English - Vahterus Oy

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Publisher
Vahterus Oy
Pruukintie 7
23600 Kalanti
Tel. +358 2 84 070
Fax +358 2 84 7299
sales@vahterus.com
www.vahterus.com
Editor in Chief
Sari Kesälä
Interviews Raija Herrala-Nurmi
Lay-out
Esko Ruoranen
Mainostoimisto Grafesko
Press
Euraprint
On the cover
Susanna Ventelä, welder,
Vahterus Oy
33 Years of Plate Heat Exchanger
Technology from Finland
Anniversaries are a time to reflect and perhaps feel a little smug. This anniversary is no different.
I hope that our readers can take the time to appreciate this matter which is very important to me.
My story
Although having grown up on a farm, I have had the unique opportunity to work with plate heat
exchangers ever since my student days. I completed my Master’s degree at Tampere University of
Technology where thesis focused on calculating the heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops
for the first ever Finnish gasketed plate heat exchanger, developed by Rauma-Repola Uusikaupunki
Shipyard’s thermotechnical department. That was back in 1978. With hindsight, it is now clear that my
chosen topic was at the very core of understanding plate heat exchangers. The study in itself was basic
and the methods discovered extremely simple, considering what we know now, but anyhow it was a
starting point. We still work in cooperation with the same university and even with some of the same
professors! I guess that means that we haven’t lost our youth.
We were developing new innovations and finding new applications for plate heat exchangers even
then. One example was a vacuum-operated distiller, based on vapour compression and plate heat
exchangers that could be used to turn sea water into drinking water. We even succeeded in selling the
invented technology to a wellknown Swedish plate heat exchanger manufacturer. Back then, there
was already a considerable amount of expertise on both sides of the Gulf of Bothnia.
I was lucky enough to find interesting work close to my home for over ten years, mostly involving
district heating applications for properties, mainly for Finnish customers.
Unfortunately, the company that employed me decided to sell its heat exchanger business to a
competitor and close down the local production facilities. The decision came as a surprise and was a
nasty shock to me. I suddenly found myself in a situation where I had to find a work in order to survive.
Vahterus Oy
We had an idea to develop a new kind of a plate heat exchanger that could combine the good heat
transfer properties of a plate heat exchanger and and still handle the pressure strength without rubber
gaskets. That historical moment was 20 years ago today. The new company was named Vahterus, which
is the name of the village where I was born and where I still live with my wife, Sinikka.
The Vahterus product family has developed in many ways but the basic structure of our heat
exchangers has remained the same. The range of applications is also now more extensive than I could
have even imagined, let alone comprehended, in the beginning.
These new opportunities are all thanks to our customers and wonderful staff. We have tried to
respond to new opportunities to the best of our ability. We have had some amazing successes, but
there has been frustrations as well.
Customers
For one reason or another, we have always been able to find customers who are interested in the new
heat exchanger solutions which we offer and develope together with our customers.
Our foreign customers have shown incredible bravery in buying our products. After all, we began
as a brand new start-up business selling completely unprecedented heat exchanger solutions from a
little place called Kalanti in Finland. That’s quite a risk to take.
I would especially like to mention Mr. John Wijbenga, Mr. Angelo Richelli, Mr. Tjark De Lange and Mr.
Chris Trevatt. Their companies have been our customers since the very beginning, and still are.
I would like to thank all of you wonderful people for your continued customship and unwavering
commitment. We have customers on every continent, and export trade has accounted for more than
90 percent of our production for a number of years. For us, customer is The King! And we want to
continue proving that to you also in the future!
Committed staff
Growing from three to 150 employees has demanded flexibility and personal growth from all of us.
The company’s development and physical growth would not have been possible without the strong
team spirit of our staff. I want to thank you all for our years together and for the work that you have
done for Vahterus and for the success of us all. Together we have been able to be flexible when faceing
financial hardships and to stretch ourselves under pressure. Thank you!
Initiative and innovation have been the cornerstones of our development. The fact that we were
voted the sixth best enterprise in Finland in terms of initiative last year is an excellent proof to this.
We value extremely high the drive to grow and the will to succeed.
Our future together
We believe in heat exchange technology. With our DYNAMO 2014 project we are paving the way for continuing
our strong growth in the future. We need new drive and momentum, and our goal is to generate
this together with our customers as an independent enterprise.
Together we can make heat exchange technology a source of pride and joy!
Mauri Kontu
Managing Director
&
Deeply Rooted
in Countryside
Juha Suominen.
“The sheep were bleating, just on the other side
of the wall – this shows just how deeply rooted
we are in countryside!” says Quality Manager
Juha Suominen, laughing about Vahterus’ early
years.
Technician Jorma Laaksonen and Financial
Director Sinikka Kontu also smile as they
remember the first facilities in the corner of an
old farm building – and particularly how shocked
visitors were by the smell of the sheep pens. All
three were involved right from the start when
Vahterus Oy’s production of heat exchangers
began at Mauri and Sinikka Kontu’s little farm in
the village of Vahterus.
In the early years, the company only
employed a handful of people and some of them
only worked part-time. Everyone got involved
in all aspects of the business, in the spirit of
fearless innovation. Sinikka Kontu handled all
the paperwork single-handedly without any
computers.
Now there are a total of 150 people working
with heat exchangers and the amount of
production facilities has increased twenty-fold.
“Development has been incredible”, says Juha
Suominen. He himself joined the company in May
1991 as a sheet-metal welder. Over the years, he
progressed to welding coordinator and three
years ago to Quality Manager.
A disastrous fire interrupted the company’s
early operations in the Autumn of 1993. Most of
the machinery and equipment – built at great
effort – was destroyed, but a few of the more
important items such as the plate press and
sheet-metal machines were saved.
The break in operations lasted just a
few months. New facilities were found at an
almost empty dairy in Kalanti where another
engineering company had previously operated.
From here it all started. Mauri and Sinikka walking in Vahterus village.
The dairy, now the Lahti Hall, felt big at first but
soon filled up and was expanded. In 2000, the
new larger Arvassalo Hall was completed at the
same site, and in 2008 another new production
facility, the 2,600 m² Santtio Hall, entered service
on a larger plot of land.
The three of them remember how the brand
new facilities felt enormous but soon began to
feel cramped as the size and volume of products
grew and the number of machines increased.
“It didn’t occur to anyone that space would
run out here”, says Sinikka, remembering the
move to the dairy in 1994.
Now even the newest hall is already becoming
cramped and the next plans for expansion are
ready and waiting for the right time.
Jorma Laaksonen, who works at assembly
line, considers the advent of automation as the
greatest change in his job. Nowadays there are an
increasing number of such automated machines
at Vahterus production facilities.
So far, the late 1990s have proven to be the
period of most dynamic growth. At that time
work was being done night and day, especially
when new products were sold even before the
machinery was ready for it’s manufacturing.
“That was an amazingly busy time”, they all say,
remembering the enthusiasm that prevailed.
“In this family business that has grown from
small to medium-sized, we still try to be one
family wherever it is possible.”
“Mauri makes a tour around the halls in the
mornings and once a month we all get together
for a joint assembly”, says Sinikka.
Over two decades the turnover of staff has
been very small. Many of the employees were
recruited from the nearby region and were
already familiar with the company.
Juha Suominen.
Jorma Laaksonen.