s open attitude enables highly fruitful exchanges of information and further development of expertise,” said Metsi of the operational development.
The network’s activities currently focus on issues such as large-scale BIM utilisation and distributing operating models for simulating conditions and energy usage. In 2017, the network intends to introduce an exchange programme for young experts.
Utilising BIM in design and throughout a property’s life cycle
Revit has clearly conquered the market for designing building services in Central and Southern Europe. Granlund has also tested Revit on a few projects. FirstQ enables us to obtain good feedback and learn from those of our colleagues who have more experience. A further objective is to integrate Revit into our own tool for managing design data, Granlund Designer, as quickly as possible.
2017 exchange programme for young experts
At the start of 2017, FirstQ will introduce a new exchange programme for young experts. The aim is to create permanent practices and the opportunity to get to know the operations of other companies in the network.
Further information:
Pekka Metsi
CEO
Granlund Oy
firstname.lastname@granlund.fi
