We take care of ours.

Are you plan­ning an owner­ship arrange­ment or seek­ing growth capital?

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Wedeco is an Ostro­both­nia-based private equity investor. It was foun­ded in 1987 and special­ises in entre­pren­eur-led owner­ship arrange­ments. Since our found­a­tion, we have been involved in approx­im­ately 100 compan­ies as either a minor­ity or a major­ity owner, and we currently have hold­ings in 5 companies.

Wedeco wants to be involved, as an owner and part­ner, in growth-driven busi­nesses that have already estab­lished them­selves in the market, are oper­at­ing prof­it­ably and have a posit­ive cash flow. We are inter­ested in vari­ous trans­ac­tions such as industry restruc­tur­ings, acquis­i­tions and dispos­als, succes­sion plan­ning as well as growth capital.

We invest primar­ily in people. We want to work with a commit­ted and enthu­si­astic manage­ment team. One that knows the industry and compet­it­ors and is inter­ested in the numbers and able to create a posit­ive atmosphere.

Wedeco is a member of the Finnish Venture Capital Asso­ci­ation, and we adhere to the association’s rules and guidelines in all our operations.

Please contact us to learn more about oppor­tun­it­ies for owner­ship arrange­ments and growth capital.

Wedeco has three roles as an owner:

1

To be a commit­ted and active owner

We are the member of the board that you can come to with any issues even between board meetings.

2

To be an entrepreneur

Our aim is always to increase the value of the company in collab­or­a­tion with the company management.

3

To be an investor/financier

We make private equity invest­ments in companies.

Port­fo­lio companies

– What kind of busi­nesses can work with Wedeco?

We can oper­ate in compan­ies as either a minor­ity or a major­ity owner. It is import­ant for Wedeco that a company’s manage­ment team is also involved in the busi­ness with a signi­fic­ant invest­ment. It is also essen­tial that we share a stra­tegic vision for the devel­op­ment of the company’s operations.

Our object­ive is to increase the value of the company together with the manage­ment and other share­hold­ers. We are a respons­ible owner with a long-term approach, and a reli­able part­ner to all the stake­hold­ers we work with.

Nordic Bus Group “Wedeco wanted to be involved in the estab­lish­ment of a strong bus group, which creates an excel­lent basis for the growth and devel­op­ment of modern bus trans­port.”
2023 Year of investment
16 M€ Revenue
Mittaus­Group Holding “Wedeco has brought expert­ise and support to the devel­op­ment of the company”
2021 Year of investment
7 M€ Revenue
Herrmans Bike Components “Wedeco has been an owner for a long time, and has signi­fic­antly contrib­uted to our company’s devel­op­ment and success.”
2018 Year of investment
20 M€ Revenue
Sievi Group “Wedeco’s involve­ment has increased trust among our custom­ers and finan­ci­ers.”
2015 Year of investment
42 M€ Revenue
vp-facilities ilmakuva
VP Facilites “Wedeco and the other owners have made it possible for compan­ies oper­at­ing in the Vaasa region to develop long-term, inter­na­tional-level oper­at­ing envir­on­ments.”
2000 Year of investment
1 M€ Revenue
VP Facilities

Exits

Exits by Wedeco managers after 2010

CompanyIndustryYear of invest­mentYear of exit
Oy Mesmec AbMachinery and equip­ment for the food industry20172024
Ab A. Häggblom OyEquip­ment for mining and quar­ry­ing machinery20162023
Nordic Lights Group OyjLights for machines and bicycle components20182023
Polttoväri OyIndus­trial surface finishing20172022
Tietokauha OyAccounting/Financial Manage­ment Services20152021
Pohjan­maan Ekonomitoim­isto OyAccounting/Financial Manage­ment Services20182021
JPT-Indus­tria OyMachine and equip­ment manufacturing20132021
Oy Esari AbManu­fac­turer of equip­ment shelters20132020
Vaasa Parks Oy AbCommer­cial prop­erty services20002019
B. Herrmans Oy AbLights for machines and bicycle components20062018
Euros­teel ‑konserniEngin­eer­ing work­shop special­ising in weld­ing and turn­key solutions20082018
West­wood Oy AbManu­fac­turer of wooden stairs20052016
Jotel OyContract manu­fac­turer of electronics20062016
FlowPlus ‑konserniFlow tech­no­logy main­ten­ance services20122016
Veine ‑konserniLogist­ics solutions20132016
Geo Drill ‑konserniGeothermal drilling20132016
HahkaWay OyLogist­ics solutions20052013
Manor OyManu­fac­turer of pipe duct products and steel structures20062013
KGN Tool ‑konserniContract manu­fac­turer for the engin­eer­ing industry20092013
Emendo OySauna and well­ness products20062012
Cibo-Print OyManu­fac­turer of prin­ted circuit boards20072012
Lakeuden Kylmäkeskus OyDesign, install­a­tion and main­ten­ance of refri­ger­a­tion systems20082011
Scan­cool OyManu­fac­turer of cool­ing and vent­il­a­tion equipment20092011
Eur-Mark ‑konserniManu­fac­turer of sewer clean­ing equip­ment and indus­trial waste disposal equipment20082011
Purso Tools OyManu­fac­turer of camshafts and connect­ing rods20022011
Winpos Oy AbPOS solu­tions20032010

The team

– About us

Our Wedeco team has a long and varied exper­i­ence in the corpor­ate world and venture capital. Our strengths include our in-depth under­stand­ing and know­ledge of the busi­ness community and part­ners in our region and our extens­ive network of contacts. We run our oper­a­tions in a frank, open and ethical manner.

Thomas Lempiälä CEO, Part­ner +358 50 568 8033 thomas.lempiala@wedeco.fi

Thomas took up the role of Wedeco’s CEO in 2020. Thomas gained exper­i­ence in private equity as a member of Wedeco’s Board of Direct­ors from 2016–2020.

 

Thomas has been involved in corpor­ate finance for more than 25 years and has played a role in numer­ous corpor­ate trans­ac­tions as an investor. Thomas was respons­ible for Nordea’s corpor­ate bank­ing oper­a­tions in the Ostro­both­nia region for several years, so he is famil­iar with the compan­ies and the oper­at­ing envir­on­ment in Wedeco’s area of oper­a­tions. Thomas has completed the Certi­fied Board Member and Certi­fied Board Member chair­per­son courses.

Jarkko Viher­iävaara Invest­ment Manager, Partner +358 40 835 5499 jarkko.viheriavaara@wedeco.fi

Jarkko has diverse exper­i­ence in stra­tegic and oper­at­ive manage­ment, work­ing on boards, busi­ness devel­op­ment and corpor­ate mergers and acquisitions.

 

He has previ­ously worked in busi­ness manage­ment, as an entre­pren­eur-CEO, as an invest­ment banker and in private equity, as well as in busi­ness manage­ment consulting.

Päivi Arff­man-Jokelainen Control­ler +358 40 029 5293 paivi.arffman-jokelainen@wedeco.fi

Päivi Arff­man-Jokelainen has worked for Wedeco since 2000. She has solid exper­i­ence in vari­ous roles in finan­cial admin­is­tra­tion, and at Wedeco she handles Wedeco’s finan­cial admin­is­tra­tion, corpor­ate finance docu­ment­a­tion as well as internal and external reporting.

Sören Björkgård Senior Advisor, Partner +358 50 512 1009 soren.bjorkgard@wedeco.fi

Sören has worked at Wedeco as Invest­ment Manager from 2011 until 2022.

 

Sören has strong and diverse exper­i­ence in corpor­ate finance, and he also has long exper­i­ence work­ing on boards both as a member and as Chair of the Board.

 

Sören has completed the Certi­fied Board Member and Certi­fied Board Member Chair­per­son courses and is a member of the Board of Pohjan­maan Hallituspart­nerit ry.

Keijo Kangasluoma Senior Advisor, Partner +358 40 752 0022 keijo.kangasluoma@wedeco.fi

Keijo star­ted work­ing at Wedeco as Invest­ment Manager in 2001, and then took the role of CEO from 2005 until August 2020.

 

Keijo’s main areas of expert­ise are mergers and acquis­i­tions, finance and strategies. He has been involved in more than 50 merger and acquis­i­tion trans­ac­tions during his career. Keijo also has a long exper­i­ence in work­ing on boards both as a member and as Chair of the Board.

 

Keijo has completed the Certi­fied Board Member and Certi­fied Board Member Chair­per­son courses and is a member of the Board of Pohjan­maan Hallituspart­nerit ry.

Pasi Haara­mäki Senior Advisor, Partner +358 40 544 2963 pasi.haaramaki@wedeco.fi

Pasi has been involved in entre­pren­eur­ial activ­it­ies for more than 30 years, as an entre­pren­eur in the logist­ics and ICT sectors and he has been and contin­ues to be an active owner in start-ups and SMEs. Pasi has extens­ive exper­i­ence in mergers and acquis­i­tions, finance and strategies.

Aki Kamp­pinen Senior Advisor, Partner +358 40 066 0680 aki.kamppinen@medivida.fi

Aki is a serial entre­pren­eur who has oper­ated in sectors such as ICT and health care. He has also been an active owner in several SMEs for more than 15 years. Prior to his career as an entre­pren­eur, Aki worked as an invest­ment banker at Mandatum, where he gained a lot of exper­i­ence in mergers and acquis­i­tions and finance. Aki is also an owner and Chair of the Board of Postvera, which is Wedeco’s largest shareholder.

The Board of Directors

– A versat­ile skill­set is our biggest asset

Wedeco’s owner­ship base is a perfect plat­form for our efforts to strengthen the growth of our port­fo­lio compan­ies. In addi­tion to investors with a back­ground in Ostro­both­nia and an in-depth know­ledge and long exper­i­ence in busi­ness, Wedeco’ owners include large indus­trial compan­ies with local oper­a­tions, banks, insur­ance compan­ies as well as muni­cip­al­it­ies and cities in Ostrobothnia.

Pasi Haara­mäki
Chair of the Board

Pasi has been involved in entre­pren­eur­ial activ­it­ies for more than 30 years, as an entre­pren­eur in the logist­ics and ICT sectors and he has been and contin­ues to be an active owner in start-ups and SMEs. Pasi has extens­ive exper­i­ence in mergers and acquis­i­tions, finance and strategies.

Kaj Aaltonen
Deputy Chair of the Board

Kaj has worked in his current posi­tion as Account Manager at Elo Mutual Pension Insur­ance Company and its prede­cessor Eläke-Fennia in Ostro­both­nia since 2002. Kaj has an extens­ive network of contacts and excel­lent know­ledge of activ­it­ies in Wedeco Oy’s area of oper­a­tions. Kaj has been a Member of Wedeco’s Board of Direct­ors since 2010, so he is famil­iar with Wedeco’s oper­a­tions and target companies.

Toni Lahti
Member of the Board

For the past 10 years, Toni has worked at Springvest as an entre­pren­eur in finance for qrowth compan­ies and is also an investor in numer­ous growth compan­ies. Prior to becom­ing an entre­pren­eur, Toni worked as a lawyer in law firms special­iz­ing in busi­ness law. Toni has extens­ive exper­i­ence in domestic and inter­na­tional corpor­ate and finan­cial arrangements.

Aki Kamp­pinen
Member of the Board

Aki is a serial entre­pren­eur who has oper­ated in sectors such as ICT and health care. He has also been an active owner in several SMEs for more than 15 years. Prior to his career as an entre­pren­eur, Aki worked as an invest­ment banker at Mandatum, where he gained a lot of exper­i­ence in mergers and acquis­i­tions and finance. Aki is also an owner and Chair of the Board of Postvera, which is Wedeco’s largest shareholder.

Veli-Matti Ylis­almi
Member of the Board

Veli-Matti has more than 30 years’ exper­i­ence in bank­ing. He has long held the posi­tion of Senior Rela­tion­ship Manager at Nordea’s corpor­ate bank in Ostro­both­nia. He has extens­ive exper­i­ence in corpor­ate finance and vari­ous merger and acquis­i­tion trans­ac­tions. Veli-Matti has also built a large network of contacts during his long career.

Contact inform­a­tion

Oy Wedeco Ab

Yrit­täjänkatu 15, PL 810
65380 Vaasa, 65101 Vaasa

Thomas Lempiälä

CEO, Part­ner
+358 50 568 8033
thomas.lempiala@wedeco.fi

Jarkko Viher­iävaara

Invest­ment Manager
+358 40 835 5499
jarkko.viheriavaara@wedeco.fi

Päivi Arff­man-Jokelainen

Control­ler
+358 40 029 5293
paivi.arffman-jokelainen@wedeco.fi