- Customer success story
How USTR saves 20+ hours per project
saved per project
digitized rooms
completed projects
3D objects created with Metaroom
About USTR
USTR GmbH is a Munich-based family business with over 15 years of experience in full-service renovation and refurbishment. As a general contractor with more than 30 employees and 1345 completed projects, USTR unites all trades under one roof: from drywall and tiling to electrical and plumbing, through to painting, doors, and stairs.
INDUSTRY
Renovation & Refurbishment
COMPANY SIZE
30+ (family business)
LOCATION
Munich, Germany
Introduction
USTR GmbH is a Munich family business led by Managing Director Maciej Ustjanowski, who has been running the company for around 15 years. USTR unites all trades under one roof: drywall, tiling and flooring, electrical and plumbing installation, painting, doors, stairs, as well as its own planning department that coordinates the overall project. With over 1345 successfully completed projects, four master craftsman titles, and the City of Munich’s 2018 PhönixPreis, USTR is one of the leading renovation companies in southern Germany.
Michael Birke is responsible for all project management at USTR: from preliminary planning and material selection with customers through to the smooth execution of all trades. For him and Managing Director Maciej Ustjanowski, one thing is clear: without a solid digital foundation, this standard cannot be scaled.
Challenge
USTR’s biggest challenge lies between sales and execution. Maciej Ustjanowski: “Without a floor plan and good documentation, that’s genuinely difficult.”
Before Metaroom, every project followed the same pattern for Michael Birke: on-site measurement, drawing everything manually in Palette CAD, entering materials, preparing the floor plan, and coordinating with the wholesaler. This part alone costs six to eight hours per project, not counting communication and coordination.
For a company handling up to 20 projects at once, that adds up quickly: 20 hours of preparation per project, 20 parallel projects. That equals a full month of pure preparation. There is no time available either for the construction site or for customers.
At the same time, transparency toward customers is a core priority, and the basis for that is a reliable, end-to-end planning process, something manual methods simply could not deliver efficiently.
| Maciej Ustjanowski scans a bathroom with Metaroom.
Solution
Maciej Ustjanowski discovered Metaroom through an ad directly in Palette CAD. His reaction was immediate: “I thought, okay, I have to test this right away.” He bought an iPhone Pro specifically for it. Today, Metaroom is the starting point of every renovation project at USTR. The process works like this:
- During the on-site appointment, the apartment or property is scanned with the iPhone Pro. A precise 3D floor plan is created in just a few minutes.
- The floor plan is passed directly to the wholesaler, who also works with Palette CAD.
- Based on this, the wholesaler prepares the material selection session with the customer: materials, tiles, flooring, fittings.
- Finally, the wholesaler sends a finished plan with visualization and exact materials back to USTR.
Metaroom is the starting point that makes the rest of the process possible in the first place.
What USTR particularly highlights: Metaroom is not just an internal tool, but also a sales argument. When the USTR team arrives at a viewing with iPhones and digitally captures the apartment in minutes, it leaves a lasting impression on customers. “It’s really cool and truly professional,” says Maciej Ustjanowski. That is exactly what USTR always wanted to embody: intelligent construction sites.
Beyond that, USTR has also connected the Metaroom workflow with external architects who likewise work with Palette CAD. This allows USTR, as a skilled-trades company, to offer and directly sell architectural services, such as initial drafts and room concepts, based on the Metaroom documentation.
| Planning materials for renovation projects is easier with Metaroom.
Results
The numbers speak for themselves. Michael Birke quantifies the time savings clearly: “We always invested around six to eight hours. We’ve eliminated that step entirely.” Adding up all phases (measurement, data preparation, floor plan creation, and communication with wholesalers), he estimates saving 20 to 25 hours per project.
With 20 parallel projects, that amounts to an enormous capacity gain: time that now flows into construction sites, customer communication, and quality assurance.
But it’s not just time. With Metaroom, USTR has created a seamless, cross-functional planning process: one scan that travels through the entire supply chain, from measurement to the wholesaler to the finished plan with visualization and exact materials. What once had to be laboriously assembled now comes back as a finished package.
And the company can even bill this planning work as its own service. An additional revenue lever that would not be possible without Metaroom.
parallel projects
digitized rooms
6-8 hours
less for floor plan drawing
3D objects created with Metaroom
Conclusion
USTR shows how a mid-sized renovation company, through the targeted use of Metaroom, not only becomes more efficient but rethinks its entire process: from the first viewing through the supply chain to the finished customer project.
At USTR, Metaroom is not just one tool among many, but the foundation of an intelligent planning workflow that seamlessly connects sales, planning, purchasing, and execution. And on top of that, a real competitive advantage in the first customer meeting.
Maciej Ustjanowski
“When we arrive for a viewing and the customers watch us scan the entire apartment with an iPhone. They’ve never seen anything like it. Tradespeople who work like that? It’s simply cool. And it immediately comes across as professional.”
Maciej Ustjanowski
Managing Director, USTR GmbH
