Internationalization awards of the President of the Republic to Kempower, K. Hartwall, Andritz and Kasvuryhmä Suomi
Sauli NiinistöThe President of the Republic has awarded an annual internationalization award to successful Finnish companies. The new company of 2022 will be awarded Kempower Oyj, which offers fast charging solutions for electric vehicles, and K. Hartwall Oy Ab, a family business focused on logistics equipment and services, with the Growth Company award. In the long-term international investor category, the award goes to Andritz Oy. The community award of the year is awarded to Kasvuryhmä Suomi ry.
The Internationalization Award of the President of the Republic is awarded annually in recognition of internationally successful companies or organizations. The candidates were proposed by several business organizations.
“In addition to international success, this year’s evaluation emphasized sustainable development and the ethics of operations, as well as the effects on Finnish know-how, innovation, employment development and foreign investments. The awarded companies have been able to continue healthy business despite the coronavirus crisis and the war in Ukraine,” says Ilona LundströmChairman of the Team Finland management team and Director General of the Ministry of Economy and Labour.
The final award recipients were proposed to the president by the members of the Team Finland network, Business Finland, ELY centers (ELY centers), Finnvera and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“There is a growing demand for sustainable solutions in the world. Award-winning companies have courageously developed their know-how to solve difficult problems. It’s great to see that in Finland we can be bigger than we are and thus increase our exports,” says Nina KopolaCEO of Business Finland and vice-chairman of the Team Finland network.
Kempower has quickly grown into an enabler of electric mobility
Winner of the Newcomer Award, Kempower designs and manufactures DC fast charging solutions for electric vehicles. The company started operations in 2017, when the Kemppi Group separated the electric vehicle charging business into its own company. The company was listed on Nasdaq First North Helsinki in December 2021. Kempower’s headquarters and production facilities are located in Lahti, and the company procures most of its materials and components locally. Most of the company’s turnover comes from exports. Kempower is part of the Kemppi Group.
“Kempower’s goal is to accelerate the development of electric cars by offering the world’s most desired electric car charging solutions to everyone, everywhere. Electric mobility is already a reality for us today – our solution has been developed for a world where there are far more electric cars, buses and trucks on the roads than today Our international growth has been rapid We have succeeded in scaling our production in Lahti and our supply chain located in the surrounding area along with the growth. The award is based on countless hours of work and solved challenges that our team has overcome together with customers and other stakeholders. We will continue this work and to support growth we will also continue to recruit personnel for the entire organization in Finland and beyond,” says Tomi RistimäkiCEO of Kempower.
K. Hartwall’s international business is growing strongly
K. Hartwall, which received the Growth company award and turns 90 this year, is a family business founded in Sipoose that focuses on logistics equipment. The largest customer industries are retail trade, postal and parcel industry, automotive and industrial industry. The company has succeeded in combining returnable load racks with automated material handling solutions. The solutions enable, among other things, more efficient internal logistics and lower transport costs. Customers include Amazon, Walgreens, Carrefour, ICA, Coca-Cola, Arla, Royal Mail, DHL, PostNord, Bosch, Schaeffler, The Home Depot, Target, Volvo, Volkswagen, BMW, Kingfisher and Australia Post. K. Hartwall’s goal has been to increase the turnover to 100 million euros by the beginning of the 2020s.
“The award is a recognition of the long-term strategy to establish ourselves as an innovative and international operator in more than 65 countries. A key factor in K. Hartwall’s internationalization has been the ability to understand each country and its special characteristics of industries and to be able to share the best practices of different markets. We advise other Finnish companies that want to grow globally, to believe in themselves, to dream big and, above all, to cultivate a local presence in their most important international markets. Finnish international companies will continue to be supported by dedicated government organizations that can facilitate their operations with local expertise, contacts and funding, so that they can take the next step towards internationalization,” says. Jerker HartwallCEO of Hartwall.
ANDRITZ makes long-term investments in sustainable development
In the long-term international investor category, the award went to Andritz, which supplies systems, equipment and services to the pulp and paper industry. In Finland, Andritz companies have approximately 1,600 employees in Kerava, Kotka, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Oulu, Savonlinna, Tampere, Vantaa and Varkaus. The company’s head office is located in Helsinki. Exports account for approximately 90 percent of turnover. Andritz’s machine shop in Varkaus this year is one of the most significant regional industrial investments of the millennium. Investments more than tripled from the 2014 level (5 million euros) by 2021 (16 million euros). The company has significantly increased its product development investments in recent years. The most important research areas are technologies that support sustainable development, such as carbon dioxide emissions, circular economy, side stream treatment and recycling of textile fibers. The company carries out research cooperation, e.g. with the following entities: LUT University, Aalto University and Southeast Finland University of Applied Sciences (XAMK).
“We are proud of our innovative products, services and, above all, our passionate experts. However, success always comes from cooperation with the customer, so we thank Finnish forest industry companies for their close cooperation in the development of new innovations. We encourage export companies to grow, believe in their own work and invest in competent personnel. Human approach, humility and respect towards other people and cultures are keys to internationalization,” says Kari Tuominen, CEO of Andritz Oy.
The growth group gathers medium-sized companies together into a growth community
The Growth Group, which received the community award, was founded in 2015 to create growth goals and capabilities and a new culture of learning together for medium-sized companies, so that the companies and Finland will also succeed in the future. In the growth group, CEOs, board chairmen, owners and managers responsible for large growth projects of medium-sized companies accelerate the growth of their companies by sharing their experiences openly and confidentially with their colleagues. The share of medium-sized companies (with a turnover of 10–1 billion euros) of all Finnish companies is only 1.5 percent, but their share of the turnover of Finnish companies is more than a fifth and the same share of jobs in Finland. private sector. Their growth has a significant impact on the Finnish economy and society. The growth group currently includes more than 250 managers of medium-sized growth companies. The impact of the growth group’s operations on the birth of new international business in Finland has already been very significant during the growth group’s last eight years.
“Over the past four years, internationalization has been the biggest single theme that members of our community have invested in – it has been the main topic of more than 200 meetings. In the growth group, discussions between people from different companies are radically open, and together there is a culture of learning and looking for solutions. Peer discussions fuel the courage to seek the future sustainable growth and build capabilities for renewal and internationalization. This increases the competitive advantage of the entire country,” says Katriina AnttilaCEO of the growth group.
HT
Source: Business Finland