The day began with an interesting company presentation, where the CEO of Pohjan Timber-Hirsi Ltd. Onni Timlin showcased the company’s innovative activities. The company manufactures wall elements from timber for wooden construction. A key product of the company is a 100 percent solid wood element for hybrid construction. By hybrid construction, they mean that the building can combine wooden construction with more traditional concrete construction. It is essential that concrete construction and wooden construction are not competitors but rather complement each other. The carbon footprint of a building improves when wooden elements are used in addition to concrete elements. Concrete construction is a significant factor causing carbon dioxide emissions in the construction industry, so the products offered by the company provide an interesting, greener alternative to the construction sector.
Pohjan Timber-Hirsi Ltd.’s solid timber elements can be used for the construction of schools, daycares, or apartment buildings. The company guarantees a lifespan of 150 years for the buildings, and the products are designed for easy dismantling and reuse. This opens new possibilities, for example, in rapidly growing residential areas, where it is already known during the construction phase that in about 10 years, the school or daycare will be unavoidably too large for the needs of the area.
Next, Iikka Meriläinen from The University of Oulu Kerttu Saalasti Institute presented us with research results on the growth of companies and operations of business services in supporting growth. The results concerning SMEs operating in Northern Ostrobothnia indicate that companies with a clear growth strategy are more likely to grow than others. According to the research data, a key factor appeared to be that the company has a growth target for the next two years and that growth is also planned regularly. Process innovations also had a positive connection to growth, but product innovations did not. In this data, the development of the company’s operations (process innovations) seemed to be more likely to be linked to growth than the development of new products (product innovations). Meriläinen was pleased that we can provide researched-based information on business growth.
Growing companies shared the characteristic that business services had typically been in contact with the company during the past year. On the other hand, it was surprising how often companies are unaware of the available services. Project Manager of NIHAK’s KASVA project, Lauri Jouhki, stated that our business service organizations could clearly improve in terms of communication.
In the afternoon, the program included team tasks and grouping. The versatile task checkpoints at Maalaiskartalo Pihkala challenged both individual skills and surpassing oneself as well as the team’s ability to work together. In group assignments, it was essential to trust the team.
”In my opinion, the wildest part of the activity was the zip line ride over the Siikajoki River – my legs were shaking at the starting point! But it went well, and it was a great experience of surpassing myself when I got to the other side of the river safe and sound”, recalls Mirja Väänänen, the Project Manager of KASVA project in Liminka.
The situation of an entrepreneur is often quite similar: it makes you nervous, but you still must try. No one can guarantee success, but despite the risks, the entrepreneur decides to take steps and trust in the future. The team of the KASVA project wishes entrepreneurs good luck in upcoming challenges, making growth strategies and finding ways to grow.
KASVA - Sustainable growth in SMEs through regional collaboration of research, innovation, and business development services is a group project of public business services, entrepreneurs, researchers and RDI experts around the North Ostrobothnia to promote sustainable growth, renewal and development of businesses in the region, the ability to change and the living and holding power of the regions by launching a peer network of sub-regional business service providers to develop the effectiveness and awareness of business services and to increase RDI cooperation in the region.
Authors: Project Managers of KASVA Mirja Väänänen in Liminka and Lauri Jouhki at the Nivala-Haapajärvi region NIHAK ry.
Photo: Juha Sarkkinen
This blog was first published in Vitality Blog of Municipality of Liminka on June 5, 2025.
In Kerttu Saalasti Institute's blog we write about the topics of the Institute's research groups, micro entrepreneurship education and the Institute's general topics. The authors are researchers, experts and members of networks.
Our topics are: micro entrenepreneurship, future manufacturing technologies, regional excellence, micro entrepreneurship education