Sustainable manufacturing

Manufacturing is Finland’s key economic sector, accounting for about half of the country’s exports and nearly 30 per cent of GDP. With the importance of the sector’s growth in mind, Finland seeks to provide it with new ways to act more sustainably. A great example is Business Finland’s Sustainable Manufacturing Finland programme, targeted at manufacturing ecosystems and exploring new solutions to increase industry’s efficiency, productivity and environmental friendliness.

Widely recognised as a digital powerhouse, Finland sees digitalisation as one of core contributors to a sustainable industrial future. Among the Industry 4.0 technologies that can create new opportunities for businesses is Nokia’s RXRM solution. The real-time extended reality multimedia provides instant immersive experiences, leveraging cutting-edge 360-degree video and spatial 3D audio to improve industrial productivity while enhancing employee safety and wellbeing.

Using digital twins is also on the rise in manufacturing, bringing plentiful benefits. One of the Finnish pioneers in the field is Process Genius, whose 3D digital twin solution helps factory operators to achieve complete situational awareness, taking daily management processes to a new level.

This and more Finnish solutions for sustainable manufacturing were showcased earlier this year at Hannover Messe 2023, the world’s largest trade fair for industry development, held on 17–21 April in Hannover, Germany. Below are five more Finnish innovators, addressing the needs of smart manufacturing.

INNOVATIVE ENERGY AND WATER SOLUTIONS: ADVEN

Striving for a large-scale and long-term sustainable impact, Adven specialises in developing innovative energy and water solutions for customers across industries. Adven accelerates the much-needed energy transition with its energy-as-a-service (EAAS) concept.

“We take care of our customers’ whole energy supply chain: design, construction, investment and operation, while they focus on their own production,” explained Victor Donselaar, country manager for the Netherlands.

In addition to Finland and the Netherlands, Adven operates in Sweden, Norway, Estonia and Latvia, having more than 350 sites under its belt.

A WORLD-CLASS R&D SERVICES PROVIDER: BITTIUM

Founded in 1985, Bittium has made a name for itself as a reliable provider of top-notch product development services in the areas of wireless communications, medical technologies and manufacturing.

“The knowhow we have accumulated during more than 35 years, for example on radio and antenna technologies and embedded software, has helped numerous companies all over the world in the development of innovative solutions,” said Tommi Kangas, former senior vice president for connectivity solutions. “We help our customers in all stages of product development, from technology consulting and concept strategy to turnkey product and service development.”

With offices in Finland, Germany, Mexico, Singapore and the US, Bittium has built an extensive network of customers and partners around the globe, including the likes of Kone, Nokia, adidas, GE Healthcare and Philips.

AUTOMATION DESIGN AND EMBEDDED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT: DENOVO

Headquartered in Tampere, Denovo has deep understanding of how digitalisation helps to support sustainable growth for enterprises in paper, plastic and energy industries. With a special focus on automation design and embedded software development, Denovo has been working with such industrial behemoths as Valmet, Sandvik and Uponor, to name a few.

Moreover, Denovo is collaborating with Germany’s Smart HMI and fellow Finnish company Finno Solutions to create professional and efficient human-machine interfaces (HMIs), helping industry players to optimise their processes and reduce energy consumption in the most profitable way.

“Our value to the customer is based on high level of experience,” the Denovo team assures. “With our services customers can concentrate on their main business.”

IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY: MERUS POWER

Having built expertise in understanding the electricity market since 2008, Merus Power is known for designing and manufacturing innovative battery energy storage systems and power quality solutions. With sustainability at its core, Merus Power is helping companies in both heavy and light industries to reach energy efficiency, operational excellence and improved environmental performance.

“Merus Power supports the green transition and utilises the transformation of the energy market,” CEO Kari Tuomala noted upon receiving the Pirkanmaa Export Award 2022, which recognises Pirkanmaa region-based companies focusing on internationalisation, exports and opening new markets. “We invest in quality, high technology and expertise in electrical engineering. This is how we ensure that our solutions are high quality and in demand worldwide.”

Indeed, Merus Power has had international business growth ambitions since day one. At the moment, the company’s main export markets are Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.

CLEANING INDUSTRIAL IMPURITIES WITH SOUND: NIRAFON

Serving as an excellent example of Finnish cleantech expertise and sustainable innovations, Nirafon provides various acoustic cleaning systems for industrial needs. The Lahti-based company’s solutions are used for cleaning ash, soot, cinder and other powder-type impurities at power, boiler and incineration plants around the globe.

“We tailor our solutions to the customer's needs,” said CEO Pauli Jokela. “For example, we can implement solutions for heat transfer surfaces with a wide temperature range. We are the only one that can manufacture solutions for applications with temperatures [of] up to 1 500 degrees Celsius.”

The benefits are aplenty, including energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact, as well as operating and maintenance cost savings.

Originally published in April 2023, updated in November 2023