Our Industries

Smart companies building intelligent machines

Machines are no longer just machines. They contain more and more intelligence, so their builders must too. In Helsinki Region you can employ the most educated and capable people to develop and manufacture products and digital services.

Industry leading researchers and companies right here in the Helsinki Ring of Industry are already piloting new technologies such as Narrowband IoT and 5G wireless networks for the Industrial Internet of Things. These technologies are vital for the fourth industrial revolution industry 4.0.

Examples of industrial companies already in the Helsinki Ring of Industry: KONE, Konecranes, RD Velho, and Rocla.

Qualified labour with reasonable cost

Finland is admired for high quality education and work ethics. When you hire a people with Finnish education, you can rely on their capability as professionals. Engineering is traditionally a strong field here, as history of Finnish companies like Nokia and KONE demonstrate. There are also examples of highly valued heavy industry companies in the region.

In 2018 Finland exported EUR 3,9 billion worth of high-tech products and EUR 1,8 billion worth of related services such as R&D. Research funding such as grants and loans are available from the Finnish accelerator of global growth Business Finland and the EU.

Helsinki Region is growing all the time. We are presuming close to 18% inhabitant growth in Uusimaa county, it means almost 300 000 people more in just two decades. The Baltic countries are near, which makes for a great source of labour if there is a temporary shortage of domestic workforce

Enough space in the middle of everything

If you are interested in rapidly growing markets of Northern Europe and access to Eastern markets, Helsinki Ring of Industry is the place to be. It is expected to see a 10% population hike by 2040, which creates a tremendous need for new and efficient logistics centres. In addition, there is still a significant growth potential in ecommerce market of goods, even though market has already grown fast to 4,4 bn €.

Logistics intensive companies already located in the Helsinki Ring of Industry: DB Schenker, DS Smith, Frode Laursen, Lidl Finland, Kärcher, Transval Group and Würth.

On rails and in the air, maybe even under water

Finland ranks 10th in the World Banks Logistics Performance Index. From the Helsinki Ring of Industry, one of the best airports in the world is only 30 minutes away. It provides you the fastest route between Northern Europe, Russia, and Asia.

Due to railway connections to the East, Asia is closer than you could imagine. A container train connection from Helsinki will transport your goods to Hefei, China in 18 days. If that is not fast enough, a container train from Kouvola, Finland to Xi’an, China provides you the fastest route (10 – 12 days) from EU to China.

There are also plans for building a Helsinki-Tallinn Tunnel. This tunnel, under the Gulf of Finland, along with Rail Baltica, would open new railway connections straight to Europe. In the meantime, the shipping lanes to Europe are working fine for goods and people.

Warehousing with low cost energy

The Helsinki Ring of Industry has a reliable power grid and good availability of renewable energy. The energy prices are also among the lowest in Europe. It is possible to save up to 50% of total electricity costs compared to other European locations. For instance, for a highly automated warehouse, the non-subsidised price of electricity is lower than Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Sweden, and Denmark.

When operating from our region you have the advantage of being in the middle of everything, still having enough space for large warehouses and for logistic services.

The Helsinki Region is growing and gathering more inhabitant as all important urban areas in the world. This brings you more workforce and customers, not only from Finland but also from Baltic countries and even further.

Innovation in transportation and logistics

Helsinki Region is highly innovative area and Finland is an encouraging society for such activity. For example, there are lots of piloting platforms and testbeds for autonomous vehicles and smart mobility solutions.

Hidden treasures for Food and Beverage Manufacturing

In Finland we take it for granted that food is made with high quality and of clean ingredients. We know this is not a fact everywhere. But as it happens to be everyday life for us, we don’t remember to tell about it as much as we should. But we won’t mind, if you as a food or beverage manufacturer would settle down and share this secret of safe, ecological and healthy production environment.

Even though our region is located just outside the capital area of Finland, all the treasures of nature are close. We have endless amounts of clean groundwater to use. We understood the great value of pure water decades ago, so we have been able to protect it.

Examples of food and beverage producing companies already in the Helsinki Ring of Industry: Coca-Cola Finland, Sinebrychoff, Snellmanin Kokkikartano, and Unilever Ingman Production.

Nordic treasures are waiting in the forest

The forest berries and mushrooms grow wild and they are easy to transport even from the North. Forest berries are linked to many health benefits because they are rich in polyfenols and the arctic climate leads to uniquely high concentration of flavonoids. The most commercially used forest berries are lingonberry, blueberry, and cloudberry.

The global demand for berries is growing and the Nordic brand is strong for example in China and Japan. They also happen to be the largest current markets for blueberry.

And we are not running out of those pure and wild berries. On contrary every year millions of tons of berries stay in the woods for birds to eat.

Unconventional attitude creates know-how

The Finnish food and beverage manufacturers have been forerunners in developing products for special consumer needs, like lactose-free, gluten-free and dairy-free productions. It means that the workforce and research organizations have a great deal of expertise and know-how on dietary restrictions.

Finns have a creative mind and we often find unconventional solutions for needs of tomorrow. For example there are succesful start-ups creating new plant-based products and exploring usage of insects in food production, which was recently legalized in Finland.

Even grain grows here a bit differently. Short, but intensive summer with  light nigths create high enzyme activity in malting barley, which is used in scotch & beer. Highest quality oats in the world with large grain-size are already used in many food products as an alternative to meat. And even the cold climate works for us: less pesticides are needed in cultivation.

Authorities are here to help

All the infrastructure you need to start production or investment in the region is near. In Finland food and beverage production is highly regulated, otherwise it would not be so respected. Good news is, that in Finland the authorities are for you, not other way round. The word bureaucracy is unfamiliar for us.

Data Centre in Helsinki Region – how cool is that!

Cool climate, reliable power grid and land to build on plus direct cable connections abroad. Helsinki Ring of Industry has everything needed even for a large data centre. Data centres over 5 MW are eligible for tax alleviations. Google settled down nearby years ago with an approximately 100 MW data centre and has just announced to expand it.

The Data Centre Risk Index 2016 rates Finland as the safest data centre location in the EU and fourth safest in the world. Microsoft, Equinix, Yandex, Telia, Fujitsu, and Hetzner have already built data centres in the region.

Finland is safe and sound for many reasons. Society is very predictable, and ground is steady, so there is no unpleasant shaking going on at any times.

Examples of data centers, which can already be found in Helsinki Ring of Industry are Hetzner Online and Yandex.

We are still connecting people

Finland has direct cable connections to Sweden, Estonia, and Russia. In addition, the new network connectivity to Central Europe is available through 144 TB/s sea cable, which runs directly from Helsinki to Rostock, Germany. Actually, 80% of data between Western Europe and Russia flows through Finland, which makes it a network hub between Central European, Russian and Asian markets.

The Arctic Connect initiative of the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications is planning to bring direct fiber-optic connectivity to Asia via the Northeast Passage.

Ecological and economical values go together

Sustainability is an increasingly important value for many companies. The cool Finnish climate (avg. temp 6.6 °C) is great for data centres both economically and ecologically. Sustainable and green sources of energy are available and affordable. In addition, data centres can also profit from waste heat by providing thermal energy to cities. In Helsinki Ring of Industry, the Yandex 40 MW data centre produces 30 GWh worth of heat every year to the to the district heating network of a nearby city.

Internationally talented and reachable region

During the rise of Nokia, the government invested heavily in mechanical and electrical engineering as well as in telecommunication networks education. This tradition is very much alive and new, talented engineers are trained in close connection with companies active worldwide. Lots of Finnish students study also abroad at some stage, so they are familiar with different languages and cultures.

The Helsinki Ring of Industry is nicely reachable. Helsinki Airport, Europe’s fastest and most pleasant airport, can be reached on average in half an hour. Helsinki Ring of Industry provides the shortest and fastest flight path from Europe to most of Asia.