When you need a site supervisor or project manager, you call Prohoc. That’s a good reason to be in contact – but not the only one? Full project delivery responsibility is a growing part of Prohoc’s offering, and a growing number of industrial owners and technology suppliers are putting that capability to work.
Iiro Wesslin, Vice President at Prohoc, recognises a trend that has been shaping the industry throughout the 2000s: it rarely makes sense anymore for industrial investors and plant owners to maintain their own in-house project organisation.
“When a project needs to get off the ground, the owner typically has to reach out to at least three separate parties: an engineering consultant, a technology supplier, and a contractor. If all services are sourced from different providers, that means three separate interfaces, and the co-ordination burden falls on the customer,” Wesslin explains.
At the same time, technology is growing more complex across all industrial production installations. This creates a rising need for system integrators capable of bringing together technologies from multiple suppliers and putting them to work for the end user. That’s exactly where Prohoc steps in.
Total project management as a turnkey service
Prohoc is often associated with resourcing. That, however, is only one part of the picture.
What may surprise many is that Prohoc also takes on full EPC responsibility, meaning one contract, one point of accountability and one contact throughout the entire project. Beyond EPC, Prohoc delivers projects across EPCM and PMC scopes, and can also act as an independent Owner’s Engineer, representing the customer’s interests and ensuring that technical, commercial and safety objectives are met at every stage.
“We take responsibility for everything in the project, supporting the customer in technology procurement in an advisory role and managing the integration of different technologies. The customer can hand over all the headaches of project execution to us, and we make sure the project gets delivered as planned,” says Simo Rintakari, Prohoc’s Head of Project Services.
Underpinning all project delivery services is a team of experienced and certified professionals who manage projects from site planning and management through to installation, commissioning, electrical works, HSEQ, scheduling and documentation.
“In practice, the customer buys a team that frees up their own time and gives them peace of mind – knowing the project is in safe hands,” Rintakari adds.
The most flexible operator in the field
Flexibility is Prohoc’s core strength as a project delivery partner.
“We’re not tied to any specific technology or industry segment, which means we can genuinely operate on the customer’s terms. Our role adapts to the situation: sometimes we work more closely with the investor, sometimes as a local delivery partner for a technology supplier – most often something in between,” Rintakari explains.
The same flexibility shows in how Prohoc puts together its project teams. “We have a broad and continuously growing network of professionals, from which we build the right team for each specific project, one that can also be mobilised quickly in the field. Our ability to act with flexibility and agility translates directly into cost efficiency for the customer,” Rintakari continues.
Scaling to meet customer needs
Until now, Prohoc’s project deliveries have been concentrated primarily in the Finnish market. But now, the energy transition and the growing volume of industrial investments especially in Sweden are beginning to change the picture.
“There’s strong demand for versatile operators in the market. We’ve been asked directly whether we can deliver full turnkey projects also outside Finland – Sweden in particular. My answer is: we are definitely interested. We have the capability to operate and mobilize the team to almost any location. Battery energy storage, for example, is a growing area where we have already experience with different contract models,” Wesslin says.
As the need for project expertise continues to grow, so does the case for a single delivery partner. Wesslin puts it simply: the fewer handovers, the better the outcome. “The success of an investment is decided in the execution, and often before the project even begins. That’s why we want to be involved at the stage when plans are still being shaped. One point of contact and full accountability – that’s where we add the most value,” Wesslin concludes.