Teemu Puumalainen, Director at Nordic Option says that investing in Owatec was a very nice opportunity. “Owatec approached us looking for capital and expertise. They were moving from the startup phase to the scaling phase and they needed help getting to the next level. For Nordic Option it represented the sweet spot and Owatec matched our investment criteria perfectly.”
Puumalainen says that what is particularly interesting in Owatec's offering is the environmental and cost-saving benefits made possible by their technology. The world is changing, he explains. “We see significant growth possibilities for Owatec.”
According to Jaakko Pellinen, Owatec CEO and founder, Nordic Option was chosen as a partner because of their expertise in the industrial sector. “We weren’t just looking for the money,” he says. “Nordic Option know how to grow our kind of company and their knowledge has provided a big impact.”
Nordic Option have a good network in the industrial sector, explains Pellinen, and it’s this network that’s led to new customers for Owatec. “In this industry it’s very important to talk to the right people and we’ve had the chance to show what we can do and how we can help thanks to Nordic Option.”
After the investment, Nordic Option invited Trailmaker to join the strategy process, which Director Puumalainen says was borne of the fact that they knew they needed help. “Finding a common view for the whole team among many options was crucial for saving time and enabling Owatec to go after the right opportunities. Trailmaker has been a trusted partner for years and our portfolio companies have benefited from excellent results.”
CEO Pellinen says that Owatec have a unique product that is vastly different from normal waste water treatment plants, but before Trailmaker they were in need of a strategy and direction. “It’s important that we focus on the best markets and understand the customer segments that drive the best returns. Some markets it’s about providing the technologies and some the solution. It’s about trying to focus on the biggest fish.”
Working with the Trailmaker process was very successful, agree Pellinen and Puumalainen, with Pellinen noting: “I’m surprised how efficient the process was.”
For Puumalainen, Trailmaker helped guide Owatec forward. “We needed to know how to get Owatec to the next level, to the €5M, €10M, €20M level. Trailmaker played an important role there.”
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TRAILMAKER is a concept for faster strategy execution:
• Concrete common view and commitment
• Identified capability needs
• Visibility
Nordic Option, one of the largest investment funds in Northern Finland, is celebrating its 30th year in business. Trailmaker is one of their trusted partners helping them set new portfolio companies quickly on the right path.
Nordic Option has been helping companies from Northern Finland grow for 30 years. It invests in small and mid-sized businesses that have established operations and are looking to expand and develop.
During its run, Nordic Option has supported numerous companies reach the next level – either by going public or by being bought by a major industry player or a larger investor. These include Specim Imaging, that was purchased by Konica Minolta, Owatec Group that was acquired by Sulzer Corporation, and Haltian, currently owned by the likes of Inventure and Mandatum.
“We want to see our portfolio companies succeed and wish to help them anyway we can. To do that, we need to build an honest relationship with them”, says Jaakko Lampela, the CEO of Nordic Option.
Nordic Option’s support is not limited to funding, it also helps its portfolio companies by providing knowledge, networks and tools for growth. In the past 10 years Trailmaker has become one of the tools that Nordic Option utilizes to get things started.
Once Nordic Option invests in a company, it is critical that the business has a clear vision of where it wants to go. When a business is considered viable, but lacking in focus, Trailmaker is brought in to get things moving in the right direction.
“In the early phases of investment, it is critical to attain a common view of the goals and the steps to achieve them among the leadership team. Trailmaker does that, and it gets the growth journey started quickly and on the right track.”
After many joint efforts, the collaboration between Nordic Option and Trailmaker has become frictionless. When asked, if they will continue to work with Trailmaker in the future, Lampela has a quick answer:
“We will continue our cooperation as it’s become very clear that the Trailmaker process works.”
Nordic Option is known as a trustworthy and participatory investor that believes in transparency, activity, sustainability and value creation – and expects to be helping businesses grow for the next 30 years as well.
