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Electric mobility and charging HUB.

In Europe, electric mobility is growing rapidly, registrations of electric cars (BEV – Battery Electric Vehicle and PHEV – Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), in Italy recorded a growth of over 150% in 2020, with almost 30 thousand electric cars registered.

Among the main factors that have determined the strong growth of the electric car market in the national territory, we mention first of all the strengthening of the incentives for the purchase of these vehicles (so-called “Ecobonus“), but also the increase in the electrified models offered by the houses. cars, we have 88 new models (both BEV and PHEV), an increase of 26 units compared to 2019. Ultimately, the further growth of the charging infrastructure of public access electric vehicles, known as charging HUBs, should not be underestimated .

Compared to the long term, however, the Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate (PNIEC) sets the goal of a fleet of electric vehicles equal to 6 million units for 2030, an evidently ambitious target if compared to the current size of the fleet of electric cars in circulation to date (70,000 units), but not too much if we follow the growth trend of the last 12 months and the forecasts of the automotive sector experts.

THE ROLE OF CHARGING HUBS

In this in-depth analysis we classify the charging HUBs into two categories: urban HUB and extra-urban HUB.

An urban charging hub is essentially the new gas station of the future. Today many experts are convinced that service stations and distributors in general will convert fuel pumps with new electric charging points. This will strictly depend on the development of technology and on the single charging speed of the specific charging point (column), as on average today a BEV car is recharged with a timing exceeding 4 hours in AC mode – alternating current and in one hour and half in DC mode – direct current.

Surely the service stations present in the metropolitan inhabited centers will become one, but the old service stations located along the provincial roads will have a lot of problems, if not surrounded by neighboring commercial attractions such as: bars, restaurants and shops in general.

It must certainly be said, however, that the recharge chain shows a strong dynamism. The most active players today not only confirm but strengthen their commitment to the development of infrastructures and the supply of recharging services, ensuring that the public availability of columns in Italy amounts to 16,000 units at the end of 2020, + 20% compared to the end 2019, with a doubling forecast by 2022. Alongside this, the attention to market development of new strategic and significant players, such as the “big” players in the Oil & Gas sector, can give further impetus to the entire sector .

A suburban charging hub is basically a large service area. Take for example all the service areas along the motorways and / or the islands located on the large parking lots of the outlets and shopping centers. This second category plays a fundamental role in the overall development of the entire electric mobility system because, if it is true that today on average an electric car consumes its battery in a range of 250/300 km, the more these charging stations will be widespread in the suburban area, long-distance journeys within the national territory will be more guaranteed. Logically, an extra-urban HUB will have to equip itself with charging points in DC mode, guaranteeing the user ultra-fast charging.

CHARGING HUB: WHAT THE REGULATION PROVIDES

The development of public recharging points is facilitated by the fact that there is already a very precise, simple and well-defined Community legislation. The main regulatory references are:

• Directive 2014/94 / EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the construction of an infrastructure for alternative fuels (better known as the AFID Directive – Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive), which contains the requirements that must be complied with for the development of the infrastructure serving alternative fuels.
• Law n. 134 of 7 August 2012, Art. 17 septies, paragraph 1 (better known as PNIRE – National Infrastructure Plan for the recharging of vehicles powered by electricity) which is a set of guidelines promoted by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport aimed at guiding the development of electric mobility in Italy.

On the basis of the aforementioned regulations, the public recharging points are in turn classified according to two macro categories:

• Standard power in alternating current AC; That is a recharging point that allows the transfer of electricity to an electric vehicle with a power equal to or less than 22 kW; a) slow = equal to or less than 7.4 kW, b) accelerated = greater than 7.4 kW and equal to or less than 22 kW. The legislation also prescribes that these charging points must comply with Mode 3 of IEC 61851 and must be equipped with a Type 2 charging socket according to EN 62196.
• High power in direct current DC; That is a recharging point that allows the transfer of electricity to an electric vehicle with a power greater than 22 kW; a) fast: greater than 22 kW and less than or equal to 50 kW, b) ultra-fast: greater than 50 kW; The legislation also prescribes that these charging points must be equipped with the CCS Combo2 Standard, according to the EN 62196-3 standard.

Source: MIT (Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport)

The PNIRE describes very well how the charging service is to be managed. In line with the text of DIRECTIVE 2014/94 / EU, the recharging activity of electric vehicles must be developed as a competitive activity open to all those interested in developing or managing a recharging infrastructure. The public recharging of electric vehicles is an activity to be carried out in competition. Consequently, every industrial entity involved in the production of recharging systems must move towards the manufacture of open and interoperable systems in order to guarantee territorial continuity of recharging both at local, regional, extra-regional and community level.

The systems developed must also be characterized by an adequate management system of the charging infrastructures that is able to return a series of basic information and functionalities.
All recharging points accessible to the public must also include contract-free charging methods for users of electric vehicles, thus without the need to conclude contracts exclusively with the electricity suppliers or operators (infrastructure managers) concerned.

Finally, the PNIRE reiterates that there is a substantial difference between “energy sale” and “recharge service”:

It is necessary to favor open solutions which, in particular, allow recharging to be effectively considered not only as a sale of energy but as part of the provision of a service. In this context, even in the wake of almost all of the ongoing European experiences, the sale of kWh is not the only component of the entire billed service. This scenario therefore supports the opportunity that many industrial operators can provide a mobility service, based on strategic business choices and not on regulatory artifices aimed at circumventing EU regulations.

THE INVECO GROUP’S COMMITMENT TO ELECTRIC MOBILITY

Thanks to an important industrial real estate assets, INVECO’s commitment will be to develop feasibility studies aimed at integrating photovoltaic systems and installing new recharging points with direct management.

Following the forecast graph of e-mobility for 2030, INVECO will certainly seize the opportunity in recent years to integrate the best technologies in terms of quality and efficiency into the car parks of its industrial plants, giving a double service to its tenants: direct accessibility for employees and green sustainability.

In this study we will explain what crowdfunding is and how it is used in the italian energy market. We will also tell you about a successful case history that saw us protagonists together with the Ener2crowdplatform.

With the Anglo-Saxon term crowdfunding (crowd of financiers) or better still as collective financing, we intend to define the financial contribution by multiple subjects, of any nature and gender, for the development, for example, of entrepreneurial, artistic and related initiatives cultural heritage, innovative entrepreneurship, scientific research etc. Crowdfunding is certainly a tool used today as opposed to the traditional financial world.

Who promotes crowdfunding campaigns

In Italy and in particular in all developed economies, crowdfunding is promoted by web platforms, mostly innovative start-ups authorized by central banks (for their role as financial intermediaries) and by various control bodies, such as in Italy by CONSOB.

Types of crowdfunding

There are various and widespread types of crowdfunding, let’s see some:

• Reward crowdfunding

This type of collective financing is the most common for the number of platforms. It provides the investor with a reward commensurate with the contribution. Usually the platform gives two or more contribution choices defined by entities associated with the respective reward level.

Depending on whether the funding target has been met or not, the platforms follow two types of scenarios:

• • Keep-it-all(mantieni tutto). Solo al raggiungimento dell’obiettivo di raccolta prefissato dalla piattaforma i fondi vengono trasferiti al proponente del progetto e la relativa percentuale (success fee) viene corrisposta alla piattaforma;

or

• • All-or-nothing(tutto o niente). Only upon reaching the collection target set by the platform are the funds transferred to the proposer of the project and the relative percentage (success fee) is paid to the platform;

• Civic collective crowdfunding

Civic collective financing is one of the types of funding that is having the greatest success in the world of public administrations. A growing number of institutional subjects such as municipalities, provincial bodies, municipalities etc. he is using it to finance mainly the public works.

• Equity Crowdfunding

Financing in the form of risk capital. It is a financing method that allows unlisted companies to collect financial resources in the market for equity shares. According to the definition adopted by the supervisory bodies, in Italy by Consob, we speak of equity crowdfunding when through the on-line investment you buy a real holding of a company. In this case, the investor who finances in all respects becomes a partner and holder of the property and administrative rights that derive from the participation in the company.

• Lending Crowdfunding

Also known as a loan model, it is a collective financing model through which natural and legal persons can decide to lend funds, at a more or less high interest rate defined at a contractual level, with expected returns diluted over time. The loan that the investor makes is always aimed at a specific project, such as in cases of peer-to-peer lending (P2P). This model is certainly growing strongly in Italy and more mature than the others.

A Successful Case History: Inveco Holding & Ener2Crowd

Target reached in less than 12 hours (actually the first collection bracket set with the ENER2CROWD platform at € 30,000 was reached in an hour). In just under twelve hours, our crowd campaign went overfunded, i.e. it reached the second target group of 40,000 euros.

This recent experience has given us the impetus to face the future and new projects with a new awareness.

We started precisely from the end, or rather from the “happy ending” of a new business initiative that saw us protagonists in facing a new green project, in the post-covid era.

Let’s now retrace the steps that led INVECO HOLDING SPA to promote a collection of lending crowdfunding together with the ENER2CROWD platform. Everything starts from the conception of a new energy project, a medium-sized photovoltaic system to be installed on the industrial roof of a property owned by our client Modulo Srl.

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INVECO E MODULO (end customer) in November 2019 sign a LOI aimed at defining the legal and commercial cornerstones of the future operating lease contract that will govern this new business model, that is, the creation of a new turnkey photovoltaic project and last generation of the nominal power of 384 kw.

In December 2019, the ENER2CROWD platform was contacted by INVECO, a young innovative start-up based in Milan in strong growth, authorized by BANCA D’ITALIA to subscribe and promote lending crowdfunding campaigns and collections for investments and green projects. ENER2CROWD, in fact, is authorized to operate as Agent of the Lemonway Payment Institute, in accordance with the provisions contained in Resolution no. 586 of 2016 of the Bank of Italy.

At the end of 2019, the pre-due diligence parameters were immediately defined. The actual operationsstarted in the first days of June 2020. In mid-July the due-diligence was completed and the lending crowdfunding campaign was launched quickly – 28 July. We have already described the outcome, a real success in all respects.

The project

Between January and February 2020 INVECO draws up the entire technical feasibilityand design study of the new investment. In less than 60 days, the new project as a whole is actually defined at a technical and economic level.

During the lockdown period the parties involved their respective legal advisors who assisted them in drafting the “operating lease contract“. It has as its object the investment by Inveco of over 400,000 euros in total for the realization of the project. The plant is made up of four distinct photovoltaic fields sectioned on as many industrial roofs of the customer’s Modulo Srl plant in Umbertide (PG). They will be managed by 6 multi-string inverters.

In the face of this investment and once the plant enters into operation, Modulo will recognize Inveco for its exclusive use, a fixed and constant monthly rental over time.

To date, the progress of the installation works is 40%.

Main phases of the photovoltaic project.

Step 1: the feasibility of the project

The first step dealt with was the definition of the project and the commercial agreement with the end customer Modulo Srl. To do this we started from the history of energy consumption (last 3 years) of the client Modulo Srl, the only user and consumer of the energy produced and self-consumed by the network.

We subsequently sized the photovoltaic system specifically for the customer. This operation was carried out both at a technical level, taking into account the morphology of the exploitable industrial roofs, their geographical exposure and their static and structural characteristics. The plant project was also prepared at an economic level having defined the minimum and maximum power thresholds, such as not to generate economic production and producibility surpluses of the plant itself.

Step 2: definition of the financial needs to meet the investment.

Once the preliminary project was drawn up, we built the investment budget.

After defining the budget, we decided to make equity of 40%, requested a traditional bank loan of 50% and finally we decided to promote a lending crowdfunding campaign of 10%.

A lending crowdfunding campaign should not be confused with a bank loan, mortgage and / or leasing that is, this is a basic aspect that must be understood immediately. Although conceived as loan capital, a collection campaign must never exceed 10% of the total investment.

Step 3: construction and installation

Installation and shipbuilding is the main part of the whole operation. In the specific case of Modulo, we have decided to use the latest generation of technologies (modules, inverters, monitoring system). The choice of aluminum as a material for the support structures also followed the same logic. In fact, it is a guarantee of lightness and durability over time. A well-installed photovoltaic system is the main technical insurance towards the customer and investors so that the investment is guaranteed in the long term.

In the specific case of Modulo, the works gantt has a total duration of 6 months. We emphasize that our construction phases will go on in continuitywith industrial production, safeguarding the customer from production stoppages and in full compliance with safety regulations.

In the coming months we will follow the construction site step by step, we will make photographic reports attesting the progress of the work and with the help of drones we will film the installation of the modules from above, thus giving a complete view of the project.

Visit also the website of the ENER2CROWDplatform and their social media channels to stay updated on the energy crowdfunding world.

In the last decade, the Italian economy has had very fluctuating trends, fluctuations strongly influenced by structural and global changes of all economic levels and by the volatility of the financial markets.

In the economy of the old millennium we used to reason by sectors, namely the Primary Sector which includes agriculture and mining, the Secondary Sector which includes industry, the Tertiary Sector which includes services, the Quaternary Sector which includes activities with high added value and technology.

Today we are more likely to reason by analyzing the markets, basically the economy and the economic sectors are interconnected with each other and therefore the sectoral trends are strongly influenced by the trends of the individual markets.

In this rather complex scenario, traditional markets have undergone radical upheavals and in some specific cases real downsizing.

If we had to do a specific research on the market trend in the first two sectors, agriculture and industry, we would find some positive and other decidedly negative trends, only in specific cases will we see the affirmation of market niches that have performed significantly. In any case, the aggregate value will be quite consistent with the main fluctuations of the national economy.

In this brief study we will focus on markets that have performed positively in the last decade and which thanks to their growth have positively influenced the demand for “new industrial buildings”.

THE LOGISTICS MARKET

Market numbers speak of a healthy market. Although with some uncertainty between 2011 and 2012, the decade is to be considered decidedly positive.

At an organizational level, attention is focused on the different forms of warehouse management. The heterogeneity in company decisions and the importance of knowing how to choose the most suitable solution for the individual site clearly emerges. The choice of the organizational model is influenced by a wide list of factors that range from the management method, from long-term contracts, to reasons strictly related to the relationship with the client.

Revolution 4.0 is becoming increasingly popular, both in the world of warehouses and in the world of transport, where technologies no longer constitute the barrier to innovation.

This innovation has a value that goes beyond the efficiency or effectiveness of the individual activities, but can become an enabling factor to modify or evolve consolidated practices, as emerged from the in-depth analysis on the pharmaceutical sector, where new solutions are being experimented aimed at to identify synergies on transport with other supply chains.

Logistics numbers

From 2009 to 2018 the logistics market had an overall increase of 4%. In terms of business volumes, we went from a general value of goods handling from 71 billion to 82 billion euros.

Employment rose vertically, incorporating resources at a national level of around 20,000 units in the reference decade. Today there are about 2,000 companies operating in the sector, large multinationals and / or drivers in the sector, but also SMEs closely interconnected to them through sub-contracting and out-sourcing contracts.

Positive market reflection in industrial construction

The growth of the logistics sector must be seen above all in a technological context, that is, the structural reform linked to new technologies, which have almost forced the primary players in the sector to convert and build from scratch, hubs and logistics centers. Surely the four regions that benefited the most, in terms of turnover and new construction sites, were: Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna.

Structural investments in the logistics sector have also been important in the south, albeit in a smaller form than in the regions mentioned above, contributing significantly to economic growth.

THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY MARKET

A real world excellence, like the Italian pharmaceutical industry, represents the prospect of concrete opportunities for everyone. Advantages aimed both at companies operating in this market area but great opportunities also for the human resources employed in it.

The pharmaceutical industry in Italy needs to maintain its leadership at European and global level. It can only do this by developing new and innovative marketing strategies for companies in the sector, through governance that is able to express high-level management and above all thanks to structural investments aimed at improving the work environment.

The numbers of the pharmaceutical industry

To better understand the power of the pharmaceutical industry in Italy, it is certainly useful to give some numbers that can encompass the importance of our country in this sector. According to statistics reported by Farmindustria, we are in first place in the pharmaceutical production of the European Union. A real success, evidenced by a consistent increase in exports, + 17% between 2008 and 2018, which led to a + 22% in the increase in production, also this statistic over a ten-year period.

The pharmaceutical sector, to date, has about 200 companies, 66,000 employees (90% graduates or graduates), 6,400 researchers, 2.8 billion investments (1.5 in research and 1.3 in production), with 31.2 billion of euro of production in 2018 (against 30 billion in Germany, second in the ranking), almost 80% destined for export.

Outgoing foreign trade represents another important strength, and a real driving force for constant and progressive growth in the sector.

Positive market reflection in industrial construction

The exponential growth of the pharmaceutical sector in Italy has positively influenced the industrial construction sector.

From 2010 to 2019 about 120 companies have invested structurally by building from scratch and / or modernizing the production sites. There is talk of total investments close to one billion euros.

The regions heavily involved in this growth process were mainly Lazio, Campania and Emilia-Romagna.

For the years to come, the acquisitions of small companies that develop Biotechnology are under the magnifying glass of the leading pharmaceutical companies. According to the market forecast, the impact on structural investments will certainly be significant.

THE MARKET OF SHOPPING CENTERS AND RETAIL

In the last ten / fifteen years in Italy there has been the boom and explosion of shopping centers. This socio-economic phenomenon has involved all Italian regions and 90% of all municipalities in the national territory.

After the great expansion phenomenon, there is already talk of a revision of the business model 2.0 of shopping centers. The big brands are returning to the historic centers, a choice influenced by consumers who are re-evaluating the purchase in the open air, thus being able to find a shopping experience that is combined with the beauty of the architectural panoramas.

Certainly, in recent years, internet commerce has taken away a large sum of sales from shopping centers, halving the time and cost of purchase. Precisely for this reason, large chains need locations that can recreate a shopping experience capable of re-enhancing the moments of sociability that derive from a physical experience: the pleasure of a walk and a store that involves buyers.

The numbers of the commercial / retail sector

This market activates, along the national economic system, a value of 139.1 billion euros, with an employment impact that exceeds 780,000 employees. These are the main results of the analysis “Industry of Commercial Poles in Italy. Between supply chain and social role “, curated by Nomisma on behalf of the National Council of Shopping Centers and presented in the Conference Room of Palazzo Montecitorio.

In 2018, 1,254 structures in Italy – 1,020 shopping malls, 181 shopping parks, 30 outlets, 23 lesure centers – accounted for 71.6 billion in direct turnover equal to 4% of GDP, 587,000 jobs and a contribution to tax revenues of 27.8 billion euros. To this is added an induced, in terms of purchase of goods and services, of further 54.1 billion and 159,000 jobs.

The survey was integrated with a phase of listening to the population – over 1,000 respondents throughout the country – aimed at investigating the positioning of shopping centers in the habits of Italians.

Shopping centers – without losing their main function, i.e. purchases (made by 86% of those who attend them at least 2 times a month) – are increasingly becoming places of aggregation and socialization. For 83% of regular users, they are a place to spend their free time. 38% also take advantage of the food and wine offers: restaurants, pizzerias, fast-food outlets, cafés.

Positive market reflection in the construction and real estate sector

This market has definitely influenced the real estate and construction market. An estimated 20,000,000 square meters have been built for shopping centers in the last decade. The average construction cost of the same is approximately € 2,500 per square meter, thus constituting a total turnover of approximately € 50 billion.

The commitment of Inveco Group in the sectors mentioned

INVECO has been collaborating for several months with companies belonging to different markets. We have established excellent relationships with important players operating in the field of logistics and transport, with companies belonging to the biochemical and organic market (booming especially in the agricultural and food sector), but above all we are in continuous communication with important tenant leaders in the commercial and retail real estate market.

In conclusion

INVECO closely monitors the evolution of the economy and carefully studies the development and growth of all markets. Our experience as a general contractor allows us to identify in advance the positive trends of the markets and to promote appropriate marketing studies that can bring us in contact with the many companies that manage to perform despite the historical, social and economic period of great uncertainty.

Our model of continuous research, study and analysis of the markets represents a TRUE company VALUE.

Redeveloping an industrial site: General contractor’s premise

Building a turnkey greenfield factory is a fairly complex task that requires hands-on experience and technical know-how. Good organisation is certainly the best asset to guarantee the success of a project like this. However redeveloping and/or optimizing an old industrial property, an activity generally called brownfield project, is a completely different enterprise.

In this article we will try to explain the crucial activities which revolve around simple and complex industrial site redevelopments. We will also consider the importance and concrete convenience of redevelopment projectscompared with new -builds.

This kind of project requires key skills and competences in the construction and installation sectors as well as the ability to draft a precise preliminary assessment of industrial processes. Therefore the level of difficulty rises, competencies must be consolidated and technical knowledge has to be integrated into all steps of the procedure.

Industrial site redevelopments: current context

When we think of new industrial projects, what usually comes to mind are huge mega-factories which showcase innovative state-of-the-art technology and architecture. This happens because our minds are focused on the future and on the idea of newness.

Anyone who is familiar with industry, and especially with the manufacturing sector, knows that there is a prevalence of abandoned industrial sites, which are certainly real-estate assets. Moreover, in today’s era of 4.0, many industries still work in old factories which may be efficient in many ways, but are not very attractive from an architectural viewpoint.

Considering all the manufacturing plants built in the 1950s and 60s, it is easy to understand that what makes an industry competitive is unrelated to aesthetics, but rather depends on productive efficiency and above all on logistics.

Modern successful production enterprises have transformed their plants over time to make them more suitable and efficient.

Key activities for industrial redevelopment

Assessment of client’s needs within his/her production context

Each client has his/her own specific needs according to the type of industrial activities they do on a daily basis. There are no general standards for requirements so it is hard to compare one redevelopment project with another.

This is a determining factor for general contractors who have to work with project managers with experience and expertise in the industrial construction and utility systems sector.

This first phase to establish the client’s requirements usually takes a few months, and our flexibility and helpfulness towards our client form the foundations for the whole project.

In this evaluation phase, the general contractor and his engineers establish a proactive, confident relationship with the client’s technicians.

Project managers must be able to convey their knowledge and give advice during meetings on qualitative, timing and financial convenience matters.

Brownfield projects are founded on a careful assessment of the client’s requirements and an implicit assessment of the production context.

Environmental impact study and authorization procedure in compliance with legislation

Running parallel to the phase of establishing a client’s requirements is a technical and engineering study based on the assessment of environmental impact.

This is a very important step as modifying, replacing or redeveloping an existing structure will always have more or less serious impact on the environment.

Any activity that requires reclamation, cleaning up or redevelopment will entail a cost for the client.

It is therefore important to consider the environmental impact study before drawing up a budget, both from a technical and an economic point of view.

It is also crucial for the project to comply with current development planning and authorisation legislation and regulations, and this needs to be checked in the preliminary phase.

The many stakeholders include the municipality, which grants appropriate approval authorisations, organizations like the local health authority ASL, the WWF, trade and industry bodies, utilities companies (electricity, water, natural gas and/or propane) to increase and /or interrupt existing supplies, and specific consortia or territorial entities.

Interconnected projects

It is almost impossible to create a complete project for all phases of redevelopment nailing each single technical aspect perfectly.

Nowadays technology has evolved in leaps and bounds compared to a few decades ago. Surveys are conducted using satellite tools, drones are used to take aerial photos, design and calculus software and programmes are more and more sophisticated and use interlinked language that connects the various stages of the project in BIM (building information modelling); but this is not enough.

Projects like this entail the risk of potential unexpected setbacks and contingencies.

The core of each project is the interconnection among its various stages. Technical adaptation calculations are superimposed on the existing infrastructures, and complement the definition of the production site’s general and production-specific systems.

This basically means that the general contractor has to be able to simultaneously plan civil and structural infrastructures as well as electrical and mechanical systems (m.e.p. systems),which are a crucial part of the correct functioning of the production site under redevelopment.

While the general contractor plans, builds and redevelops, the client carries on working in the factory, business as usual, as production cannot be stopped or transferred at such short notice.

A series of operational procedures strive to eliminate potential interferences with the production, and above all they aim to raise the safety standards in the workplace and on the building site.

This aspect is certainly decisive when drawing up a general brownfield redevelopment project.

Budget for planned activities and definition of work plan

When a plan is drafted, budgeting occurs either simultaneously with, or immediately following, the initial phase.

This is a rather complicated step as all the analysed factors must be taken into consideration:

• initial data and client’s requirements;
• preliminary and final finished project;
• environmental impact study;
• study of authorization procedure for single projects;
• well-defined contingency, and
• definition of staff and management personnel involved in the project.

The budget will include not only economic factors, but also the planned execution time of the whole project. An industrial redevelopment needs a defined delivery time.

Usually the reason behind choosing to redevelop an existing building is the quicker work plan compared to a new-build. However sometimes the opposite happens, and the work takes longer than anticipated. A very detailed work plan will definitely help clients to pinpoint their investments carefully.

Evaluation and comparison of brownfield/greenfield development costs

There are lots of evaluation parameters, and also in this case good technical and managerial knowledge is crucial to make the best decisions.

We can summarize the main parameters in four points:

1- Cost

The first parameter is economic. We take the total amount of the post-project budget and create a ratio with the total surface (m²) of the area that needs to be worked on. Then we compare the per-unit value with the per-unit cost in the ratio per square metre of the new-build or another new project with similar characteristics. If the per-unit value of the brownfield project is greater than the per-unit cost of a similar greenfield project, then an industrial site redevelopment is not worth it, and it would be advisable to invest in a new-build on the same site.

2- Timing

The second factor is timing, so for the same cost of investment, brownfield vs. greenfield, factories tend to optimize their investments over time, so a client will usually chose the quicker route.

3- Cost/Benefit

The third parameter is the cost/benefit analysis, which is carried out before deciding whether to opt for redeveloping an existing site or go for a new-build. Keeping this in mind, various key factors need to be considered such as logistics, staff recruitment, and general costs regimes etc. More precisely, in industry cost/benefit analyses are always done at the moment of programming any general investment aimed at energy efficiency. Therefore if benefits from energy savings, brought about by installing better-performing new high technologies, facilitate retrieving future investments with a pay-back time of less than 4/5 months, then it is definitely worth making sure the industrial site development becomes as efficient as possible.

4- Context

The last parameter we believe is important to consider is the geographic position and the logistics of the development site compared to that of a potential new site for a new-build.

Many industrial areas, despite being obsolete, have previously been served by main infrastructure and utilities systems, and they are usually built in proximity of main communication routes, state roads, duel carriageways and motorways, so they are strategically placed as far as logistics are concerned.

Contrary to new industrial areas, old ones do not enjoy as many benefits.

To conclude, the context parameter is less an indicator and more a prevailing factor which determines the feasibility of both types of projects.

Client’s staff training and refresher activities in line with the upgraded technology plant engineering

Once the industrial site redevelopment has been completed, the client’s maintenance staff will undergo radical changes in their job management. Replacing old infrastructures and utilities systems generates a new operative model of reference.

In this situation the general contractor is under the obligation to inform the client of this aspect, as well as giving his/her technicians assistance and management training.

The various training activities are included in the estimate, and are part of corporate Capex (capital expenditure) and therefore are included in the general redevelopment project costs.

This activity may continue after the inspections have been carried out and may be part of an after-sale contract, for example in the form of assistance and guarantee of the completed works. In any case we believe training activities should be an important chapter in any brownfield project.

Inveco Group’s experience

In recent years Inveco has completed various projects both in Italy and abroad.

Each project was customized to meet our clients’ requirements, and all systems comply with current planning regulations.

Completed industrial site redevelopment projects

– CLN Group, Serbia, Kostolac municipality. Excavation and special foundations construction for new coil stretching lines inside an existing factory.

– Plados Telma, Serbia, Nova Pazova municipality. Large scale general and production-specific systems installation, creation of new internal partitions REI 120, new external technical premises, restructuring administrative offices.

– Fixa Shoes, Serbia, Ruma municipality. Redevelopment of an old 1960s building. Restoration of all façades, door and window frames and industrial roof, ex novo industrial floor, administrative offices, external yards and logistic loading and unloading area, and general and production-specific systems.

– Dayco Europe, Italy, Ivrea (Turin) municipality. Over the course of a few years we restructured the former Olivetti industrial park in San Bernardo d’Ivrea, carrying out construction and logistic requalification and making various production departments more energy efficient with the application of new technologies like photovoltaic systems, LED lighting systems and boiler optimization. We also disposed of significant quantities of various categories of cement-asbestos.

– Lombardini Motori, Italy, Reggio Emilia. We cleaned up 24,000m² of cement-asbestos industrial roofing with a sandwich encapsulation system. Cement-asbestos was also limited to the industrial department’s water tower.

– Dytech Fluid & Technologies, Italy, Airasca (Turin). We cleaned up 16,000m² of cement-asbestos industrial roofing with a sandwich encapsulation system and we installed 80 smoke out domes to combine with air exchange, interfaced with a new centralized fire detection system inside the industrial plant.

– Cooper Standard, Italy, Ciriè (Turin). Generalized multilevel industrial site redevelopment of 110,000m², consisting of construction and infrastructure redevelopment, energy-consumption optimization of all technological systems, and cleaning up of lots of surfaces and areas contaminated with cement-asbestos.