BACKGROUND & SPECIALTIES.
Mr. Bhupen Hirani is the Director and Project Surveyor at Prosper Construction Company Limited. The company was initially set as a sole proprietary in the 70s and in the mid 90’s it became a limited liability operation. The company was founded by Bhupen’s father who started as a small contractor dealing with individual housing and small-scale projects in the 70s and 80s. In the 90s, the company picked up and started working with missionary projects like the world bank funded projects and family planning Kenya and more other projects that related to schools, hospitals, and churches.
Prosper Construction Ltd are main contractors but sometimes come in as subcontractors who specialize in sectors such as foundation piling and micro-pilling works and also structural repairs (structural strengthening). The company also introduced radiation shielding and electromagnetic shielding which is done in hospitals and cancer centers.
Mr. Bhupen was in the UK and that’s where he was able to study and practice construction. He says construction was in the blood and he got into practice micro pilling when he was there.
PROJECTS DONE.
Hometown Apartments – 64 Apartments in Athiriver
Kenyatta University Hospital
Agakan Hospital
Avenue Hospitals
Chandaram Hospital
TIPS FOR ACHIEVING BUSINESS GROWTH.
For a business to grow gradually, one needs to understand the business and make it a specialty. Understanding the business is very important because it helps in delivering quality work and growth will automatically come with the recommendations.
SELLING POINT.
Prosper Construction Ltd conducts its operations very professionally and they are very devoted when it comes to delivering their client’s projects. Advising their clients correctly is their main selling point, and Mr. Bhupen explicates saying with a correct technical backup, their clients have understood the value of giving them the job.
‘’ Construction is not all about selling,’’ he says. ‘’ Construction is about delivering/selling your knowledge rather than the product itself. Understand the project and give the client the right advice based on what their requirement is.’’
He also notes that unerring understanding and a veracious level of education have enabled them to set the correct standards when it comes to their projects.
QUALITY CONTROL.
Prosper Construction takes quality control very personally and its managed by a few people in the company who have the knowledge and understanding including Mr. Bhupen. The quality officers understand what needs to be delivered and what the client’s expectations are and work towards achieving them.
FUTURE PROSPECTS/INNOVATION.
Mr. Bhupen aims to expand the company into a Pan-African Company and be effective in neighboring countries with the services they have.
Micro pilling is a permanent foundation method that they are planning to promote. It is one of the methods that attracted clients from all over the world to Prosper construction. Micropile foundation is one of the very cost-effective and reliable pile foundations. The micropile foundation is most commonly used for providing structural support, underpinning the foundation, enhancing mass stability, and for transferring loads.
The micro piles are best for minimizing foundation settlement and are ideal when is being done in areas where soil makeup is quite difficult. Micropile foundation resists uplift and lateral loads.
Micropile foundation reduces all the concerns related to the quality assurance that is associated with cast-in-place piling in weak soils.
CHALLENGES.
Prosper Construction is having difficulties selling modern methods of construction into the market. Micro pilling being one of the most reliable ways of doing foundation, people are still stuck in old methods of construction, and it’s hard to convince clients and even consultants to use a method they have not used.
He argues contractors to back up new construction methods that promote the development of the industry.
OUTLOOK ON KENYA’S CONSTRUCTION MARKET.
Mr. Bhupen has great expectations for the future and maintains a positive outlook on the construction industry. He states the market looks very vibrant and there is a lot of demand but proper legislation needs to be set for proper standards to be maintained.
He concluded by quoting one of his favorite slogans, ‘’If you do it right now, it costs less in the future.’’