News

Today, 35 years ago, the joint-stock company “MARU” received its registration certificate, issued on February 19, 1991, by the Harju County enterprise register.

A day earlier, the Harju County had granted a business license to Maru, then operating in the village of Riidamäe in Kõue Parish. This gave the newly formed company permission to engage in the “design, preparation of documentation, and execution of construction and renovation works,” as well as “production and sale of consumer goods” and “foreign economic activity” (see the image below the news).

Today, the Maru Group has grown into a major construction and manufacturing group employing about 400 people. The group specializes in general contracting, design, assembly, concrete works, business park development, steel production, PVC hangars and mobile solutions. Based on the last financial year, the Group’s turnover reached 100 million euros. The Group’s subsidiaries include Maru Ehitus, Maru Metall, Maru Betoonitööd, Maru THM, MDSC Systems, and Moodul.

Students gave hangars a try

The foundation for Maru’s activities was laid by Heiki Laiverik while he was a student studying industrial electronics at TPI (now TalTech), having started building arch hangars during student summer camps. He was soon joined by his fellow student Andres Piiber and his brother Ain Laiverik, then still a high school student. The students worked alongside studies and during summer breaks. As they erected hangars, the Soviet Union was collapsing and Estonian entrepreneurship started to emerge. This led the founders of Maru to start their own business.

As the business expanded, design and manufacturing were added to the construction of hangars. When the client base grew to include a significant number of general contractors, Maru’s founders decided to enter the general contracting market themselves. By the turn of the century, Maru had established itself as a builder of major landmark projects.

The list of Maru Group’s projects now includes an impressive number of iconic structures: Unibet Arena (Saku Suurhall), the Tallinna Pank headquarters, the new KAPO (Internal Security Service) building, the Kanama viaduct, Tallinn Airport with its parking house, the Kalev Yacht Club harbor building, all three of Estonia’s synchronous compensator stations, Enefit oil plants, VKG industrial complexes, the Elcogen fuel cell factory, the Neo Performance Materials magnet factory, and many others. On many of these sites, Maru Ehitus served as the general contractor, while on others, Maru’s subsidiaries provided services such as concrete works or steel production and assembly.

Extensive work has also been completed abroad. Notable international sports facilities built with Maru’s assistance include football halls in Iceland, the Riga Arena, and the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. In Finland, for example, Maru has been commissioned to build schools, swimming pools, shopping centers, industrial facilities, and boiler plants.

Maru’s Founders on the 35-year journey:

Andres Piiber: “We have tried to develop the business culture of Estonia so that things would be official, transparent, and the state also gets its share.”

Ain Laiverik: “A good entrepreneur is a hardworking and disciplined person. Life is a matter of chance, but you have to work for that positive chance to happen. Do your thing and do it well! Be honest. Deliver what you promised.”

Heiki Laiverik: “Everything has come through hard work. We are a team that has grown together through challenges. I hope that Maru continues to be a successful firm that will one day leave its mark with its own new HQ landmark.”

Maru’s registration certificate and business licence, dating back to 1991.

 

Maru celebrates 35 years. Photo: Liis Reiman