We Bet You Didn't Know These Facts About Europe's Biggest Construction Companies

Europe and, now we need to mention it separately, Britain are home to some of the world's largest construction companies. In fact, the world's largest international construction contractor is European: ACS, ACTIVIDADES DE CONSTRUCCIÓN Y SERVICIOS, Madrid, Spain. And the ACS group truly is huge, their turnover in the year of 2016 being €34.058 billion. The construction industry is very important to the EU economy. It creates new jobs, drives economic growth, and provides solutions for social, climate, and energy challenges.

Curious about Europe's biggest construction companies, GenieBelt decided to dig a little deeper and find out who they are, what they do, and how big they are. They plotted their findings on this spreadsheet, so you can see for yourself.

[Image Source: GenieBelt]

If you're just looking for a quick look into the biggest company in each country, this handy graphic is perfect:

[Image Source: GenieBelt]

The interesting thing you'll notice here that GenieBelt has pointed out is that "each country has its own 'top company' and even though there are thousands of companies spread across Europe, there isn’t one central dominant company in all of Europe."

This makes sense, as each country has a different growth in construction they need to meet. Slovenia, Montenegro, and Spain have all grown in the construction industry within recent years. After the global financial crisis in 2009, Europe's construction industry took a hit. Many countries rebounded. Also, 2014 marked the first time where construction grew again as an industry. However, some countries continued to struggle. Greece lost 80 percent of its construction industry between 2010 and 2013. Typically, those hit hardest by the financial crisis see the biggest struggle in building up major construction companies.

For a closer look at the companies and where they are placed, check out the map here.

[Image source: GenieBelt]

We Bet You Didn't Know This about Europe's Biggest Construction Companies

All facts are courtesy of European Commission:

-The construction sector provides 18 million direct jobs and contributes to about 9 percent of the EU's GDP

-Up to 95 percent of construction, architecture, and civil engineering firms are micro-enterprises or small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES)

-The European Union’s internal market offers international partners access to more than 500 million people across 28 countries and approximately EUR 13 trillion in GDP

[Image Source: Pexels]

-The EU is aiming for a 30 percent cut in its annual primary energy consumption by 2030. The building sector, together with public transportation, has the greatest potential for savings

-At EU level there exist more than 450 harmonized standards for construction products developed by the European standardization bodies

-A specific Investment Plan for Europe (also called Juncker Plan or European Fund for Strategic Investments) has been put in place in 2015 with important financing opportunities for the construction sector

-EU is on a quest for sustainable construction. Buildings have the potential to reach a 90 percent reduction of their greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

-The energy performance of buildings directive (EPBD) promotes the improvement of the energy performance of buildings, taking into account outdoor climatic and local conditions, as well as indoor climate requirements and cost-effectiveness. According to the EPBD, all new buildings shall be nearly zero-energy buildings by 31 December 2020, and two  years earlier for buildings occupied and owned by public authorities

These are just some of the incredible facts regarding European construction companies.

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