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Friday 4­th of July 2014
Newsletter 2/14
Dream team takes Marinetek into third decade
This year could be the best ever for Marinetek. Having battled through the recession and
emerged with an order book for prestigious international contracts, the company is all set to
enter its third decade. The icing on the cake is a change to senior management that will give
the company “a dream team”.
On 1st August, in good time for
Marinetek to celebrate its 20th
anniversar in the coming
autumn, co-founder Ilkka
Seppälä will step down as Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) to
become full-time Chairman
of the Board, and current
Executive Vice President, Jukka
Saarikko, will be the company’s
new CEO. The board will also be
further strengthened by a new
member, Pekka Luoma.
It’s an exciting time for change and
Seppälä is eager to embrace new
opportunities for the company.
“Now that Marinetek has 20 years
Marinetek founders Markku Rantanen (left) and Ilkka Seppälä (right) with
of strong global growth under its
Jukka Saarikko (centre), who starts as CEO of Marinetek Group in August.
belt, I think it’s the perfect time
to leave my duties as CEO and concentrate on ensuring the sustainable growth and strategic development of the
company from the boardroom,” he said. “We have much to look forward to.”
Incoming CEO, Jukka Saarikko (53), who has been with the company since 2007 and has been Executive Vice
President since 2012, is keen to streamline existing operations and capitalise on the company’s success in many
different geographical markets.
Guiding light
The main task of the corporation’s parent company is to guide the subsidiaries – and there is plenty of scope. The
corporation comprises 24 different companies, ten of which are outside of Finland in countries such as the USA,
Singapore, Dubai, Sweden, Croatia and Russia.
“The core business of the company is now doing well and our market position in the Nordic countries, Russia,
Croatia, Denmark, Poland and Romania is very strong. My most pressing tasks will be to further develop business
activities in the USA and complete our integration with the companies we have purchased in Sweden,” Saarikko
revealed.
The corporation currently has dozens of ongoing projects around the world, the largest of which include an
iconic Bathing Pavilion in Gibraltar, rowing stadion in Romania and marina projects in Fort Lauderdale (Florida,
USA), Sochi (Russia), Skradin (Croatia), Meljine (Montenegro), Cannes (France), Canouan (Carribean), Abu Dhabi
(UAE) and Phuket (Thailand). “Results for this year are already more positive than for 2013 and project sales
have gone well around the world. Our new products and more competitive pricing structure have been
well received and our market position has strengthened in line with our aims,” he continued.
MARINETEK GROUP
ADDRESS Vattuniemenkatu 3, 00210 Helsinki, Finland
TEL +358 9 6824100 FAX +358 9 68241030
EMAIL [email protected] WEB wwww.marinetek.net
NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS
Friday 4­th of July 2014
Newsletter 2/14
Strength at the top table
New board member, Pekka
Luoma, comes to Marinetek with
a wealth of international business
experience. He worked for 18 years
at Ernst & Young - first as CEO and
later as Chairman of the Board - and
served for six years on the board of
Ernst & Young Global and EMEIA
(Europe, Middle-East-India, Africa).
He is a skilled strategist who excels
at managing specialist organisations
and is well versed in corporate
governance, financing and taxation.
The other expert board members
are: Risto Kyhälä, who has detailed
knowledge of property development The board members (l to r): Pekka Luoma, Vesa Koivula, Ilkka Seppälä,
Risto Kyhälä and Antti Niemi.
and corporate management; Vesa
Koivula, who is CEO of the listed company Cramo Oy, and has considerable experience in international project
management and the global construction industry; and Antti Niemi, a Partner at Peltonen LMR Attorneys.
Niemi, the longest serving board member, acts as Marinetek’s company lawyer and has broad knowledge in
corporate acquisitions and financing.
“After many years of strong growth, Marinetek has been hit over the past three years by the pan-European
recession. This has most particularly affected our core business,” Seppälä explained. “Becoming established in
markets in China and the USA has also taken a lot of resources in a falling market and major changes in
customer expectations and financing tools have brought additional challenges. We now have a dream team and
are developing our products and processes in different parts of the world. Marinetek is back on track and
growing again and we expect this year to be the best in the company’s history,” he enthused.
Marinetek is the leading marina supplier in Europe and has delivered more than 2,000 projects in 47 countries.
The company is famous for its heavy concrete pontoons systems and breakwaters and floating solutions such as
integrated marinas, swimming arenas, bathing pavilions, overpass bridges and floating houses. Marinetek also
owns the New Port marina chain in Finland.
For more information:
Jukka Saarikko, +358 500 634 524, [email protected]
Ilkka Seppälä, +358 505 522 222, [email protected]
www.marinetek.net
MARINETEK GROUP
ADDRESS Vattuniemenkatu 3, 00210 Helsinki, Finland
TEL +358 9 6824100 FAX +358 9 68241030
EMAIL [email protected] WEB wwww.marinetek.net