Lagom Är Bäst
Opinions are divided about the meaning of the Swedish expression "lagom". For some, it means "not too much and not too little" – healthy moderation, while others think it means "just right". Marek Malek – owner of timber construction company IMM, based in the town of Svedala near Malmö – believes that "just right" is the correct meaning as he won't settle for less. We visited him at a construction site.
Marek Malek
IMM AB
Marek Malek was born in Poland. After completing his carpentry apprenticeship, he left his home country for Sweden in 1986. In 1989, he founded IMM AB in the town of Svedala near Malmö in southern Sweden. The company currently has 16 employees and supplies all of the services required to build timber houses, from the interior finishing to façades
There's a blue sky above Ljunghusen, a town around half an hour's drive south of Malmö in southern Sweden, which looks slightly bluer this morning. It is as if someone has taken the colour straight from the Swedish flag and painted it onto the sky. Maybe it looks this way because of the white wooden façade of the new building under scaffolding, which naturally heightens the contrast. Marek Malek looks for a brief moment and squints. But the boss has no time for daydreaming. There's a lot of work to be done. "The blue sky is perfect for us but more from a meteorological perspective," Malek says as he passes by. "When making a timber construction, it's important to make it weatherproof as quickly as possible and this underpins everything. If there's moisture inside, then you've got big problems."
The work therefore needs to be done quickly. And it has to be done right. Marek's team moves out onto the construction site, entering the building and climbing the scaffolding to get to work. The workers have already erected a two-storey house in next to no time on this plot of land with mature trees where a small summer house once stood. Large quantities of wood are processed on the site for a variety of applications, from the framework and the ridge purlin, to the façade and the interior finishing. Workers are busy fitting insulation, panelling, applying coatings, cutting wood to size, sanding areas and tightening screws. On top of this, there is the special decorative work for the windows and columns which needs to be carried out with great attention to detail.
Timber construction in Sweden
A large amount of timber needs to be processed to build a two-storey house, whether for its construction, façade or interior finishing. In particular, careful craftsmanship is required for the façade panelling – which might be considered the "face" of the house. Making constructions from timber is considered to be long-lasting, sustainable and environmentally-friendly. What's more, this natural construction material grows right on Sweden's doorstep. About two thirds of the country is covered by forests, equating to around 280,000 square kilometres. For it to stay this way, three to four new trees must be planted for every tree felled.
Over 30 years of experience and expertise
"Wood is a living material that's wonderful to work with," raves Marek Malek. And there's more than enough of it in Sweden. No other country in Europe builds as many constructions from wood. This was one of the reasons why Malek, born in Poland, decided to go to Sweden in 1986 to ply his trade in the area near Malmö. The carpenter founded IMM in 1989 and now feels like he has always lived in the area. He knows everything there is to know about timber construction in Sweden and has built typical Swedish houses in Germany, Switzerland and Ireland. He continues to be shaped by the experiences he has accumulated over more than 30 years, for better or for worse.
On the one hand, Malek is proud and pleased to have built up a business with a good reputation. On the other, he is more reluctant to remember a less pleasant experience which permanently changed his life and work. A few years ago, he fell from a piece of scaffolding and landed on his back. Doctors gave him a prognosis of spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair but, thanks to his strong will and good physical condition, he was able to walk again without walking aids.
On the one hand, Malek is proud and pleased to have built up a business with a good reputation. On the other, he is more reluctant to remember a less pleasant experience which permanently changed his life and work. A few years ago, he fell from a piece of scaffolding and landed on his back. Doctors gave him a prognosis of spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair but, thanks to his strong will and good physical condition, he was able to walk again without walking aids.
"Good carpenters can work wonders and optimal tools help to make wonders a reality."
Marek Malek
Expertise in and passion for woodworking
As dramatic as his workplace accident was, it didn't change anything about Marek Malek's firm resolve to continue running his successful company. In fact, he had originally wanted to be less involved but the large number of customers who greatly appreciated his work wouldn't relent. "We currently have 16 employees. And we could easily take on a few more because demand is very high," he says. At the same time, Malek explains, customer expectations are rising in the belief that everything should be done better and faster, adding with a wry smile, "people online seem to suggest that anyone can become a builder. And because lots of DIY shows give the impression that a house could be fixed up in four days, it's easy to think that this is also possible in real life."
Malek refutes this misconception with the absolute expertise of someone whose knowledge of and passion for woodworking is invaluable. And that's precisely what he communicates to his employees. At the construction site, he instructs the workers and gives them valuable advice about the material and how to process it, as well as explaining how to correctly handle the right tool. "Good carpenters can work wonders and optimal tools help to make wonders a reality," Malek believes. Since his teams carry out all of the work at the construction site, it is all the more important that they always have the right tool for each application.
Working efficiently and achieving the highest quality
"Having good machinery is essential to our work," says Malek, "and the models have been getting better and better over the years and from generation to generation. In particular, the cordless system from Festool helps us tremendously, enabling us to work efficiently on construction sites, to save time and to achieve outstanding results." Marek, as a Festool test customer, and his brother Josef had the chance to try out the new cordless KAPEX KSC 60 and both thought that it was great – and said that the dust extraction system with the new CTLC MIDI cordless extractor was even better. "Lagom," muttered the boss, "just right". And that's the highest level of praise that he can give. Because "just right" is the best.
