Implenia supports ETH professorship in innovative and industrial construction
Dietlikon, 28 April 2016 – At today’s signing ceremony in Zurich, the ETH Zurich, the ETH Zurich Foundation and Implenia, as industrial partner, put the seal on a strategic partnership in the field of innovative and industrial construction. The partnership aims to develop new expertise in civil engineering and construction. Research findings will feed into concrete process optimisations along the entire value chain of a construction project. The partnership also aims is to increase the appeal of the subject, promote the training of young construction engineers and encourage the exchange of knowledge between academia and industry. At the core of the agreements is the financial support Implenia is providing for an assistant professorship in the field of innovative and industrial construction at the Institute for Construction and Infrastructure Management (IBI), part of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at the ETH Zurich. Implenia will be supporting this post over the next six years with a ring-fenced contribution of CHF 2.4 million to the ETH Zurich Foundation. The plan is for the professor to start work within the next 12 to 18 months. The agreement includes the stipulation that there are no constraints on the research, teaching and publishing conducted by the professor or the researchers he or she supervises. Prof. Dr. Lino Guzzella, President of the ETH, feels there is a huge amount of potential to be unlocked: “Digital technologies are opening up completely new possibilities for designing structures, but also for better collaboration between people and machines. The Swiss construction industry needs to exploit this potential.” Implenia's CEO Anton Affentranger is also enthusiastic about the partnership: “Let's face it, the construction industry is currently one of the most inefficient sectors in the whole economy. In Implenia’s tenth anniversary year we want to invest in the future of construction and to make an active contribution to innovation and industrialisation within our industry.” Implenia’s Technical Center already works intensively on matters relating to operational excellence and continuous technical development, focusing on issues such as streamlining building processes and utilising Building Information Modelling (BIM). For more information about the partnership, please visit www.ethz.ch/en/news-and-events.
Implenia press contact
Philipp Bircher
Head of Communications Group
Tel.: +41 58 474 74 77
ETH press contact
Franziska Schmid
Media Relations
Tel.: +41 44 632 89 41
A partnership dedicated to developing expertise in civil engineering and construction - signing ceremony at the ETH Zurich (left to right): Prof. Dr. Ulrich Weidmann, Vice President for Personnel and Resources at ETH Zürich; Prof. Dr. Lino Guzzella, President of ETH Zürich; Anton Affentranger, CEO of Implenia; Dr. Jörg Kaiser, Head of Implenia's Technical Center. (Picture: ETH/Implenia)
The partnership will promote the increased use of digital technologies in the construction industry. BIM Models, like the one here of the Labitzke project Implenia is building as total contractor in Zurich, play an important role in making the construction process more efficient. (Picture: Implenia)
Implenia, Switzerland’s leading construction and construction services company, also has a strong position in the German, Austrian and Scandinavian infrastructure markets. Established in 2006, Implenia can look back on around 150 years of construction tradition. It brings the expertise of its highly skilled sectoral and regional units together under the roof a company active throughout Europe. With its integrated business model and specialists operating in all areas of construction, the Group can manage a building project through its entire lifecycle and deliver work that is economical, integrated and customer-centric. The focus is on striking a sustainable balance between financial success and social and environmental responsibility.
Implenia, with its headquarters in Dietlikon near Zurich, currently employs more than 8000 people around Europe and posted revenue of around CHF 3.3 billion in 2015. The company is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (IMPN, CH0023868554). More information can be found at www.implenia.com.
