Setting up in Haparanda - Haparanda stad

Setting up in HaparandaVision 2010Haparanda - Tornio is an international centre in the Bothnian Arc and theBarents Region – a meeting place for culture and know-how, and the flow ofgoods, innovations and people

Rewarding cross-border exchangesTraditionally, trade and social contacts in NorthScandinavia have been mainly in a north-southdirection within the respective countries. Gradually,contacts in an east-westerly direction have becomemore frequent.The rate of development became appreciably higherafter Sweden and Finland joined the EU.BarentsConcrete collaborationCooperation between the towns of HaparandaTornio started in the 60s. It works extremely well andnowadays serves as an exemplar throughout the EU.Collaboration is extensive and the concrete resultsinclude cooperation on use of resources and onfuture investments.The towns share:• vision and community planning• a cooperation organisation• the labour market• educational facilities• technical servicesEurocityConcrete exchanges in North Scandinavia and theBarents Region are extensive today. Haparanda andTornio – Eurocity – has a strategically importantgeographical location in this cooperation acrossthe northern national border. Today, the commonname for the twin towns of Haparanda and Tornio isEurocity.In the middle of the Bothnian ArcThe offices of Bothnian Arc are now locatedin Haparanda. The Bothnian Arc is a majorinter-regional project which began in 1998. Thegeographical area of this cooperation stretches fromSkellefteå in Sweden to Kalajoki in Finland.The aim of the Bothnian Arc is to establishfunctioning regional cooperation between coastaltowns and municipalities around the Gulf ofBothnia. This area contains the dominant industriesof northern Sweden and Finland.The cooperation encompasses regional developmentin the fields of communications, environment andtourism, as well as the shared vision and communityplanning. The intent is to work towards increasedexchanges of goods, services and human contacts.North ScaMeeting poinBy tradition Haparanda is a centre for trade, kstrategic location as a centre for trade, know-how, iBarentsMembership in the EU has created conditions toimplement concrete cross-border developmentprojects. Haparanda and Tornio are situated at thecentre of North Scandinavia as a practical example,and a link between people and countries.The North Calotte Council (Nordkalottrådet) indifferent ways played a decisive role at an early date,by initiating cooperation and broadening exchangesin North Scandinavia between Norway, Sweden andFinland.Eurocity plays an important role in a wider perspective:as a point of entry into the Barents Region.BothniaAt the centre of North Scandinavia -

TDCF- why we came to HaparandaRegionndinavian Arct Haparandanow-how, communications. Haparanda has andustry, enterprise and as a crossroad for the entireRegion.a central role in the Barents RegionDevelopments in Russia in the 90s totally transformedthe situation, and made possible exchangeswith Northwestern Russia. The Barents Region oncemore became a whole region.In the past too, Haparanda - Tornio functioned as atrade clearing centre, but also as an important entrypoint into the region. In historic times, the river wasan artery, and today the Barents Road can take overthat role, linking Norway, Sweden, Finland andRussia.“Haparanda. The name is attractive andarouses curiosity among people one meetsall over Sweden, says local managerLars-Gunnar Lundström.The name of the company TDCF stands for TeleDanmark Communication Försäljning (formerlyFöretagsFakta) and it started operations in Haparandain autumn 1995.“We were impressed by the educational optionsoffered in the border town“, says local manager Lars-Gunnar Lundström.TDCF is a service provider and Lars-GunnarLundström has been with the company since thestart. He describes his recipe for success like this:“Skilled and loyal personnel are a major strength.Part of our local strategy has been to make ourname known in the Group and to make ourselvesindispensable through our pool of specialised skills.This has meant that the Group has transferred moreand more services to us“, Lundström goes on.TDCF works with guiding media. This means thatonce the customer has defined an issue or a wish,TDCF helps find the solution, that is, someone whocan carry out the task in question.Northern most unitTDCF has 52 units in Sweden, with Haparanda asthe northernmost one. The Nordic head office is inCopenhagen. The Haparanda office today has 20employees.Solid development“These years have taught me that growth should beslow but sure. Create a good atmosphere among theemployees in the company, acquire new appointmentsand recruit as needed.“We have a low personnel turnover, which perhaps isa good indicator of how happy our personnel are withtheir colleagues and work duties.“We have mapped out our road into the future. Wewill develop steadily, we will be good at what we do,and acquire new duties by actively working for theTDCF Group“, concludes Lars-Gunnar Lundström.

D-Link- why we came to Haparanda“There are a large number of highlyadvanced services that can be offered farfrom the major cities. Haparandaproves it,“ Miguel Huhta says emphatically.Eurocity - in a marketHaparanda- Tornio is situated as a crossroadsbetween two different areas at the apex of the Gulf ofBothnia, with access to the markets of four nations.The concentrated local market has 34,000 inhabitants- the combined populations of the towns.D-Link set up operations in Haparanda in spring 2001.This global company has already noted favourabledevelopment in Haparanda, growing from three toeight employees.The Group started operations in 1986 and its headoffice is in Taiwan. The total number of employeesworldwide is approximately 4,000. The companyis a major manufacturer of network products. Thecompany has been represented in Scandinavia since1994, with offices in the capital cities as well as in theSwedish towns of Malmö, Örebro and Haparanda.As of the end of year 2002, Stockholm will be the headoffice for operations in northern Europe.Complex operationsThe Haparanda branch is responsible for technicalcustomer support in the whole of Scandinavia, butafter the re-organisation it will have other, morecomplex duties, now involving tendering for servicesto companies, distributors/telecom companies andconsultants.“Back to basics, or back to our basic concept inHaparanda, working with companies. After reorganisation,we have broader responsibilities, andthis increases the added value of our work. At thesame time it develops our personnel, who have morechallenges in their work,” says D-Link’s local managerin Haparanda, Miguel Huhta.“The offices in Haparanda and London share theseduties. So we’re in good company,“ Huhta adds.A feather in their hatAt the time of writing (October 2002), D-Link hasbeen operating in Haparanda for 18 months. GoodIT infrastructure, and the availability of skilled,multilingual and stable workforce were in Haparanda’sfavour. In addition to English, Swedish and Finnishspeakers, there was a need for personnel with acommand of Danish and Norwegian.“A rewarding period. D-link has gained plenty ofvaluable experience. I myself have learned a lot andthat goes for our personnel too. During this period,Haparanda has become a respected name in ourEuropean offices.“People have a good opinion of Haparanda,“ saysMiguel Huhta.Spare purcha1,500 mTotal purchasing power in Haparanda and TornioAbout 1,500 million of this is spent outside Haparapower in the region is growing. ThereMODEHUSET- why we came to Haparanda“We market about 15 big name brandsfrom different suppliers. This is going tobe fun and I hope we’ll help provide agood range in Haparanda,” says SariLövbrand.After 15 years working in care, Sari Lövbrand’s dreambecame reality. She opened a clothes boutique inÖvertorneå in 2001 and a year later, it was time to opena branch in Haparanda.“If it worked in Övertorneå it just has to work inHaparanda,” says Sari Lövbrand.

with money to spendBut there is also a large consumer market withincommuting distance.Since ancient times, it has been a tradition amongpeople in the area to travel to Haparanda - Tornio toshop.ELON- why we came to HaparandaPontus Kallioniemi is a tradesman inHaparanda and deputy chair of Gränsföretagarna,the business organisationfor the border region.“The trade sector is strong and for us it isimportant to be part of a nationwide chainlike ELON,” he says.Rari Interiör AB is a true family business, which wasfounded in 1980. In 1989 the present 700 sq m facilitywas built in Haparanda.“We have taken several leaps forward in our developmentover the years. It’s a must if you want to makeprogress,” says Pontus Kallioniemi, 32 years old, andwith over 15 years in the company.An important local marketOne of Haparanda’s main strengths is that within alimited radius there is a large market with purchasingpower. Customers are encouraged to buy locally whenthere is a broad range of specialised shops.“The local market is crucial to trade. A positive imagefor Haparanda means a great deal to content-mentwith the town. If you are content here, then you shophere,” says Pontus Kallioniemi.sing powerillion!is approximately 2,200 million SEK per annum.nda and Tornio. Calculations show that purchasingare future business opportunities here.“Haparanda is expansive. It lies in a region withgrowth potential and nearby there is a large populationwith purchasing power.“Actions speak louder than words. I got in touch withpeople in Haparanda, studied the market, saw thepotential, searched for suitable premises and whenI’d put the pieces together, I made the decision. It allhappened pretty fast.“The location is an attractive one; well-placed and easyto find. The floor space is 180 sq m. There’s plenty oftraffic and good parking for the customers.We especially promote our quality range with bigname brands in women’s and men’s clothing. We sellfashionable clothing and it’s our buying that is thebottom line,“ says Sari Lövbrand.Strong trade sectorOver twenty years ago, in 1981, Rari Interiör begancollaboration with Scandinavia’s biggest manufacturerof kitchen fittings, Denmark’s HTH.“To broaden our range, we joined ELON, the nationwideelectrical goods chain. The trade sector isimportant and has a strong position. A contentedcustomer is the best advert. It’s an exciting job and funwhen a customer says the job has been done perfectly.That’s when the neighbour also begins to take aninterest in having a modernised kitchen,” PontusKallioniemi continues.Nearness to Finland importantFinland today has the euro. At the Swedish-Finnishborder, we have always lived with currency changes.The situation today is that Finnish customersrepresent 35-40 % of our turnover.“Cross-border trade has always been changeable. Atpresent, it is in our favour,” says Pontus Kallioniemi.

Eurocity- a communications nodeThe E4 trunk road has its easternmost point inSweden in Haparanda, while trunk road 99 continuesnorthwards, along the border. Here the railway linkswith the Finnish and the East European railwaynetworks. A gauge converter allows rail transportsacross the border without trans-shipment.There is also a station serving passenger rail traffic.The ports in Tornio (Röyttä) and Kemi handle largequantities of cargo, mostly for export.The lateral link Barents Road, from Bodø in Norwaythrough Haparanda to Murmansk is almost 1,500kilometres long. The recent opening of the SallaCustoms station on the Russian border has openedthe door to tourist and business projects. Murmansk,with about 400,000 inhabitants, lies 650 kilometresfrom Haparanda.The Customs station sees the passage of over 5million vehicles and about 16 million personsannually. All overland traffic converges here, mainlyusing the E4.There are ample transport resources for passengertraffic by coach and for goods traffic by truck.The coach service “Norrlandskusten” nowadaysterminates in Haparanda. The E4 runs from Lisbonto Helsinki, and Haparanda - Tornio is an importantstopover on that route.In other words, the E4 is an artery running rightthrough the towns.The construction of the Bothnia Line is under way.The Norrbothnia Line has been moved up on theagenda in the government’s long-term infrastructureplans. This will make Haparanda an important nodefor future goods transports between Sweden, Norway,Finland and Russia.Haparanda’s nearest airport is only 15 minutes away.It is situated in Finnish Kemi and has several dailyflights to Helsinki.Kallax Airport in Luleå is 130 kilometres away.Haparanda Municipality is lobbying intensively for adirect route from Kemi to Stockholm.Mediapolis is an IT and media development centre.In the area, university level courses in IT/media areto be offered.Education, business and the community are interactingto bring about Mediapolis.Quality of lifeEURO- a communiHaparanda - a weThe broad spectrum of the arts, events andassociations of the two countries provides a richselection of leisure-time activities for even the mostfastidious. Here you will find interesting cultureon either side of the border, for example, AinesArt Museum and the provincial museum, with itsexcellent collections.In Kukkola, the cultural environment includes thefishery museum, where you can learn about theunique fishing methods.Annual events include the International Jazz andBlues Festival, the Folk Music Festival Gränsspeletand the Whitefish Festival in Kukkola. The world’sonly cross-border 18-hole golf course is here. Youcan hit the world’s longest drive - the ball lands inFinland over an hour later!Here you’ll find many and diverse associations.

On The Border (På Gränsen - Rajalla) is a projectthat has received much attention both in and outsideSweden and Finland.The aim of the project is to make available buildingland between Haparanda and Tornio.CORROTECH- why we came to Haparanda“The EU is purely advantageous for oursetting up in Haparanda, with free tradeand cross-border mobility,“ says MD TapioHerajärvi.Corrotech Oy was founded in 1954 in Tornio (Kyläjoki)by Reino Herajärvi. It is a modern engineeringworks, which in autumn 2002 went into sheet metalmanufacturing with laser cutting. These operationsare based in Haparanda.CITYcations nodealth of activitiesTwo indoor swimming pools, sports halls, floodlitski tracks, equestrian centres, hockey rinks, an allweatherbandy rink, football pitches, marinas etc.and everything is close.The River Torne is the longest undeveloped salmonriver in Europe. Here you can catch salmon, grayling,whitefish (gwyniad) and trout. Haparanda’sarchipelago is famous for its beauty, abundance ofislands and its flora. The most fascinating area isSandskär National Park, with its unique flora andfauna - there are rare species that are unique of theirkind. The coastal area has more hours of sunshinethan anywhere else in Scandinavia.The gem of the inner archipelago is the island ofSeskarö. An adventurous and active leisure time ispart of life in Haparanda.Haparanda is a good place in which to live and work.“There were two main reasons why we set up theoperations in Haparanda. We had access to goodfacilities and we gained an opportunity to grow on theSwedish market, which today represents 15 - 20 percent of our turnover,” says Tapio Herajärvi, managingdirector.“Our Tornio plant has developed well in its 50 yearsof existence. We manufacture in structural steel, wemake industrial noise reduction solutions and wecarry out surface coating.“In Haparanda, we’re moving in to our own premisescovering an area of 3,200 sq m,“ says Herajärvi.Corrotech Oy has a turnover of about 40 million SEK(2001).The main markets are Finland, Sweden, Norway andRussia. The company has 40 employees, 10 of them inHaparanda. Corrotech will have a very specialcharacter, putting EU free trade agreements intoeveryday practice.The head office is in Tornio. The company hasrecruited its workforce for this operation from bothSweden and Finland.

For more information:Haparanda StadUtvecklingsförvaltningenSE-953 85 HAPARANDAStreet address:Stationsgatan 47Tel: +46 922-150 00 (switchboard)E-mail: naringsliv@haparanda.sewww.haparanda.se/naringRegional Development FundProduction: Toolanen IT AB, HAPARANDA 2002Translation: www.elex.nu