[>> Naturally Innovative - Index ]

ELECTRONICS AND ELECTROTECHNICS INDUSTRY

Know-how has been the catalyst for the explosive growth and success of the Finnish electronics and electrotechnics industry. In addition to heavy investment in R&D, it has been accelerated by the liberalisation of global markets. The sector's innovations have not only created entirely new products but have added new properties to conventional products. The amount of electronics in the products of other sectors continues to increase. Electronics and electrotechnics already make up one-fifth of the value of cars and a quarter of the value of cruise ships! They are also increasingly used in manufacturing. During the past decade, the traditional Finnish expertise in forest industry automation has been applied to many other sectors.

» Mobile phones of the future
» Intelligent tyres
» Energy-saving tap
» Smart water system
» Driving safety with the help of sensors
» Versatile electronics production services
» Wireless heart rate monitor
» Intensive anaesthetic treatment and critical care
» Electronics for hurricane research
» Smart cards for a digital future
» Telecommunications leads the way
» Moving image comes to mobile telephones
» Finland a top IT country
» Cordless connections
» Opening up toa new mobile future
» Greater safety and security needed everywhere
» Security as a service
» Safety at work and play
» Industry outlook - Electronics

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

The mechanical engineering industry is Finland's largest employer. The sector's flagship products include forest and paper industry machines, mining and quarrying equipment, forest and agricultural tractors. And one should not forget ships, lifts, hoists, diesel motors, valves and power stations. All these products are globally known and many hold market leadership. The competitive edge of the industry is reinforced by its flexibility. Over 90 per cent of its products are tailored for customer needs and companies have established close networks for development and production.

» New generation paper machine
» Laser-controlled AGVs
» An elevator without machine room
» Innovative CXT hoist technology
» Propeller technology for cruise ships
» Smoke-free diesel engines
» Best forest machine technology
» A new dimension for cutting
» Industry outlook - Mechanical engineering
» Lifting innovations
» New look for the hook
» Remote diagnostics
» Fast and smooth trucks
» Power on land and at sea
» High-strength tubes make car safe

CONSTRUCTION AND THE CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS INDUSTRY

Finnish construction is known for being not just architecturally attractive, high quality and functional, but also intelligent and flexible. It is intelligent because information technology (IT) has become an essential and permanent feature of construction and the construction products industry. It is flexible because construction is no longer based only on technical, technological, or aesthetic values but also on ethical values. Advanced IT solutions make it possible to assess the environmental impacts of buildings throughout their lifetime. New construction processes and energy-saving technologies have also been developed. As a result, buildings can be built - and dwelt in - even in Arctic temperatures. What more is, construction and the construction products industry considers the varying needs of all age groups and lifestyles. Residential environments, buildings and apartments can be developed to cater for the changing needs of occupants throughout their life cycles.

» Steel construction
» Flexible solutions for living
» Media homes
» Data-controlled construction
» An ecometer for construction
» Portal to the Virtual Village
» Construction remains stable
» Lemminkäinen paves the way at Omsk airport
» Waste water treatment plant at St Petersburg
» Wide range of construction related services

TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY

Finland's northern location, the dramatic changes in climate from season to season, and the small size of the local market have caused it to specialise. Yet there is diversity in this specialisation. Finnish clothing manufacturers have significant market shares in various types of outdoor clothing with very precise requirements. These include clothes for skiing, hiking, hunting and tobogganing. The industry specialises in professional and work clothing that adds to safety and productivity, as well as top-of-the-market daily fashion. In short, the Finnish textile and clothing industry's products combine good technical properties with elements of Nordic design and high commercial quality.

» Marimekko lifestyle
» Smart Clothing
» Influence of Alvar Aalto lives on
» There's only one Marimekko
» Finland number one in 2005
» Intelligent customers
» Motorcyclist attired in thinking outfit
» The colder, the better

GRAPHICS AND MEDIA INDUSTRY

With its high penetration of cell phones and Internet connections, its high readership and numbers of newspapers and magazines, Finland is truly a land of communications. This sparsely populated land, in which both homes and companies are online, is also a significant communications laboratory for the whole of Europe. The Finnish information society has its roots in the traditional forest sector, but it owes much to rapidly developing telecommunications. The raw materials for printing are still very much on hand. But the graphics and media industry also increasingly exploits and benefits from advances in electronic communications.

FOREST INDUSTRY

Finland lives from the forest, in the forest and is the forest. About 70 per cent of Finland is forest-covered. Every fifth Finn earns his or her livelihood from trees - directly or indirectly. The forest industry accounts for one-third of Finland's exports and its products account for every second net markka earned in exports. 90 per cent of the paper made in Finland and 70 per cent of the sawmill products are exported, mainly to Western Europe. The strategic economic importance of the forests has created a strong and comprehensive forest cluster. The term refers to a concentration of integrated know-how: The core products of the forest industry - pulp, paper, board and sawn goods - are supported by engineering workshops producing paper machines and logging equipment. Chemical enterprises produce the special chemicals needed by the forest industry. Research organisations and universities contribute their own valuable input to the cluster.

» Quality Paper around the World
» Finnish design in table coasters
» High-quality log building
» Sibelius Hall
» Forest inventories by satellites
» Wood Wisdom
» Aalto stool stands for 70 years
» Each piece of wood is unique
» Designed for fun

FOOD INDUSTRY

Health and fitness are key concepts in all discussions of the food industry's future. In Finland, decades of collaboration between foodstuffs companies and research organisations have produced a steadily growing basket of functional foodstuffs that are not only good in taste, but also good for you. Current innovations, such as cholesterol-lowering margarine and tooth-friendly natural sugar, are the latest in a long line of nutritious Finnish food products exemplified by the highly useful and healthful rye bread. The Finnish food industry owes much to the use of domestically produced products. Eighty-five per cent of the foodstuffs consumed are produced locally. The industry's basic raw materials are grown in unpolluted and natural countryside. The cold winter and sharp seasonal variations keep plant diseases and insect pests effectively at bay.

» Cholesterol-reducing margarine
» Chewing gum that prevents tooth decay
» Stomach-saving bacteria
» Functional food for the future well being
» Industry outlook - Food industry
» Smart packaging
» Fazer Bread promotes good health
» Rye creates international interest

CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

The chemical industry is Finland's third-largest industrial sector, after the forest sector and the metals and engineering sector. It produces an enormous range of products for the use of other industrial sectors, especially for forest industry and agriculture. In addition, its basket of products includes plastics, chemicals, paints, oil products, pharmaceuticals, environmental products and petrochemicals. Biotech products are the chemical industry's latest area of application. Biotechnology is regarded as one of the most promising high-tech sectors in Finland and it is growing extremely rapidly. Over 90 per cent of Finnish biotech companies were born in the 1990s. A good 10 per cent of all European biotech companies are Finnish.

» EHS rules
» A drug for heart failure
» Super cellulose
» Genes for commercial uses
» Biotechnology - engine with many growth components
» Industry outlook - Chemical industry
» Finland - a possible world leader in research into disease genes
» Fast and safe tyre
» Injection-moulding challenging components

ENERGY INDUSTRY

The efficient use of energy is one of the keys to the success of Finland. This is especially the case as Finland's own energy resources are limited, the economy is booming, the major industries are energy-intensive, and a significant share of all energy must be imported. Yet, Finland can be justly proud of its efficient and economic use of energy. Finnish industry has always exploited an exceptionally diverse range of energy sources. These include timber and by-products of the forest industry, bio-fuels, peat and hydroelectric power. The country's four nuclear reactors are among the most efficient in the world. Wind power made its debut in the 1990s. The imported energy sources include oil, coal and electricity from the neighbouring countries. The import of natural gas will increase, especially if it can be used to replace the heavily polluting coal. The CO2 emissions of natural gas are only some 50-60 per cent of the emissions of coal. Solar power has a more limited range of application in this climate compared with southern European countries.

» Energy from biomass
» Electricity as a branded product
» Portal to the information highways
» Co-generation of energy reduces waste
» Environment and energy
» A-stage finds its market
» Taking oil off troubled waters
» Stainless steel production doubles
» Wärtsilä reduces smoke emissions
» Less rain, more talk
» Kemwater gives China the full treatment

SAFETY TECHNOLOGY

Safety Technology

» Companies need greater information security awareness
» Mobile phones could catch a nasty virus
» Marioff fights fire with high pressure
» Tread naturally with rape-seed oil
» Transponders cut down check-out queueing
» Microchip aids passport identification
» VIRVE improves public authorities' performance
» Nokia also protects networks

HEALTH AND WELLNESS INDUSTRY

Health and Wellness Industry

INVESTMENT INDUSTRY

Investment Industry

[>> Naturally Innovative - Index]

Published 2001