in all of this, too:“ The various educational institutions are supporting industry by providing, for example, expert services.”
Gaining Momentum
Kari Koski, Mayor of Rauma, acknowledges that when the shipyard received the Danish order in June 2016 this was, indeed, big news for the entire city – and the Region, as well.
“ Beyond the marine, we have other local assets such as forest industry and food & beverage sector that are doing good, too.”
Koski also comments that while a couple of years ago the talk about“ regional collaboration” still lacked substance, now there are a lot of exciting things going on.
“ With Turku, Rauma, Pori and Uusikaupunki all showing great improvement, it is up to us to the make the most of the situation,” he says, adding that there is strength in numbers and great momentum to carry the Region forward. The Mayor sees education as one key area where the local cities can accomplish a lot: by pooling in resources, the local schools can help the companies get the high-quality workforce that will allow them to maintain their competitive edge.
“ I feel that the Southwest Region is just starting to make good on its promise – and that there are many great things still ahead,” Koski says.
Carbuilders Wanted
Moving over to Uusikaupunki, one can see just what Koski is talking about. The Uusikaupunki car plant will start the series production of the Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV in early 2017 – and Valmet Automotive is recruiting over 1,000 new carbuilders and white collars for the plant.
Mikael Mäki from Valmet Automotive says that the company has never attempted recruiting on such a scale.“ This is unprecedented for us as it is for the whole country, you could say.”
Mäki sees Valmet Automotive as one of the regional gamechangers which have taken concrete actions to put the economy back on track – and he’ s happy to see that there are others, too.
Upward Spiral
According to Mäki, the local companies which have had some success of late are very much on the growth path and that“ the faith is getting stronger”. All this could lead to a domino effect where the whole Region makes a rapid climb to prosperity.
“ On the other hand, when things are going good, you have to mindful of how to
Photo: Valmet Automotive Inc. keep that streak going. Already some companies are saying that it’ s hard to meet their recruiting needs.”
Valmet Automotive, however, is not short on job applications. The first wave of its recruiting campaign – calling for 250 carbuilders – yielded a record number of applications( 2,597). At the moment, Valmet Automotive’ s personnel at the Uusikaupunki plant totals 1,550.
Copper Kings of Pori
Yet another seaside success story is Pori which also has plenty of industrial firepower under its belt. Luvata Pori Oy is one of the biggest industry employers in Pori, employing about 350 people. Manufacturing 40,000 tonnes of fabricated copper products every year, Luvata is big on exports: over 90 % of the production is going overseas.
Jussi Helavirta, Managing Director of Luvata, lists three things that contribute to the success of companies in the area, now and in the future.
“ First of all, one must take care of the local industries, since they provide jobs and wellbeing to the community. Also, it is important that state, city and municipality take care of infrastructure which enables basic services to industry.”
Big part of the magic formula is collaboration. For example, Luvata’ s base of operations is in Pori’ s Copper Industry Park where there are many like-minded companies.“ There are synergies that we are able to explore,” says Helavirta.
Port Power
International industry is supported by the Port of Pori with its deep fairways and Finland’ s first LNG import terminal. City of Pori is strongly invested in these measures that are pushing the entire Region forward, says Aino-Maija Luukkonen, Mayor of Pori.
“ We work in close co-operation with the Port as well as with the local industry,” Luukkonen says. l
Photo: City of Pori
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