Megatrex Oy 10/09

Mr. Hannu Virtanen, CEO

Before landing in Lempäälä, Megatrex started in Ulvila in the year 1995. Managing Director Mr. Hannu Virtanen says, that the business idea was ready for a while, before the theory was taken into action. All the pieces of the puzzle were together: Mr. Virtanen had the idea and the know-how, and his wife had experienced as economic director. Mr. Virtanen’s father and uncle used to have a shared workshop in Toijala and his grandfather was sheet iron worker in Valkeakoski, so the entrepreneurship was something natural.

Mr. Virtanen recalls that the company started right in the end of the 90´s recession with the help of start money and a loan admitted by Kela (the social insurance institution). Also Tekes (the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) admitted some money for their product development work. In these days Mr. Virtanen had his brother working with him. His wife was working elsewhere at the time, but she took care of the company´s economical issues in her spare time.
It was a big advantage for a starting company to have an accountant of their own.

Megatrex sells, produces and markets the ATREX® impact mixing and grinding equipment. Its diversity is a selling point. It is used in process industry, e.g. paper industry, forest industry, dwelling industry, foodstuff industry and in environmental technology. In addition they have maintenance services and sell replacement parts.

Product development and good staff are key to access

The company has many co-workers in product development area although they want to keep the actual machinery development in their own hands. Mr. Virtanen mentions as co-workers such enterprises as: Tampere University of Technology, Tampere Univeristy of Applied Sciences, Åbo Akademi and Technical University in Otaniemi. Important clients are also enterprises, which test their products´ suitability for different purposes.

EU- and ETA-countries are the main marketing area for Megatrex. Japan and the USA are also important. Mr. Virtanen also mentions China and India as strong growing areas in the future. In marketing they use agents that have existing international marketing network. The company´s exportation runs around 50% and this year it might get up to 70%.

The company with 12 employees has noticed that all the work is not necessary to make by them.
Some of the work is best to do by subcontracting. Megatrex has been lucky enough to have good and professional employees and the change of the personnel has been minor. Half of the staff has been working in the company about ten years. When the company moved from Ulvila to Tampere, the personnel automatically changed. But after that there has been only minor changes. A company operating in international markets requires good language skills of the employees. The internationality shows in the company´s web page which is published only in English.

From Ulvila to Tampere region – the reason for this change was the location near the clients and the subcontracting network. Before they found their location in Lempäälä, they were situated also in Aitolahti and Kylmäkoski. Mr. Virtanen is happy with the actual location in the southern side of Tampere, just beside the high way. Mr. Virtanen also likes the positive ambient of entrepreneurship in Lempäälä.

A good product takes you a long way

Mr. Virtanen sees that ATREX® and also Megatrex have many untapped possibilities because they don’t have direct competition because of the unusual product. ATREX®´s advantage is that it can combine many functions. After a long product development the machinery is light, simple and easy to maintain. The newest ATREX® version was developed together with a designer.

The financial crisis hasn’t really affected Megatrex. Obviously the business is somewhat more tranquil, but as the product can be used so extensively, the company is not tied in certain branches or industries that are more vulnerable in the middle of the crisis.

Mr. Virtanen is happy of the company´s independence. There is no dependency on financiers and this way they have the authority. Certainly the funders are needed when setting up a new company, but Virtanen sees it as a waypoint. The launching period took Megatrex ten years time but now they have many support systems and many industries as clients.

Exercise and reading

Mr. Virtanen who lives in Akaa likes to charge his batteries by cycling near home and even in Lempäälä. Other ways of relaxing are reading and walking. Right now he is reading the controversial book “Koneen ruhtinas” of Pekka Harlin.

Fall colours are shining up in the trees as I drive back to the office. It is wonderful to think that once again many machines are sent to different places all over the world from a little municipality called Lempäälä. When there´s a will there´s a way!

(Megatrex was visited by Mrs. Päivi Nahkola)