At home and abroad Specma

AT HOME AND ABROAD

Specma Oy is the Finnish arm of the Specma Group, a maker of hydraulic systems and components. Joseph Altham spoke to Jussi Niiniaho, managing director of Specma Oy, to find out about a company whose activities are becoming more closely linked with the group’s worldwide network of subsidiaries but which remains a strong presence in its local market.

The Specma Group is one of Scandinavia’s most important manufacturers of hydraulic systems and components. Specma, established in Sweden in 1920, specialises in application-based hydraulic systems. In heavy lifting equipment such as bulldozers and cranes, hydraulics channel the power that the machine needs to do its job. On a ship, hydraulic systems are used in winches, cranes, ramps and propulsion systems.

The Specma Group, with headquarters in Gothenburg, employs around 800 people. The group divides its activities into three areas: the System division, the OEM (original equipment manufacturing) division and the Component division. Specma Oy is the group’s subsidiary in Finland and has around 80 employees.

“The main difference between the OEM division and the System division is that the System division tends to develop tailor-made solutions,” Mr Niiniaho explained. “Hydraulic power units for marine applications are a typical System division product. The main customers for our OEM division are makers of tractors and other kinds of mobile equipment, and the orders are typically bigger in size. In Finland, significant share of our sales comes from the Component division, which mainly serves distributors and the end-users of hydraulic equipment via our Hydropiste chain.” Improved R&D

In Finland, Specma produces hydraulic hose assemblies for OEM customers in four production units and has a central warehouse in Espoo. Specma Oy supplies hydraulic components to Finnish manufacturers of tractors, container-handling equipment and mining machinery. The company serves the needs of local customers, offering them a combination of flexibility and expertise.

“We want to be seen as a technical and engineering company, rather than simply as a dealer and distributor. We understand how a tractor works and can provide engineering services. We are considered to be

a reliable supplier with a good command of logistics.”

To achieve the high standards of production that its customers demand, Specma has recently acquired new pipe-bending equipment and CNC (computer numerical control) machinery.

In addition, Mr Niiniaho stated that Specma Oy is stepping up its research and development capability by investing in computer-aided design (CAD) software. “We updated our organisation in November 2011 so that we now have a full-time R&D resource here in Finland. This involved investment in engineering tools such as CAD programmes and hydraulic simulation software.” International links

Beyond Scandinavia, the Specma Group now has subsidiaries in the USA, Poland, China, Brazil, Russia, Denmark and the UK. The Specma Group mostly sells hydraulic equipment to Europe-based customers. However, as Mr Niiniaho explained, several of the OEM customers of the Specma Group are Scandinavian companies that have set up factories in China or Brazil. “The Specma Group has units in various countries. As a result, Specma Oy can cooperate with the group’s strategically located subsidiaries elsewhere in the world.”

One example is Specma’s subsidiary in Shanghai, which was established to serve Specma’s Scandinavian customers in China. Some of the Finnish customers of Specma Oy have now moved their production out of Finland but they have still kept an engineering department in their home country. Specma Oy is better prepared to support the engineering activities of customers like these thanks to its enhanced R&D capabilities. At the same time, the Internet allows Specma’s engineers in Finland to cooperate on projects with Specma’s subsidiaries in China and Brazil. “These subsidiaries are expanding fast and our new R&D capability will help us to support them. Designs can be created in one country for customers in another.”

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Local potential

Increasingly, European companies are shifting more of their production to China, and the Specma Group as a whole is ready to adapt to this trend. Jussi Niiniaho worked for Specma in Shanghai before becoming the managing director of the company in Finland and is especially conscious of Specma’s international role.

However, Mr Niiniaho also has ambitions to increase the sales of Specma Oy to customers within Finland. “Our customer base is in Finland and there is still big potential for us here. We also have a strong local market among small and medium-sized companies that have no intention of moving to China. Businesses like these produce agricultural and mining machinery for the local economy and for export markets as well.”

The Component division of Specma Oy includes a substantial retail operation, as Specma owns four shops in Finland that sell spare parts. “In northern Finland, where the mining industry is strong, we recently opened a new shop as a result of an acquisition.” n