Press Release April 19, 2007
Free for publication at 4 p.m.
Raimo Sailas in Oulu: Economic growth is a national challenge
Technopolis, the nationwide technology center operator,
celebrated its 25th anniversary.
Raimo Sailas, Permanent Secretary of State, highlights the
achievement of sufficient economic growth in Finland as a tough
challenge for the nation. According to Sailas, it will require
substantial and continuous improvement in productivity and
efficiency, in both the corporate and public sectors.
In his address at the 25th anniversary celebration of
Technopolis Plc, Sailas underlined that the growth requirement
for production and the economy is necessitated by the increase
in pension costs, the improvements in benefits and services
agreed in the government program and the current account surplus
target set for the national economy.
“To maintain a surplus national economy with public expenditure
on the increase, we need to apply an economic policy that
supports very strong growth in output. This becomes all the more
important when we know that the working-age population will
begin to shrink around 2010 and decrease during the next decade
by as many as 200,000 people,” said the Permanent Secretary of
State.
Pertti Huuskonen, President and CEO of Technopolis, a nationwide
technology center operator and one of Europe's largest
technology center companies, promised that Finnish technology
centers will do their part in facilitating growth and well-being
by promoting the competitiveness and success of high tech
companies.
“Technology centers have - through their collaboration with
companies, universities and cities - played a key role in
supporting the transformation of Finland during the past 25
years into a high tech country of international standard. The
future holds major challenges for us, since we no longer have
the head start we used to have. Fortunately, however, we do have
diversified and broad-ranging competence in all the critical
fields of high technology, an excellent track record in scoring
successes, and resources that have grown to remarkable
proportions," said President and CEO Huuskonen.
According to Huuskonen, the Technopolis Group has a unique
service concept on offer, with one organization serving Finnish
high tech companies all over Finland and in the future abroad as
well. This gives Finnish companies a clear edge over
international competition.
Technopolis is expanding
Technopolis, a company that started out a quarter of a century
ago in Oulu under the name Oulun Teknologiakylä Oy, is
continuing its own growth path - and a strong one, too. The
company has extensions pending or under construction in all of
its current operating locations. Technopolis is also preparing
to construct a technology center in St. Petersburg, Russia. The
company already operates in the city, presently in leased
premises.
During its first years, Technopolis operated as very much an
integral part of the business policy of its then-principal
owner, the City of Oulu. Its objective was to support the growth
of Oulu into an important technology city and facilitate the
emergence of new high tech companies.
Over the years, Technopolis has expanded into a nationwide
network of technology centers, with units currently located in
the cities of Espoo, Jyväskylä, Lappeenranta, Oulu, Tampere and
Vantaa. Technopolis is one of Europe's largest technology
centers and the largest company in Finland providing operating
environments for high tech companies. It is also one of the
world's few technology centers listed on the stock exchange.
Technopolis President and CEO Pertti Huuskonen underlines that
the company's strong advance in recent years is based on a
growth strategy, according to which the company aims to operate
in the best high technology cities in Finland and in Russia and
1-2 other countries by 2010. Technopolis seeks to reach this
target through both organic growth and acquisitions.
“This growth enables us to provide our customers with even
better quality, diversity and pricing of services, a more
comprehensive network and a good selection of operating premises
suitable for varying purposes around Finland and abroad," says
Huuskonen.
From the outset, Technopolis's operating idea has been to
support the growth and development of its customer companies. It
implements this idea through its unique service concept which
combines business and development services with state-of-the-art
operating premises.
A total of 12,000 people from 930 companies are currently
working in Technopolis technology centers. The company's shares
are quoted on the mid-cap list of the Nordic Exchange. The net
sales of Technopolis increased last year to EUR 44.8 million,
and the company's EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortization) amounted to EUR 22.7 million.
Technopolis's market capitalization has grown during the
company's eight years on the stock exchange from the initial EUR
26 million to the current EUR 300 million.
The expansion of Technopolis into a nationwide network of
technology centers has turned Technopolis Ventures, a business
development and incubator enterprise and part of the Technopolis
Group, into a leading company in its field in Finland.
Technopolis Ventures operates mainly in the same localities as
the parent company. Last year over 200 companies participated in
its development programs.
Four persons awarded
Celebrating its 25th anniversary in Oulu on Thursday, the
company presented awards to persons who have played an
exceptional role in the company's development. The selections
were guided by Technopolis's values: Customer orientation,
innovation, corporate responsibility and profitable growth.
Among the awarded persons were Hannu Käkelä, Managing Director
of Nestix Oy, the first high tech company to become a
Technopolis customer, Paavo Vasala, an entrepreneur with Wasala
Communications Oy who was awarded for innovative collaboration
in communications, and Lauri Lajunen, President of the
University of Oulu, who was awarded as a corporate
responsibility partner. Leena Marmila, Assistant to the
President and CEO and a long-term Technopolis employee, was
awarded as a key person facilitating the company's growth that
has continued from year to year.
Additional information:
Technopolis Plc,
Pertti Huuskonen, President and CEO,
tel. +358 400 680 816 or +358 8 551 3213