16.9.2022

Koja Group’s long-term perspective provides employees with stability and possibilities to grow

The fact that Koja Group is a family-owned business is reflected in its transparency, long-term perspective and ability to make quick decisions. The company is also large and involves several industries, which offers its employees various opportunities for professional development.

Pasi Lähteinen, Business Director in Koja Oy’s Industrial Solutions, emphasises the company’s excellent team spirit: its employees work together like a sports team. This is enabled by the owners, who have long-term vision and commitment.

“The company has been run by the same family for almost 90 years, and in their strategy, the owners are committed to remaining a family-owned business for the next hundred years as well. This long-term perspective brings us security, we won’t be shaken by the first storm”, he says.

What also brings stability is that despite its increasing international operations, the major investments are still made in Finland. This means that the company constantly recruits technology professionals and other experts for its operations in various sectors. Its operations cover the entire life cycle of products from design and product development to its own production, sales and life-cycle services.

According to Joonas Lius, Business Director in Air Handling Solutions for Buildings, the company can offer exceptionally many choices to its personnel in Finland.

“The size of the company indeed enables us to offer our employees various duties and a lot of responsibility. If you have ambition and vision, almost anything is possible with us.”

Green transition makes work meaningful

Nowadays, the company needs a significantly wider variety of experts in various fields of technology than before. The main reason behind this is the ongoing green transition.

“At the same time, the fact that our business is very much involved in the green transition, is something that makes work meaningful for younger employees in particular. Sustainability runs through all our operations”, says Lähteinen.

Another source of motivation is that Koja’s products are widely present in Finnish people’s lives – whether they are aware of it or not.

“Every Finnish person has visited a building or a ship that contains our products. Our technology has been used in all the recent major projects in the Pirkanmaa area around Tampere from Nokia Arena to the Ratina shopping centre”, Lius describes.

Identify and engage experts as early as possible

Finding technology experts is a growing challenge in businesses, and Koja Group has noticed that professionals should be offered possibilities to grow already at early career stages. One example of this is Koja’s student programme, which provides students with traineeships and potential employment.

“Our collaboration with educational institutions has been a very important strategic choice”, Lius says.

It is common that Koja’s employees work at the company for decades, and another sign of employee satisfaction is that many of them return after trying employment elsewhere. Lähteinen and Lius, too, have been happy to work at Koja for a long time.

“I first came here to do my master’s thesis in engineering, and now I’ve already stayed for 20 years. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to take further training, which has supported my career path”, Lähteinen says. Both business directors point out that in addition to professional skills, job applicants should possess a pro-active attitude.

“It is also a good idea to think about your own values and then find a job that meets them. Koja’s values are such that most people find it easy to commit to them”, Lius concludes.

Basic facts about Koja Group:

• Koja Group is a Finnish, family-owned business established in 1935, consisting of the parent company Koja Group Oy, as well as Koja Oy and Chiller Oy and their subsidiaries.
• Koja Group provides air handling and cooling solutions for ships and buildings, as well as industrial fan solutions.
• The group’s turnover in 2021 was EUR 102.4 million, and it employed around 450 people.
• Koja Group has operations in ten Finnish localities, with its main office in Tampere and factories in three locations. The group also has offices in Sweden and the United States.