The winners of the regional competition of Entrepreneur of the Year were rewarded in Oulu
Juhani Blomqvist from Betamet Oy and Teppo Lindén from Coronaria Group were elected as the best growing business entrepreneurs in Northern Finland
Juhani Blomqvist, group manager, from the metal group Betamet Oy, and Teppo Lindén, managing director, from the company Coronaria Oy offering personnel and network services for health care, have been elected as the best growing business entrepreneurs in Northern Finland in 2008. The winners were rewarded on the 15th of October, in the regional event of Entrepreneur of the Year, in Oulu.
Entrepreneur of the Year, initiated by Ernst & Young in 1986, is the geographically largest international entrepreneur competition, and has acted longest as well. This year, this competition is organized for the sixth time in Finland.
Rewarded growing business entrepreneurs don’t avoid globalization
Betamet Oy from Oulu, has been founded in 1993 when also metal business experienced depression heavily. The company has, from the first beginning, sought and implemented projects which require high level know-how. Betamet specialized in demanding machine constructions, has become the market leader in the paper machine segment in Europe. Competing in the international environment, the company invests also continuously in follow-up and development of its own activities. The turnover of Betamet in 2007 was 31 million Euros, and the number of personnel was 200. The most part of the turnover consists of products for mining industry and steel industry.
Aiming to be an entrepreneur since he was young, Juhani Blomqvist started to work in metal business immediately after leaving the comprehensive school. Being the second founder of Betamet and present leader of the group, Blomqvist thinks that risks are an essential part of business activities. He states that without taking risks consciously, Betamet would have not grown as it is, in size, now. In addition to taking care of customer satisfaction, also environmental standpoints are not less emphasized in the activities of an entrepreneur.
– Betamet piloted by Juhani Blomqvist, has grown strongly. The company is considered among customers to be a reliable supplier and among professionals to be a good employer. Furthermore, an entrepreneur has a "green heart", environmental standpoints are taken into consideration in all activities, says Mikko Rytilahti,the new leader of the competition of Finnish Entrepreneur of the Year fromErnst & Young.
Coronaria is a group of companies initiated in 1988 in Oulu which offers innovative personnel and network services for public care. It offers varied digital health care services for consumers. The globalizing company has offices also in Sweden, Denmark, and in the Baltic countries. During the last five years, Coronaria is elected twice to be included in those 50 Finnish companies which have grown most rapidly. The turnover of Coronaria in 2007 was 24.2 million Euros, and the number of personnel was nearly 210.
Teppo Lindén is one of the main owners of Coronaria. His career as an entrepreneur began with the Health Centre Manual (Terveyskeskuskäsikirja) in 1988 which encouraged Lindén and his two partners to continue with entrepreneurship. For the first seven years, these men had publications, and the turnover was about 2–3 million Marks. Little by little, business enlarged, and Mr. Linden, specialist in surgery, orthopaedics, traumatology, and Doctor of Medicine, quitted gradually working in a hospital in the turn of the this century. Nowadays, he works full-time as the managing director of his company.
– Teppo Lindén founded the company with his physician colleagues for the needs to develop health care by means of high-class products and services. Thinking innovatively, those three have opened many service portals for physicians and pharmacists in different fields, and also for another nursing staff. Company’s rapid growth is based on wide know-how in health care, ability to develop new solutions and skills in business, Mr. Rytilahti states.
Candidates in Northern Finland were Juhani Blomqvist (Betamet Oy), Perttu Junnila (Blastman Robotics Oy), Teppo Lindén (Coronaria Oy (Cor Group)), Riku Isohätälä (Hätälä Oy), Johanna Koskelainen (Kymppi-Eristys Oy), Juhani Ylipekkala (MY-rakennus Oy), Vesa Nylander (Pohjois-Suomen Hirsitalokeskus Oy / Mammutti-Hirsi Oy), Harri Majala (Sonell Rakennuttajat Oy) and Juha Alapuranen (Ylitornion Betonituote Oy).
Finland divided in seven competition regions
64 candidates participate in the Competition of Entrepreneur of the Year this year. In the first stage, there is a local contest of supremacy concerning entrepreneurship. The candidates of the seven Finnish graphical competition regions are introduced in six competition events in October: in Oulu (Northern Finland), in Kuopio (Eastern Finland), in Seinäjoki (Western Finland), in Tampere (Häme and Central Finland), in Turku (Varsinais-Suomi) and in Helsinki (Uusimaa). Those entrepreneurs which have qualified among the best in the local preliminaries to the national final, are published on the 27th of October.
The national final takes place on the 6th –7th of November, in 2008, in Helsinki. The winner of the national Entrepreneur of the Year and the best of the commercial, production and services business series are published in the gala of the 7th of November. In addition, there are three special prizes: the prize of Young Entrepreneur of the Year for a entrepreneur under 35 years, the prize of Challenger Entrepreneur of the Year for a challenger, and the prize of Innovative Entrepreneur of the Year for an innovator. Competition for prosperous, growing business entrepreneurs.
The competition of Entrepreneur of the Year is open to owner entrepreneurs who have a remarkable share of ownership in the company, and who are active in the leadership of his company. Candidate enterprises are required to have growth and profitability, and positive own capital. The competition is free for those enterprises which employ over 10 people, and their turnover is 5 million Euros, at the minimum. Every year, thousands of new entrepreneurs participate in the competition of Entrepreneur of the Year, and, even now, it is organized in over 50 countries.
The competition is based on personal interviews of candidates in which different sectors of entrepreneurship are mapped. Among other things, entrepreneurial spirit, strategy, type of actions, economic success, values and societal responsibility, internationality, entrepreneur’s personal characteristics and innovativeness are handled in them. The competition process requires a candidate’s agreement and active participation.
Influential persons of business life in the jury
Persons in the jury of 2008 are: Eero Lehti, chairman of the Finnish Entrepreneurs , Member of Parliament (chairman of the jury); J.T. Bergqvist, chairman of the board of Elektrobit Oyj and Norvestia Oyj; Jari Paasikivi, managing director of Oras Invest Oy; Rauno Puolimatka, managing director of Rausanne Oy; Vesa Puttonen, professor of finance from the School of Economics of Helsinki; Kai Seikku, managing director of HKScan Oyj; Maarit Toivanen-Koivisto, mining counsellor, managing director of Onvest Oy; Jarkko Veijalainen, last year’s winner of the competition, chairman of the board of 3 Step IT Group Oy, and Heikki Westerlund, managing director of CapMan Oyj.
In July, Mikko Rytilahti, partner of Ernst & Young, began as a leader of the Finnish competition after his predecessor Heikki Ilkka moved in on leading the auditing business of Ernst & Young.
Ernst & Young organizes the competition together with those cooperative partners who support entrepreneurship. The main cooperative partners, in 2008, are Eläke-Fennia, Evli, and Sonera. Additionally, Wetteri Oy, the reseller of BMW, acts as a partner of the regional event of Northern Finland.
For further information about the competition, please see the website www.eoy.fi, and about Coronaria Oy, and Betamet Oy, please see websites www.coronaria.fi, and www.betamet.fi.
For further information:
Mikko Rytilahti, Chartered Accountant, partner, Manager of the competition of Entrepreneur of the Year, Ernst & Young Oy, phone 040 578 6742
Elina Holamo, spokeswoman, Ernst & Young Oy, phone 0400 280 073
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is a globally leading expert of auditing, tax consultancy, business arrangements, business management consultancy, and business law. Common values and strong commitment to quality form a basis for international cooperation of our 130 000 professionals. We have an influence on the growth and development of our personnel and our customers, and also on the surrounding society by recognizing the chances, and by supporting to implement the goals. For further information, please see website www.ey.com/fi.
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year is a recognized, international reward for successful growing business entrepreneurs. It encourages expanding, responsible entrepreneurship, and motivates entrepreneurs who inspire others with their visions, leadership, and achievements. Entrepreneur of the Year supports the builders of growing and profitable business, and acknowledges them in the growing business competition in over 50 countries on a regional, national, and global level.