HITTING BACK WITH 3D DETERMINATION Finnish heavy machine building services provider Hollming Works has responded proactively to competition from low-cost countries – through careful planning, investment in 3D modelling and a constant efficiency drive. Felicity Landon reports.
M
ajor players in the offshore and shipbuilding, power production, mining, and pulp and paper industries turn to Hollming Works for its long experience in providing heavy machine building services. From four workshops in Finland – at Pori, Kankaanpää, Loviisa and Parkano – Hollming supplies customers with series production of critical components and equipment, and also manufactures equipment for specific projects in, for example, the offshore oil
and gas sector. Remember the geological survey vessel in the opening scenes of the film Titanic? It was equipped with some major pieces of kit supplied by Hollming. Part of the Rauma-based Hollming Group, whose history goes back to 1945, Hollming Works employs 700 people and has its head office in Pori. At present, offshore and subsea contracts are dominating its output, and it is also increasingly involved in wind energy
and nuclear power units. The Hollming name comes with a strong reputation and tradition but at the same time the company is having to face up to tough competition from low-cost countries, says marketing and sales director Tapani Mannonen. “We have made some significant changes in our manufacturing lines to make them even more efficient,” he says. “We must be able to demonstrate our ability clearly to our customers; they have really demanding con-
