What did we achieve in 2021?
Overall, 2021 was a good year for Kespet. From the beginning of the year, covid affected our business by causing some delays, but in the second half of the year the situation was already normalized. It was expected that sales would drop slightly. However, the order backlog for own production remained high at all times, and sheet metal claddings sold well.
Certainly the biggest thing of the year was that we got to open up the international market: we took the IPCOM deal to the finish line and through it we got to open our doors abroad. For example in Sweden, ISOPARTNER, part of the IPCOM network, has taken our products into stock.
We have streamlined and developed our own operations in a more straightforward direction. Changes have been made in our organization, for example, to clarify responsibilities.
We have also developed our operating methods to be more people-oriented and to take the HR perspective into account in a new way in our operations. Before, we haven’t had a separate HR perspective involved in processes like warehousing or sales. Now, for each of these areas of operation, we have designated one person with whom employees can go through personnel matters.
Behind everything is the customer
The goal of our development activities is to ensure benefits for our customers as well. In general, prices go up as costs go up. As we streamline our operations, we do not need to pass on all the increased costs directly to our customers. When people feel comfortable at work, they do things more efficiently and we are able to keep the level of customer service good.
Our customers will also benefit from having new products in our range through IPCOM. On the other hand, the IPCOM network enables us to help our customer companies operating in foreign markets in their target countries.
Highlights from 2021
Of all the projects in 2021, the most intensive and time-consuming was the IPCOM transaction. On June 30, 2021, the European insulation industry pioneer IPCOM acquired the entire share capital of Kespet Oy. For IPCOM, this was an opening to the Finnish market and an opportunity for Kespet to network in Europe even more efficiently.
Preparations were made carefully during the spring and all the information inside the company was excavated so that everyone had the most realistic picture of Kespet Oy’s operations in Finland and abroad. The goal was to make an arrangement by the end of June, and after many long meetings, we reached our goal and signed an agreement that was welcomed by both parties. Luckily for us, we had excellent advisors from the law firm Leckle. The purpose of the acquisition was to ensure the continuity of Kespet’s long-term work in the insulation sector in Europe and to ensure that we can continue to grow our operations and to provide employment for Finnish employees in Finland.
Another significant thing from 2021 was the start of cooperation with Rockwool Finland. At the heart of everything we do is a drive for continuous improvement: we are doing better today than we did yesterday and worse than tomorrow. We want to offer our customers the best possible products at a competitive price and we are constantly working towards it. Rockwool mineral wool products further expand our range of industrial products, enabling us to offer the entire Rockwool technical insulation product family to our customers. For the project, this was interesting but laborious, as the storage locations, codes, price lists, catalogs, and marketing materials and plans had to be redesigned. At this point we are very happy with that work.
One of the most memorable customer projects from last year was the delivery of sheet metal claddings to Neste Corporation’s biodiesel plant in Singapore. The project as a whole is worth EUR 1.5 billion, and the site’s approximately EUR 10 million insulation project was led by Ari Takala of the Finnish company Arme Oy. We delivered all the sheet metal claddings needed for this site. The biodiesel plant project is also important for the environment. Neste is committed to the fight against climate change in its operations, and we are working towards the same goal in the insulation sector. Like Neste Corporation’s renewable fuels, insulation is one of the most important ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
What did we learn from last year and what will we develop in 2022?
At the very least, I learned that nothing should be assumed, but it is always worth checking. We already have a clear plan to improving the flow of information: in the future, I will hold a quarterly briefing for staff on what has been done and what will be done. At the event, everyone is free to ask if they have any questions.
We still have room for improvement in the induction of new employees, and we want to invest in it so that the quality of our work is maintained and improved. We also want to develop the interplay of the different processes in the organization. The individual areas work well, but we are further refining the cooperation between them.
This year, we will start seeking growth above all by investing in people’s job satisfaction and thus even better customer service.
Pekka Asikainen
CEO, Kespet Oy
How can we help in this year’s projects? Contact our sales or use the form below!
