← Our People In conversation

Abel Cornea

Founder & Chief Executive Officer · AAC Group

From a painter on the tools to the founder of a specialist contractor — a conversation on data centres, delivery, and the skilled workforce behind Europe's most demanding projects.

Abel Cornea, CEO of AAC Group

"I started on the tools. That never leaves you — and it's exactly why AAC is built the way it is."

Q · You started as a painter. How did that shape AAC?

On the tools you learn very quickly what "finished" really means, and how much the people doing the work decide whether a job lands or fails. I built AAC around that. The crews on site aren't an afterthought — they are the business. Respect them, train them, trust them, and the quality takes care of itself.

Q · Data centres are booming across Europe. What is the real bottleneck?

It isn't concrete, steel or programme on paper — it's people. Skilled, reliable crews who turn up, work safely, and deliver to a tight programme without being chased. Demand for data-centre capacity has completely outrun the supply of trades that can actually build it to standard. That gap is the single biggest risk on these projects today.

Q · Where does AAC step in?

We give main contractors directly-employed, skilled teams they can build a programme around — mobilised fast, managed properly, and accountable on site every single day. Not a chain of subcontracted promises, but our own people, our own standards. When a client is racing a live data-centre handover, that reliability is worth more than anything else.

Q · You put real emphasis on the Romanian workforce. Why?

Because they are some of the hardest-working, most skilled tradespeople in Europe — and I say that from experience, having worked alongside them. Romanian electricians, fitters and groundworkers bring a work ethic and a level of craft that clients notice within the first week on site. They take pride in the job. AAC is built on that workforce, and we make no apology for it — it is our biggest advantage and the reason clients come back.

Q · And the vision from here?

Grow carefully, keep our word, and stay the contractor that simply never fails to deliver. Every new project is a chance to put more of our people on the tools that matter — and to prove, again, that skilled labour delivered properly is what builds the future of this industry.

The AAC advantage

A skilled Romanian workforce — delivered, managed and accountable.

Directly-employed crews of electricians, mechanical fitters and groundworkers — mobilised across Europe for data centres and mission-critical projects, with a supervisor-led structure and strong on-site English.

Skilled trades
Electricians, fitters and groundworkers ready to mobilise.
Directly employed
Our people, our standards — accountable on site, not subcontracted.
Supervisor-led
Crews led on site with strong English and a safety-first culture.
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