WE ARE S+B!

We are family!

How do you recognise a family-owned company? 

With regard to our company, it means that for decades the majority owners have had the same name as our company, Schertler and Beck. Mr. Günter Schertler and Mr. Alfred Michael Beck joined forces 35 years ago and laid the foundation for our success by focussing on challenging buildings at unique locations. Since the company was converted into a public limited company in 2008, the long-standing directors and their families have brought in external talent: Wolfdieter Jarisch is responsible for Austria, Franz Paul Bauer looks after Central and Eastern Europe, and Edmund Völker and Wolfgang Eder are responsible for Finance and Accounting. The family members support their work, but the next generation is already becoming established in the company: as authorised officers, young employees, interns while still at school or little rays of sunshine who visit us from time to time. After the sudden death of Mr. Schertler, his sons are also continuing to embody his spirit of a family-owned company.

It also means that we call our approximately 140 employees family members. Why? Because most of them have been part of our team for years and, together with us, are passionate about our projects. Incidentally, the average S+B family member is female, 41 years old, and has been part of the family for over 17 years.

Grandchild-friendly!
Sustainable is a word that does not go far enough. All companies need to consider or should be considering the use of sustainable materials, the responsible use of all aspects of resources (use of materials, use of land and soil, fauna and flora, light and water etc.) as well as all other well-known aspects. We have been working towards certification in all our projects to demonstrate this simply to our buyers. Due to the international nature of our operations, we opted for LEED some decades ago and are proud to have been a pioneer in various countries and sectors – for instance, we were the first company to be awarded platinum certification for an office building in Austria. It was also difficult to obtain similar confirmation for a laboratory building – with its myriad requirements and specifications. 

But we also had a building that had to be demolished after 5 years. Even an extensive reconstruction it would not have met today's requirements governing operating costs and state-of-the-art technology. To avoid these situations, we try to anticipate future developments and incorporate them into the design and construction process. State-of-the-art is too little: we are striving for state-of-the-future. This involves both technical innovations, as well as changes to the social fabric. This approach is becoming more and more important nowadays, as projects are taking longer and longer to complete. We want to construct buildings in which our grandchildren will still feel at home – grandchild-friendly if you like.

We (also) build high-rise!
In recent years, we have been increasingly working on high-rise buildings. We are developing more than 10 buildings that will shape the cityscape in the D-City alone, a modern, younger district in Vienna, adjacent to the Danube in the Donaustadt district. We would like to highlight in particular:

• DC 2: Construction work has started on the former twin tower of DC 1. The below-ground work is scheduled to take a year after which the impressive mixed-use tower will rise up, offering offices, rental apartments and restaurants once it is completed in 2025.
• DANUBEFLATS: The highest residential building continues to rise. While the smaller Building 2 will soon reach roof level, the 180-metre tall residential high-rise will take until 2024 to be completed. Residents of the building will enjoy luxury living over 48 floors 
• DC 3: Austria's highest and largest student/serviced apartment block (110-metres tall) was handed over to the owner at the end of February and residents will fill the D-City with youthful life from May. We have also acquired experience in working with bathroom pods for the first time.
• DS90: An 80-metre tall apartment block is planned for Vienna's 20th district. Construction will start as soon as planning consent has been granted.
• Taille (lit. Waist): A high-rise building with a twisted waist – this interesting design is currently being developed in the 3rd district, close to the historic Gasometer building. 

We are also building upwards at our other sites. A 95-metre tall tower has just been completed in Warsaw, affording a view of the adjacent Palace of Culture. The building has been named WIDOK TOWERS, 'widok' appropriately being the Polish word for outlook.

We are resilient / crisis-resistant!
The last two years have shown us how a small, invisible “thing” called Covid-19 can turn our familiar world upside down. But all S+B family members defied the disease – although some team members were treated in hospital. This has only made us more considerate of each other.

With the help of our partners, we were able to continue working almost as usual by promptly switching to working from home before it was officially prescribed, with many virtual meetings, and coordinating working hours at construction sites. 

But we are also aware of our resilience on a larger scale: we are proud to advance our projects as an independent company. This is possible through the in-house design and organisation of projects from purchase, utilisation, planning consent, construction, rental to sale as well as through careful consideration of the owners' mutual risks and forward-looking financial management. From the beginning of the company's history, care was taken to ensure that a substantial part of the profit generated was reinvested in the company. This enables us to develop an equity ratio that is impressive in the real estate sector.

But each and every member of the family needs to be supported in coping with their everyday working life. Alongside the existing measures (fruit basket, contribution for gym membership, flu vaccinations ...), we will also be taking further measures for our family in future.  For several years we have been organising an internal sports event, the aim of which is to raise money for charity. In the near future, we would like to step up our efforts and not just do so one a single day of the year, but appeal to everyone to do something good for themselves and others (almost) every day of the year. And at the end of the season, we can proudly say:

We are S+B!