My connection to Continest begins over 20 years ago

The CEO of Continest USA, Yan Pronin, spent a few days in Hungary to get a closer look at Continest’s production processes and to help launch the first American shipment from the Continest factory in Székesfehérvár.

The following article and video interview were prepared to highlight his visit.

My connection to Continest begins over 20 years ago at a summer camp in Wisconsin, where I met Vidor Kis-Márton, one of the company’s founders. As we led a group of young “hooligans”, we shared our common roots and experiences, forging an unbreakable bond.

Since then I pursued an education in Finance, Applied Statistics, and ultimately an MBA. My analytical skills landed me in crucial roles, crafting pricing strategies for the world’s largest resorts, consulting for entertainment giants like Warner Bros and Disney, and devising strategic solutions for Vanguard Logistics during the COVID pandemic. My diverse experiences granted me a bird’s eye view across multiple industries.

At Continest, we tackle the challenge of providing temporary accommodation, as well as other temporary infrastructure solutions in the most optimal way possible. I’m intimately familiar with the dynamics of this process, and the opportunity to revolutionize it in the US market was too compelling to resist. When Vidor presented Continest’s technology to the United Nations, I knew we had to act fast. We spent a significant amount of time designing the optimal structure for stakeholders, culminating in our North American launch in September 2022, with me at the helm as CEO.

Our efforts paid off, as we received an incredible level of interest while attending expos and conferences. In the pre-launch phase of Continest USA our crowning achievement was winning first place in the Clean Technology section of SelectUSA’s Pitch Competition in June 2022. This victory was a testament to the urgency of environmental concerns and the world’s hunger for sustainable temporary infrastructure solutions. Economic Development Representatives have since flocked to us, vying for the opportunity to have us locate our business in their state. We’re taking various factors into consideration as we make our decision, including labor efficiency and cost, business-friendly regulations, and proximity to economic hubs.

So far with the support of our local partners as well as our Hungarian engineering team, we managed to build and deliver the first UL-compliant units to our US customers. We also closed our first sales to our partners in NYC and California, and with that, we entered two of the most interesting market sectors which are temporary/affordable housing and logistics.

In 2023, we’re looking to ramp up our business development activities, attend more expos, and grow our North American team. By the end of 2023, we plan to secure our first round of financing and sell 200 units.

I’m currently in Hungary, diving deep into every facet of Continest’s production – from laser cutting to painting to assembly. We’re also crafting PR materials to appeal to the US market, and I’m thrilled to be a part of this mission to transform the infrastructure industry.