Züblin and Gilbane Building set up joint venture

German contractor Ed. Züblin and US-based Gilbane Building Company have agreed to set up a joint venture, Züblin Gilbane, to target specific types of construction projects in Europe. The companies said the joint venture would take advantage of combined resources and expertise in the field of healthcare and military construction.

Gilbane senior vice president and director of its federal sector, Jeff Schramm said, "Having recently completed several major projects with the US military in Europe, Züblin brings the right mix of expertise and area knowledge to complement Gilbane's extensive federal and healthcare capabilities."

Both companies have worked recently with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Gilbane built the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital and Züblin has worked for the USACE and the US military on a number of facilities in Germany. Züblin is currently principal subcontractor to ITSI Gilbane, a Gilbane subsidiary, on the US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) Headquarters Building 201 at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

The companies say they will also exchange technical knowledge and information on building systems including Building Information Modelling (BIM) and exploring the exchange of selected project and technical staff.