The recent acquisition of Tebodin – a Dutch consultancy and engineering company that operates across 22 countries – by multi-disciplinary construction consultancy Archetype Group aims to strengthen their reach in the Kingdom by focusing on industrial projects, according to the local managing director.

Acquired with an undisclosed amount, Archetype Group took over Tebodin’s Asia Pacific operations in a complete buy-out in early March. Michel Cassagnes, managing director for Archetype in Cambodia and Laos, said the group will now further extend their reach into Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, and China.

“Our focus will be on the industrial sector in Cambodia, [and] we have noticed an increase in multinationals in the industrial sector moving their operations to Cambodia, so we believe that there will be a big market for our combined services and expertise in the country,” said Cassagnes.

Archetype has had a multi-faceted foothold in Cambodia’s construction industry since 2003, with a portfolio including architecture, engineering, project management, and cost management services to Laurelton Diamond Factory, Khmer Brewery, and Crown Factory; and construction management and safety management services to the extension of the Heineken Factory.

While Tebodin has held a firm presence in China, the acquisition will allow Archetype to extend north despite a Chinese economy which is struggling to shore up investment and growth, as investors are looking to diversify beyond mainland projects.

Nevertheless, Cassagnes explained that “China still has a very strong industrial sector; our clients are not the Chinese themselves but international multinationals [there]”.

He is confident that with these two firms’ combined capabilities and recently widened scope, “we will soon sign more industrial contracts”, although the acquisition has been too recent to publicly confirm any upcoming projects.

Nevertheless, according to Cassagnes, Archetype is currently working on a couple of projects in the Kingdom, drawing up concept designs and master planning of a development along the Tonle Bassac River, as well as working on interior design in an office tower.