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26.06.2009 Press releases
Elematic 50 years: Press release. Precast concrete - the environmentally friendly alternative
Elematic Oy Ab
- Supplying the precast concrete industry with machinery, equipment and services since 1959Elematic Oy Ab is one of the success stories of the Finnish mechanical engineering industry, which is renowned for its innovative and high-quality products. The company is the undisputed technology and market leader in precast concrete plants, production lines, machinery and equipment worldwide, and, during the last two years, it has also been Finland's most profitable business in terms of return on capital invested. Almost 95 per cent of the net sales is generated outside Finland, more than half of the total coming from the Middle East.Even though the fifty-year-old company has been hit by the recession like everybody else, megatrends are in its favor. Constructors' choices are increasingly determined by concerns about the climate change and, in this respect, precast concrete is the most environmentally friendly option.
The heating and cooling of buildings are the biggest sources of carbon dioxide. As Leo Sandqvist, Managing Director of Elematic, points out, because of their structure, precast concrete wall elements act as an effective insulation material in both warm and cold environments, and help to achieve substantial cuts in energy consumption.
Higher energy prices are an additional incentive to use energy-efficient solutions. High funding costs are also a factor, making precast concrete more attractive, at least in the short term. Time is money and building with precast elements is quick. Furthermore, according to Sandqvist, the precast concrete structures produced with today's technologies are, in terms of appearance and variety, light years away from the monotony of the past decades.
Professionals in the sector know Elematic as a trailblazer pioneering new ideas. The company's innovative approach is evident in a large number of patents and stylishly designed production lines, machinery and equipment, for which the company has received several awards. The new extruder, to be introduced this summer, is another step forward in streamlined design and intelligent functions.
With net sales of EUR 137 million, the Elematic Group is in a class of its own. Its largest competitors are far behind at EUR 30-40 million. Elematic has the Middle East, the CIS, the Baltic States and Western Europe as its main markets. The strong position of the Finnish company on the global markets is partly explained by many years' experience in exports. Elematic has been an international player since the 1960s. After all, Finland is a small country and the company would not have been able to grow without exports.
According to Sandqvist, the fact that Elematic is able to provide a broad range of products and solutions is another important success factor. Elematic is the only one-stop-supplier in and its range of products and services covers everything from equipment and machines to production lines and complete plants. Services include training of customer personnel, supervision of installation and extensive support functions.
As the Group's own production capacity is limited, the machinery and equipment sold by Elematic are built in manufacturing plants, most of which are located in Finland.
Elematic has seen a number of corporate acquisitions and name changes during its history. Between 1973 and 1997, its principal owner was Partek, a big multi-sectoral group, and the company was known as Partek Concrete Engineering (PCE). Since 2007, Elematic has been owned by the company management and a private equity fund administered by Pamplona Capital Management.
Elematic has its headquarters in Toijala, which is located about 25 miles south of Tampere, a well-known center of mechanical engineering and automation industries. The company has subsidiaries in the United States (Elematic Inc.), Germany (Elematic GmbH) and Russia (Elematic OOO). It also maintains a sales and customer service center in Dubai and a sales office in France. The manufacturing units are Rimera Oy, X-Tec Oy and SF Steelform Oy. Elematic has a workforce of about 200.
To mark fifty years of operations, Elematic has published a book on its history. The publication is available in Finnish and English. On June 26, the anniversary of the founding of the company, Elematic's customer magazine ‘Concrete Issues' will appear in a thoroughly revised form. The publication will now also be available as an interactive web magazine.
For more information, please contact CEO Leo Sandqvist, leo.sandqvist@elematic.com, tel. +358 400 481218
For pictures and other media material, please contact Päivi Talonen, paivi.talonen@elematic.com, + 358 40 5265875
Elematic in a nutshell
Founded in 1959
Net sales EUR 137 million (2008)
Exports account for 95 per cent of the production, with the Middle East, Western Europe, the Baltic States and the CIS as the main markets.
Personnel 22
Main product range: Flooring technologies (extruder and slipformer-based); Batching & mixing plants with concrete distribution systems; Acotec partition wall technology; Various technologies for such products as general precast concrete walls, facades, beams, columns and railroad ties; ELiPLAN ERP and other softwareElematic milestones
1959 Toijalan Teräsvalmiste, Veljekset Virtanen (TTV) is established.
1965 The first circulating line is supplied to Haka, a Finnish construction company.
1966 Elematic is introduced as a brand name.
1967 Sales of battery molds to Sweden mark the start of the exports of concrete element production technology.
1969 A subsidiary is established in West Germany.
1971 The company supplies its first production line for hollow-core slabs (VARIAX).
1973 The company is acquired by Partek.
1976 First sales to the Middle East: the company supplies the machinery and equipment for a hollow-core slab plant in Kuwait.
1976 Two large orders for plants from East Germany.
1981 Elematic's business is divided into the design unit Elematic Engineering and the manufacturing unit Konepaja Toijala (now Toijala Works).
1984 By acquiring Dy-Core the company is able to expand its operations to Canada.
1985 The company achieves a breakthrough on the Soviet markets. The orders include a plant for manufacturing single-family homes.
1988 Elematic Engineering is established as a Partek subsidiary.
1990 The company receives its first order from South Korea.
1992 As a result of the restructuring of Lohja and Partek, Elematic Engineering and Lohja Parma Engineering are merged to form Partek Concrete Engineering Oy.
1995 Leo Sandqvist is appointed Managing Director.
Elematic launches the world's first extruder in which special attention is paid to design. The new product (EL900E) receives a number of design awards.
1996 PCE acquires Roth GmbH, a German company, and Mecakone Oy, a Finnish manufacturer of batching and mixing plants.
1997 Partek sells PCE to Addtek Group (known as Consolis since 2003). The company is renamed PCE Engineering.
1998 PCE Engineering sets up a subsidiary in the USA (PCE Elematic Inc.).
1999 PCE Engineering acquires Rimera Oy, a Finnish mechanical engineering company and one of its subcontractors.
2000 PCE Engineering opens a customer service center in Toijala.
2001 PCE Engineering acquires Acotec Oy, a Finnish precast concrete manufacturer.
2003 Elematic is adopted as the company name.
2004 Elematic acquires Roteco GmbH, a German equipment manufacturer.
2006 Consolis sells Elematic to Sentica Partners; Elematic becomes an independent group.
Elematic aquires X-Tec Oy, one of its Finnish competitors.
2006 Elematic acquires SF Steelform Oy, a Finnish manufacturer of precast concrete molds.
2007 A private equity fund administered by Pamplona Capital Management becomes the principal owner of Elemactic Oy Ab.
2009 Elematic celebrates fifty years of operations.What actually happened at Elematic when Apollo 11 landed in the moon, when John Lennon claimed the Beatles to be more popular than Jesus, when Princess Diana died, when Mohammed Ali lost his first match to Joe Frazier, when the Concorde did its first flight or when Barak Obama becomes the President of United States? Get a closer look here!
