"Hungarian aeronautical engineering is of high quality even by international standards" - Gellért Vigh Engineer of the Month

Gellért Vigh has been working at Lindab Kft. for more than 20 years. He is the May Engineer of the Month in May, with whom we discussed the importance of air quality, its health and economic impacts and risks, becoming a leading market player in an international company, and a rich engineering career.

How did you get Lindab?

I graduated in Civil Engineering from BME and immediately joined Lindab many years ago, so this is my first job. Basically, I was hired for a CADvent design consultant position, so I was working with designers from the very beginning - providing software and product support to them. As the years went by, I had the opportunity to work on more and more and wider tasks, so I also deepened my career into the product management line, which has been a big part of my job ever since. When I joined Lindab, I was still alone in this area, and from there we have grown over the years into a design support and product management team of five people.

Did you want to work specifically in aeronautics?

I applied to a secondary school for IT, but I didn't do well in the admissions, so I ended up in mechanical engineering, and from the mechanical engineering secondary school I almost certainly went on to the University of Technology to become a mechanical engineer. I then chose building engineering and manufacturing automation as my specialisation - deliberately two completely separate fields. In the end, I majored in building services engineering, which I put to excellent use at Lindab.

I loved aeronautical engineering at university, I was good at it, but I might not have gone in that direction if I hadn't ended up with Lindab. It's less common for a career starter to get their first work experience in ventilation engineering, it's more common to specialise in heating engineering, water and ductwork. Air handling is a difficult field; it's very easy to get it wrong. However, with a professional company, it is an excellent opportunity to gain experience.

It's great to be able to learn constantly at our company and I've always had international opportunities, so I've never felt like there wasn't enough space for me. Today, this has led to me having two positions: one as Head of Education and Development, leading the Hungarian team, and one as Regional Development Manager for Central and Eastern Europe. Here at home, my team and I help designers with product support, selection of the right ventilation solution, sizing and training, and I have been supporting my lindab colleagues in the surrounding countries for three years now to help them exploit the potential of our quality products and ventilation solutions.

Is it worth exporting what is used in Hungary?

Yes, we can give good examples to companies. Of course, the reverse is also true: there are good examples in every country that are worth learning from each other. As a Swedish company, Lindab is committed to reducing the impact of climate change, where it is a social expectation. And our task is to communicate to the building industry and the end-user the sustainable solutions of Lindab, which will result in technically and economically better buildings and significantly higher comfort levels for the users. It is also important to look at air treatment through the filter of sustainability. The conscious application of this is still in its infancy in most places, but we at Lindab are committed and at the forefront of this.

Basically, the goals are the same everywhere: to create and maintain the cleanest possible air in our buildings with the highest possible energy efficiency, the lowest possible carbon footprint and economical operation.

We believe it is important to get involved in projects as early as possible, and we can help designers from the very beginning with a ventilation solution tailored to the specific needs of the project.

It's a win-win situation for all players. For the designer it is a great professional help, and the end result for the investor is a building with a high technical content, even a certified building, which can be rented or sold better; for the operator it is a building that can be operated economically and energy-efficiently.

The name Lindab is well known and respected in the air handling industry - a great success. Our aim is to promote quality ventilation solutions and their positive economic, environmental and physiological impacts to a wider audience of investors and operators, to ensure that they are aware of the relevant, demonstrable and achievable benefits.

In addition to concrete product and ventilation solution proposals, we provide training and professional background for projects. The online training courses delivered by my team have been very successful recently. We also participate in training courses at BME, University of Pécs and University of Debrecen. We are also often asked to serve on state examination boards, which is always a great pleasure for us. I have also given accredited lectures for engineering colleagues at the request of the Hungarian Chamber of Engineers, thus building the profession of building services engineering. These courses have been attended by more than 1000 people in the past years, which I think is a good result.

What are you really proud of?

I did not start the planning support itself and the system and processes that go with it in our company. However, its functionality has now been greatly expanded.

Teaching and helping to solve more complex problems has clearly raised professional standards. My team and I have invested a lot of energy in this over the years. In every development, we look at the long-term benefits and how we are building the future and future generations.

Credibility is of paramount importance in our profession. One needs to know and explain not only one's own products to the audience, but also the related standards environment and best practices. Therefore, our training is only a small part about our products and a larger part about the profession. We do not aim to provide 'product promotion' in our training, but to structure our training materials in such a way that deeper professional knowledge can be acquired. It is important for us to pass on real expertise, thus contributing to the development of the sector.

I think the market is in great need of what we do.

I am often called for guidance on a broader technical issue. This trust has taken a long time to build up, but designers are also happy to take our advice on any ventilation issue.

We've worked on some very nice and professional projects over the years: we loved the Lego project, but I also really liked the Magyar Telekom headquarters, the Green Court Offices and Liberty office buildings. We also helped with the selection of the blowers for the Hungarian House of Music, and Lindab products were used in the construction of Mol Campus. I could go on and on with a lot of domestic, large scale and even smaller projects.

We have quite a professional reputation, Lindab Air Technology is a recognized player in the market. This is a great merit, especially in the sense that the Hungarian aeronautical engineering profession is also a pioneer in Central Europe, and in many respects we are at a high level internationally. So the foundations were good, but we have managed to improve them considerably:

There are some issues where professional expectations have clearly been raised by the Lindab. For example, we have raised the air density to a higher level in the Hungarian market.

In my career, I am proud to be recognised by the profession. Last year, I was awarded the Civil Engineer of the Year award, which I received at the OMÉN closing ceremony in December. I believe that the good team, the supportive environment and the professional, technically advanced international corporate background have also contributed greatly to this success.

What can we expect in the near future?

I currently have two favourite topics: one is the group of active climate beams, which, although not unknown in our country, still have enormous potential; On the other hand, variable volume flow devices and demand-controlled ventilation are still in their infancy in Hungary, but are very popular in the Czech Republic. Both can greatly help to reduce energy consumption and create more sustainable buildings.

The point of variable volume flow is that you don't always need to bring the same amount of air into a room. The volume demand depends on how many people are in the room and when. In this way, the amount of air blown can be reduced, and the reduced fan operation can significantly reduce energy consumption, i.e. lower operating costs.

My other favourite product group is the active air handler, which is a cooling-heating unit with a heat exchanger and a fresh air connection. The device uses fresh air to create an airflow inside the beam, which is then blown sideways into the air space, thus providing cooling or heating. This is much more energy and cost efficient than many other solutions on the market.

Why does it matter what air enters the airspace?

We usually start our presentations by asking how many kilograms of food, fluids and air a person consumes in a day; or how many minutes can a person go without food, water or air?

We can survive for three weeks without food, up to three days without water, but about three minutes without air.

On average, we consume 20 kg of air a day - considerably more than food. So air is very important, especially as we spend most of our lives indoors (at home, school, work or even in the gym), yet we don't do enough to ventilate properly and breathe in good quality air. Poor indoor air quality is bad for our health, but it also affects our performance and well-being.

If we insulate our residential buildings thoroughly, it is very worthwhile to think about artificial ventilation, since without proper ventilation, fungal growth and mould growth will start. It is important to install a heat recovery system to avoid wasting too much energy. The question of return on investment may arise, but the main consideration should be comfort. Think about it: a hundred years ago, toilets were outside the houses that we put in our homes. The payback here is also in the increase in our comfort level.

What do you like to do when you are not working?

By travel. I'm lucky because I have the opportunity to travel for work, but I also enjoy it outside of work. I like to run, and I try to do it several times a week. Another passion of mine is women's volleyball: I'm a stalwart of the Vasas Óbuda fan base and I try to be there every game to cheer them on to victory, wherever they play. I believe that this positive attitude is important to achieve success here, as well as in leading my team.