Teräsrakkenyhdistys ry has invited Jalo Paananen, founder of Peikko Group, as its new honorary member on 24.11.2021 November XNUMX.
With the nomination, the association especially thanks Paananen's life's work in the innovative development of steel and composite structures and the internationalization of the Finnish steel structure industry. The appointment as an honorary member coincidentally comes on the same day that Peikko receives the award for Steel Structure of the Year 2021 together with other key parties in the expansion of Terminal 2 of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Peikko has been the manufacturer and installer of the frame steel structures for the extension part of Terminal 2.
An entire company was born from a complaint raised by a customer
Jalo Paananen has had a long working career both in steel construction and in running the affairs of entrepreneurs and companies. He founded Teräspeikko Oy in 1965 while working in sales of steel products at Ovako Oy. One customer complained about the lack of a suitable trap for the sandwich elements. Paananen developed a working solution to the problem and founded the company to manufacture traps.
"The same idea of doing something new or in a different way than others, so that the customer benefits, has guided the operation even after that. The basis of Peikko's development is the needs from customers. When developing our business, we have always thought about whether this is a new thing that will positively surprise the customer and bring them profit from partnering with us. The guideline is, don't make a product that already has another factor, unless you have a superior product concept. If that's the case, the package will be enough for us too," says Jalo Paananen in an interview with Teräsrakken magazine.
Strong product development and faith in the developed products, combined with an understanding of the importance of sales, have taken Peikko, the name the company adopted in 2005 as part of its internationalization strategy, forward so that the company currently operates in all inhabited continents. The company's product range has expanded from steel connection and fastening parts related to concrete construction, first to steel DELTABEAM® low jaw beams, which can be used with steel, concrete and wood elements, and then to steel columns and steel trusses and wind power foundations. In Finland, Peikko is also responsible for the installation of the steel structures it manufactures and related frame and facade structures in several projects.
Support for the sales professorship
According to Jalo Paananen, sales is an essential part of successful business operations. In order to increase the appreciation and importance of sales, Jalo Paananen, together with his wife Anja, has enabled the establishment of a sales professorship at Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology's School of Economics with a donation.
Jalo Paananen has also been active in organization activities. In Paananen's opinion, an entrepreneur does not need a trustee to operate and live, but entrepreneurs need both individually and together to communicate in what kind of conditions and operating environment the company can live and grow and thus produce good for society. For him, the Steel Structures Association is therefore one of the important actors in keeping issues of the industry's business field on display and influencing them.
Please provide more information CEO of Teräsrakkenyhdistys ry
Timo Koivisto, tel. 050 408 1163 or timo.koivisto@tryry.fi
Download a larger photo of Jalo Paananen here