PORR buys 51% stake in Vienna drylining firm rhtb:
What's the deal? Austrian construction group PORR has acquired a 51% stake in rhtb:, a Vienna-based drylining and interior fit-out specialist. The deal, announced on May 18, brings rhtb:'s 100-strong workforce and expertise in drywall construction, integrated heating and cooling systems, raised floors, and prefabricated system partition walls under PORR's umbrella.
rhtb: founder Rainer Haubenwaller, who started the company 27 years ago, will stay on as co-owner and shareholder. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Why now? PORR is expanding its affordable housing brand, PORR Living, which builds residential units at construction costs below €2,000 per square metre using prefabricated methods. The first pilot project — a 50-apartment development in Lower Austria — is already underway.
rhtb:'s prefab components and interior fit-out capabilities slot directly into that strategy. PORR chief executive officer Karl-Heinz Strauss said prefab construction "has become an indispensable component of modern building," enabling higher quality and significantly shorter construction times.
The two companies already have a long working relationship. rhtb: handled the interior refurbishment of PORR's own headquarters in Vienna, along with fit-out work at several other locations. Its portfolio includes major projects such as the Austria Center and the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
What could go wrong? Integrating a 100-person specialist firm into a large construction group always carries cultural and operational risk. Retaining rhtb:'s niche expertise — and the talent behind it — will be critical. Strauss signalled confidence by keeping Haubenwaller involved, but scalability ambitions beyond residential into industrial construction remain unproven.
The signal: The deal reflects a broader trend in European construction: large contractors are vertically integrating specialist trades, particularly those tied to prefabrication and energy-efficient building systems. As demand for affordable, fast-to-build housing intensifies across the continent, controlling interior fit-out capabilities in-house gives firms like PORR a competitive edge on cost and delivery timelines.
Read more: porr-group.com
