Appearing on the site board of a prestigious project is cherished by many companies in the industry. For some, this is a sign of accomplishment largely because besides the pride of being part of the team, it serves the marketing aspect and can influence the clinching of the next contract.
For one company, however, rarely will its name appear on the site project team board. Yet, in many projects in Kenya irrespective of the scale, Rhombus Construction Company Ltd or simply Rhombus, is always involved and contributes immensely. In some, the company accounts for as much as a third of the project going by its role(s) in the project. “You may not see our name on the project board but we are the drivers of many projects,” says Githinji Kinyanjui, Rhombus Director and Chief Executive Officer.
To many, Rhombus is a company that is largely known through its ready mix concrete business. In many projects, the company is a major supplier of concrete and its trucks are a regular sight on city roads delivering concrete across various sites. Unknown to many people, ready mix concrete is a small segment of the company which considers itself as a “solution provider” in the building and construction sector.
There are good reasons why Rhombus considers itself as a solution provider. The company has the ability, capability and capacity to provide end-to-end solutions in any construction project irrespective of its cost and magnitude. Through its three departments namely construction, industrialized building systems and Sany heavy machinery dealership, Rhombus is a one-stop-shop for the construction industry.
“As Rhombus we come in to bridge the gaps, that’s why we offer solutions. We seek to understand you, prescribe a solution and give you a roadmap to actualize a project. We have the equipment, we understand processes, we have all the technologies and we have all manner of partners including banks, supplies and providers of technologies among others,” explains Githinji.
The ability of Rhombus to provide wholesome solutions is clear. In its construction department, the company that was established in 2005 is involved in building construction and road works, project financing, general trading and construction management consultancy. In the industrialized building systems it offers affordable housing solutions, precast concrete technology and ready mix concrete production and supply. The Sany dealership department is involved in heavy machinery sales, heavy plant and equipment leasing, machinery parts and spares sales. Machinery asset financing and maintenance service and support.
For Rhombus, the confidence in offering solutions is unrivalled. According to Githinji, a client can walk into the company’s office with a winning bid for a project and walk out with a whole implementation plan including financing and construction processes. “We are telling people to go get a contract and we will work with them to implement it because we have different products all geared towards making them mobilize,” he states. He adds that for the company, no project is small or big enough owing to its capabilities to provide solutions across the whole spectrum.
The company has been involved in major projects in the country by way of readymix concrete supply and machinery provision among other aspects. Notable clients include Two Rivers, Tatu City, Majani House, Holy Family Basilica, Kenya Electricity Generating Company, Landmark Holdings, Avic International, China Road and Bridge Corporation and China Wu Yi among many others.
In actual construction, Rhombus has delivered numerous projects ranging from high-rise apartments, government and commercial buildings. For instance, the company undertook the construction of Ciata City Mall. The company is also deeply involved in affordable housing projects, an area that Rhombus has great passion. On these areas, the company is implementing ‘Habitat Heights’, a partnership between the government and United Nations Office for Project Services targeting to develop 100,000 housing units.
“Affordable housing is an area we are passionate about because Kenya is facing a huge housing deficit,” notes Githinji. He adds that in a bid to reduce the cost of construction and realize the dream of supplying over 35,000 affordable units in the market by 2021, Rhombus has adopted the precast technology working closely with the Sany Group.
Another area that Rhombus is deeply involved in is in road construction projects. Although the government has contracted foreign companies to implement major road projects including the Nairobi Expressway, Kenol-Sagana-Marua highway, Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit highway among others, Rhombus is among local companies playing key roles in the implementation of the projects. The local content in the Kenyan laws demand that 30 percent of any project won by foreign contractors must be implemented by local firms. “We target the local content and get involved in major road projects,” says Githinji, adding that Rhombus is among local companies participating in the construction of the KSh62 billion Nairobi Expressway.
While Rhombus has managed to build a strong brand in the country’s building and construction industry, its profile was significantly boosted in 2018 when it signed a heavy machinery dealership with Sany Group. Sany is a global manufacturer of industry-leading construction and mining equipment, port and drilling machinery and renewable wind-energy systems.
Through the dealership with Sany, Rhombus has a showroom with ready Sany machinery for sale. The company has adopted a flexible purchase system cutting across outright sales, rent to own after last payment, normal leasing to asset financing in partnership with financial institutions. The company also has a fully stocked warehouse for Sany machinery spares and round the clock service teams to provide maintenance and support services.
Though well-established, Rhombus is always evolving in line with the changing dynamics of the industry in line with its vision geared towards becoming the continent’s leading innovative construction company by adopting a client-centered approach and observing strict operational standards to ensure consistency in quality service delivery.
