When the Union area is to be expanded with new residential and commercial buildings, Seltor in Drammen is among those at the forefront, with a focus on the environment and sustainability. The construction company's efforts in the region are being noticed by the construction industry.

Commercial buildings, kindergartens, schools, housing development and rehabilitation of buildings - Seltor Gruppen AS - Drammen branch is a turnkey contractor that builds quality based on its core values. TÆL stands for security, honesty and a long-term approach. The company has done this for 84 years and has ambitions to do the same for the next 84 years. Seltor in Drammen has established itself in the region after meticulous work, both internally and externally. As Drammen grows, Seltor will be an important partner along the way.

-"The arrows are pointing in the direction of significant sales because Drammen is growing into the future, and we want to be part of that journey. We've seen an extreme increase over the past two years and have gained a stronger foothold among the professional players. The big players see what they get out of Seltor," says Jan-Frode Eng, District Manager for Seltor in Drammen. One of the projects they are currently working on is a building rights intention for the development of Union, on the west side of Øvre Sund bridge.

- "We are one of the first players to be responsible for the expansion towards Gulskogen. It will be exciting," says Eng.

Seltor Gruppen AS is one of Norway's oldest construction companies with an 84-year history. Seltor is located in Telemark/Vestfold, Viken and Oslo, with the entire Eastern Norway region as its geographical catchment area. They have the expertise and capacity to take responsibility for the entire construction process from idea to handover. Seltor ensures quality in all work processes, from development via engineering, procurement and logistics, to execution, handover and warranty. They emphasize more than the physical quality of the final product and focus strongly on clear lines of communication and clear responsibilities with the client and subcontractors.

Six years ago, they established a separate department in Drammen.

- With our expertise, the construction process is rationalized and risk is reduced in close collaboration with the parties involved. Which in turn creates proper and predictable cost control. I believe we are one of the best in class at this. Our in-house expertise is so strong that there isn't a project where we can't help the client to rationalize. I dare to point that out," says Eng. Seltor currently has 17 employees at the office in Drammen and is growing steadily. The contracting group's first foray into the region was the renovation of Buskerud Storsenter and the construction of Nor Tekstil at Lierstranda in 2016. Since then, it has been a steady stream of exciting projects.

- When we build, we place great emphasis on our core values TÆL - T for security, Æ for honesty and L for long-term. With this, we want to create value-based relationships with both customers and end users. We want you to be satisfied whether you're on the supplier side or the client side," says Eng. Two years ago, they moved into newly renovated premises at Landfalløya 105 in Drammen, which previously housed Prosjektcompaniet. Here they share offices with Trippel Eiendom.

Great buildings in the region

Seltor Gruppen delivers demanding solutions in construction and housing. They are committed to customer satisfaction and always deliver on time. The company has been involved in several major projects and has contributed to new, beautiful buildings in the cityscape and in the region, to the benefit of businesses and residents. Among other things, they have been at the forefront of developing one of Drammen's largest primary schools.

- "My first project after being headhunted as a project manager at Seltor was the refurbishment of Øren School in 2018. It's a beautiful school of almost 4,000 m2 if you include the extension and interior renovation," says Eng.

In 2019, the journey continued and Seltor was involved in several major prestige projects, such as Hagaløkkveien for Holtefjell Eiendom in Asker, where Bergans has established new premises.

At Holmen/Nesbru, Seltor has a contract for the Holmen development project where Storebrand eiendom is the project owner. Maxbo Holmen will be the tenant for much of the space.
This will be completed in the fall of 2022.

And these days, new apartments are taking shape at Strandholmen in Holmestrand, which Seltor is building for Bane Nor Eiendom and Seltor Bolig AS. This is a great apartment project with a fantastic location on the beachfront. The project consists of a total of three apartment buildings with a total of approximately 70 apartments.

Seltor has a strong environmental focus at all levels and in all its construction projects, and has several projects that are BREEAM certified. They work actively with sustainability, circular economy, reuse and recycling in all their projects. Seltor is committed to reducing both its own and its customers' environmental impact, which means that all its activities must include more sustainable products and solutions. Hasle Tre is a unique project in terms of the environment and sustainability.

- Considering the pandemic the world has been in and now the impact of the war on the various industries, these are challenging times in the construction industry as well. Seltor has, in good faith with its partners, found good solutions to continue the positive trend where projects can be completed from A to Z. At Strandholmen, the first construction phase will be completed in the first quarter of 2023. And 26 apartments have already been sold. "It's great fun," says Eng.

Networking with Godset

In recent years, Seltor in Drammen has focused on getting more in touch with the business community in the city, creating trust and relationships. Eng particularly highlights being a sponsor of Strømsgodset as an important arena for collaboration in Drammen - "Strømsgodset means a lot to Drammen. Being part of the sponsorship is important. I was actually surprised by how many people in the construction industry are part of this. And that's a big advantage for us. We've been working very actively on this for the past two years, and because of this collaboration, we feel that a lot of people have become aware of us and what we stand for," says Eng. But there is a lot of work behind establishing Seltor in the region.

- We deliver quality at every stage, which has led to us being involved in increasingly large projects. Clients use Seltor because they know that we keep our promises and therefore trust us. We are open and transparent in our business. In addition, the construction industry has been tough during the pandemic, quite simply tough. That's why we've done what we can to help, including through trust-based contracts," Eng emphasizes. He also points out that Seltor has a lot of expertise in its catchment areas. They use this experience to learn from each other in the regions.

- As we like to say: "The hamburger should taste the same - everywhere". This means that Seltor and the way we work should appear the same to all customers. Now we notice that people come to us and want us to build for them.

The right people make the difference

At Seltor in Drammen, they have also focused a lot on how they should appear and who fits their profile, as employees.

- We are keen to recruit people who can take Seltor forward, based on our core values. That's why we currently have good processes in place to find the right people. In Drammen, we want to build a foundation where we work safely and with good turnover," says Eng. The contracting company in Drammen is growing, but they are keen to grow in a proper way.

- We are very lucky. It's a talented bunch here. And hardly anyone leaves. That's because we have so much fun at work," he concludes.