Press release from FAME

3D printing of large pieces is brought to the use of the manufacturing industry with a national 3-million-euro 3D printing collaboration project (3DTY). The industrial introduction of 3D printing of large structures is promoted by researching and testing, in addition to plastic and metal printing equipment, the post-processing of parts, quality assurance as well as joining and interfaces.

The University of Oulu is leading the 3DTY project, which is being implemented with funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) granted by the South Savo Business, Transport and Environment Center (ELY) and business funding.

“We have gathered a good team. We have the best know-how and the best equipment for the 3D printing of large pieces and its research and product development, meaning that the different 3D printers complement each other comprehensively. Our network extends well across the country, which means that we can improve the 3D printing expertise of large pieces nationwide,” says Future Manufacturing Technologies (FMT) Group Development Manager Kari Mäntyjärvi from the University of Oulu’s Kerttu Saalasti Institute.
The implementation of the three-year project is carried out by the Additive Manufacturing Research- and product development operators of Northern Finland (University of Oulu, Lapland Education Center REDU), Eastern Finland (University of Eastern Finland, Savonia University of Applied Sciences), Southern Finland (LUT University) and Western Finland (Tampere University of Applied Sciences). Innovation platform DIMECC Ltd’s ecosystems FAMN (Finnish Advanced Manufacturing Network) and FAME (Finnish Additive Manufacturing Ecosystem) ensure the project’s business impact.

With Twenty Manufacturing Companies

3DTY includes twenty companies from the manufacturing industry around the country. In the technology of additive manufacturing, i.e. 3D printing, we are at a stage in the size range of large pieces, meaning a maximum of a few meters, where there are technologies available for industrial use, both in metal and plastic printing, and in combining different materials. In the industrial process, additive manufacturing is seamlessly connected to other manufacturing technologies, and when manufacturing large pieces, 3D printing and machining and different joining methods can alternate.

“By researching and developing the use of new technology together with companies, we can speed up its application in practice. With the help of pilots and demonstrations, we are able to offer participating companies reliable information about the application of 3D printing of large parts to their specific applications. Through our networks, we can disseminate emerging information to other companies struggling with the same questions. For example, there is no information or concrete examples in Finland about the use of 3D printing for large-scale mold manufacturing. In this way, we promote the renewal of the industry and generate new business”, says Senior Ecosystem Lead Antti Karjaluoto from DIMECC Oy.

3D printing is a digital technology, the transition to which also supports the green transition of companies. It helps to manufacture products energy-efficiently and with a smaller amount of waste.

3DTY is part of the Renewing and competent Finland 2021–2027 EU regional and structural policy program. The support of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) has been granted by the South Savo Business, Transport and Environment Center (ELY).

Originally published on 26 September. 

Article from North Sweden Business 

PITEÅ W5 Solutions AB acquires all shares in the Piteå company Box Modul. The purchase price is SEK 180 million.

W5 Solutions, based in Nacka, Stockholm, delivers systems and solutions to companies and authorities in the defence sector. The company offers expertise in training and simulation, communication, power supply and integration. The company has sales of SEK 168 million with an operating profit of SEK 24.4 million and 63 employees.

“We are making another strategically important acquisition that facilitates continued sales and profitability growth. We are broadening our product portfolio with, among other things, mobile control centres and power supplies and expanding our ability to deliver complete turnkey solutions. It is with great pleasure that we welcome Box Modul’s employees to the W5 Solutions Group,” says Daniel Hopstadius, CEO of W5 Solutions.

The deal is structured so that of the purchase price of SEK 180 million, SEK 100 million will be paid through a directed share issue and the rest as two promissory notes. In addition, an cash earn-out of a maximum of SEK 50 million may be paid if certain agreed conditions are met.

Box Modul’s operations will continue to be run in a separate company under the name Box Modul.

”We have found a partner with whom we are able to have one of the strongest offerings on the market. It feels exciting and completely right to continue the development together within the W5 Solutions Group,” says Peter Nordlund, CEO of Box Modul and owner.

Box Modul was bought by Nordlund Invest in 2017 and Peter Norlund stepped in as CEO. Since 2017, the company has tripled its turnover, partly by succeeding in reaching new customer groups. The company now has 20 employees. In 2022, the company had a turnover of SEK 106 million and an operating profit of SEK 14.9 million.

Box Modul designs, produces and sells shelters to companies and organisations in areas such as defence, IT & telecom, healthcare and energy. In the defence sector, Box Modul delivers customised shatterproof shelters designed to meet military standards.

The company develops and manufactures modules from sandwich panels. Manufacturing takes place in Piteå. Customers are companies in IT and telecom, defence, healthcare, energy and automotive testing. Customers include ABB, Boliden, SAAB, LKAB, Infranord, Dynasafe, Schneider, Global Connect, SAAB, Volvo, Porsche, Bosch, Coromatic, Enaco and Hitachi.

ZURICH (Reuters) – ABB is spending $280 million on a new robotics factory in Sweden, the Swiss engineering and technology group said on Wednesday, to meet growing demand from customers moving back production from Asia to avoid supply chain log-jams.

Rising tensions between Washington and Beijing have also made some manufacturers and other robot users rethink their manufacturing footprint and shift production away from China.

ABB Chief Executive Bjorn Rosengren said his company was seeing evidence of the re-shoring trend, although his company still remained committed to China.

“There are probably some, especially American, companies who are hesitating about investing in China and maybe doing that in other Asian countries instead,” he told Reuters in an interview.

The Chinese economy has also seen a weaker than expected recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Rosengren said, although he remained positive about the country’s long-term potential.

“It’s the biggest market for growth, we believe China will be strong even though it will be more China for China and not so much China for the world,” he said.

China, the world’s biggest market for robots, would remain crucial for ABB, he added, with the company having no plans of its own to scale back investment in the country.

The Swiss company last year opened a $150 million factory for robots in Shanghai and also expanded its facility in the United States.

The sites will complement the new Swedish factory, in Vasteras, which is expected to mainly serve European customers when it opens in 2026.

The new facility will boost production capacity by 50% to meet demand for robots in Europe that is expected to increase by 7% per year.

Robotics would “absolutely, definitely” remain a key part of ABB, added Rosengren, with recent improvements in the division’s performance sustainable.

Many customers want more local supply, especially after suffering supply chain bottlenecks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABB, which competes with Japan’s Fanuc Corp and Chinese-owned Kuka already supplies robots to companies including BMW, Scania and Volkswagen.

“The globalisation trend has gone down a little bit, and every company is looking at their supply chain,” Rosengren said. “It’s becoming more local for local.”

(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

Press release from Treon

Tampere, September 6, 2023. Treon, a technology leader specialized in intelligent edge products for massive IoT, successfully closed a 5.5 million Euro Series A round led by Ventech, to further boost Treon’s international growth following Ventech’s initial investment in Treon’s Seed funding back in 2019.

Treon has gained recognition for providing scalable IoT solutions tailored to industrial, digital buildings, and logistics clients. Supported by an ecosystem of industry leaders, Treon offers a robust growing portfolio that includes sensors, gateways, edge platform, software, and services, all enabling advanced IoT solutions. Having established successful partnerships in the DACH region, Treon is now expanding its network to include the US, Denmark and France.

Treon’s profitable growth in recent years is evident with over 80% YoY revenue growth in 2022, which is projected to continue at a similar pace throughout 2023 and 2024. The team has also seen substantial expansion, doubling to over 60 people within the last year, and now includes 14 nationalities, fostering a diverse and international environment. Treon’s notable market growth, fueled by establishing its US office and awarding a US patent for Treon Industrial Node 6, paves the way for extensive expansion.

“With the rapid growth achieved so far, we are motivated to reach new heights and expand our market presence and product portfolio. Together with our partners and with the strong support from Ventech, we are at the forefront of the massive IoT movement, enabling unprecedented efficiency through scalable solutions and cutting-edge wireless edge technology in industrial, logistics, and digital buildings is our driving force.”

Joni Korppi

CEO at Treon

With this funding, Treon will strategically allocate resources to bolster its sales and marketing efforts, establishing its market presence, and driving customer engagement. Additionally, the funding will be used to enhance Treon’s product portfolio and further scale its organization to sustain the growth in the years to come.

“We are truly blessed to be chosen by Treon to lead their Series A funding, a significant step for its internationalization. Our initial investment in Treon through our Seed program back in 2019 was a testament to the potential we saw in Joni and the entire team. Witnessing their remarkable growth since then has left us immensely impressed, further solidifying our strong belief in Treon’s journey to becoming a global leader in massive IoT.”

Tero Mennander

General Partner at Ventech

As Treon continues to make advances in the industry, the company remains committed to innovation, excellence, and delivering value to its ecosystem of globally leading customers. With this recent investment and a stronger presence in the US market, Treon is positioned for greater success, pioneering new possibilities in the IoT landscape.

Read more:

Read more about the patent https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/11656239

Read more about Treon Industrial Node 6 Ex https://treon.fi/our-products/treon-industrial-node-6-ex/

Read more about Treon Industrial Node 6 https://treon.fi/our-products/treon-industrial-node-6/

Originally published on 12 September. 

Press release from Haltian

OULU, FINLAND – September 5th, 2023 – Haltian, a leading provider of Internet-of-Things solutions worldwide, today announced the launch of Haltian Inventory Tracking Solution (HITS), a new groundbreaking and uniquely scalable asset tracking system that is set to revolutionize the way businesses manage and oversee their assets and inventory.

Haltian’s new solution introduces multiple cutting-edge innovations to provide accurate, real-time location data for assets across various sectors, including warehouses, manufacturing and logistics facilities, data centers, and hospitals. Setting it apart from conventional tracking systems, Haltian’s solution is scalable, cost-effective, and easy to use, making it particularly lucrative to large companies with millions of assets and thousands of operational sites.

The tracking system operates by attaching a small tag to items, devices, and other assets. The Haltian NANO Tag, the world’s smallest smart asset tag, comparable in size to a piece of chewing gum, provides detailed information regarding the asset and its exact location within a range of 1–5 meters. Subsequently, this data is transmitted to Haltian’s advanced software, allowing businesses to monitor asset movements in real-time, maintain constant awareness of critical merchandise locations, and effortlessly conduct automated inventory management without manual intervention. The solution can be scaled up to accommodate millions of assets and it utilizes a self-healing, reliable, and secure Wirepas Mesh network. The system can be compatible with any tag with Wirepas connectivity.”

Additionally, the solution is highly cost-effective. It uses Haltian’s innovative energy harvesting (EH) locator, enabling fast wireless installation with up to 90% savings in installation costs, and initial investments a mere quarter of those demanded by alternative tracking technologies.

“Our new asset tracking solution isn’t just tech – it’s a ticket to better efficiency, transparency, and even improved patient care. We urgently need improvements to medical resources. Digital solutions can play an important role in reducing the workload and making operations more efficient. In hospitals, for example, our tags can be attached to hospital beds, wheelchairs, and medical equipment, making it easy to find them and thus improve the quality of care and patient safety. Moreover, with our asset tracking system, hospitals can keep track of the maintenance cycle of their assets, which in turn increases their lifetime and reduces costs. Our asset tracking system is also highly customizable, ensuring that our customers can adjust the system to fit their company and sector-specific needs perfectly,” explains Haltian’s CEO and co-founder Pasi Leipälä.

“What is striking about Haltian is the excellence of their engineering teams which enables them to deliver a wide variety of use cases using a unified technology platform. I am confident that Haltian Inventory Tracking Solution will be a game changer, and one of the highest performance, lower cost systems for enterprise asset tracking and logistics,” says Youssef Kamel, SVP of Smart Tracking and Smart Building Business, at Wirepas.

Haltian’s solution has already been pilot-tested by several major international corporations from various industries, each operating numerous sites across multiple countries and regions. The resounding feedback from these trials has been overwhelmingly positive, solidly affirming the universal demand for such pioneering solutions. Demand for indoor location services is growing rapidly and the market size is forecasted to reach a staggering $30 billion by 2028 compared to $10.9 billion in 2023 (MarketsandMarkets 2023).

Haltian’s new asset tracking system is available now. With its scalability, ease of use, and affordability, the solution is poised to become a game-changer in the world of indoor asset tracking and inventory monitoring.

Technical details

• Haltian’s solution HITS scales up to thousands of locations and millions of assets, unlike any other tracking systems in the market, resulting in unmatched scalability.
• HITS has a leading asset density handling up to 10,000 assets/items in one pallet (1 m3).
• HITS is equipped with built-in connectivity: It works out-of-box anywhere in the world.
• There is no vendor lock-in: Companies can integrate the system with any software via Haltian IoT API and use any tag with Wirepas connectivity.
• HITS is available in SaaS or self-hosted and it runs in any cloud or on-premise.
• HITS has a quick global rollout with a unique manufacturing, provisioning & shipping process.

Learn more about Haltian’s unique tracking solution system HITS in Haltian’s product launch webinar on September 7th, 2023 here.

For more information, please contact

Pasi Leipälä

CEO, Co-Founder of Haltian

[email protected]

Youssef Kamel
SVP, Smart Tracking and Smart Building business, Wirepas
+33 6 08 95 61 16
[email protected]

About Haltian
Founded in 2012 Haltian is a global IoT company offering world-class IoT services. Haltian IoT services include the Empathic Building digital twin service for smart buildings, and Thingsee, the proven IoT technology platform that enables faster IoT launches for mass-scale deployments. Haltian also provides world-class New Product Development Services to help companies get their product from an idea to a ready product. Headquartered in Oulu, Northern Finland, Haltian currently employs 145 people globally. www.haltian.com

About Wirepas
Wirepas is a leading IoT company with a mission to democratize enterprise IoT. It aims to make failure-free connectivity accessible to any enterprise of any size. It makes IoT real through its connectivity software enabling massive decentralized, scalable, high-density, and long-range network applications. Its technology lets any enterprise set up and manage its own network autonomously without operators, separate network infrastructure, middlemen or subscriptions – at a fraction of the cost of other alternatives. Wirepas is also the main contributor to the first non-cellular 5G standard, purpose-built for massive IoT and using a free global spectrum. It serves customers across the world with offices in Australia, Germany, Finland, France, India and the United States, in the areas of smart tracking, smart building, smart manufacturing and smart metering. wirepas.com

Originally published on 8 September. 

Press release from Butterfly Ventures

The funding round was led by Butterfly Ventures and co-led by Seven District and Marinvest.

Gothenburg, Sweden – September 8, 2023

Incipientus Ultrasound Flow Technologies AB is a progressive deep tech company with a strong research background and a clear goal – to radically change and improve the industrial process monitoring and quality control of industrial liquids. Incipientus’ touch-free, in line process monitoring systems provide continuous process information and flow visualization and monitoring of flow properties of industrial liquids in real time. The result is significantly improved quality and increased safety with production cost savings and environmental benefits for a sustainable global process industry as well as increased product and production insights. Incipientus has recently signed critical framework agreements with key customers as no similar solution exist on the market. The current funding round allows Incipientus to accelerate the scale-up phase by focusing on the implementation of our developed technology within international key customers and to continue to build the pipeline and team to meet commercial milestones. For more information visit https://www.incipientus.com/.

Butterfly Ventures is the leading Nordic deep tech seed entry impact fund (“BVF”). BVF has invested in over 90 companies across 250 investment rounds. Founded in 2012, BVF has offices in all the major Nordic and Baltic innovation hubs, Stockholm, Helsinki, Oulu, Copenhagen, and Tallinn. The team is currently investing out of BVF Venture Fund IV, launched in mid-2022 and a trailblazing Article 8 SFDR Green Fund. BVF looks to invest at seed and continue through series A and B and into transformative and impactful technologies at the intersection of software, hardware, and science. Butterfly Ventures’ investment team consisted of Tanya Horowitz, partner, and Ludvig Hambraeus, investment manager. Both based in BVF’s Stockholm office.

Tanya Horowitz commented on the investment round:

“We are thoroughly excited to announce our investment in Incipientus. The company has an experienced management team, perfectly positioned to accelerate, and drive organic growth and leverage its cutting-edge technology application, using a combination of pulsed ultrasound technology and touch-free sensors; therefore, building the cornerstone towards solidifying their unique market position. BVF and I personally have great experiences from working with operators and innovators out of Gothenburg and are thrilled to join forces with some amazing co-lead investors, Seven District and Marinvest. We are always excited to back ventures from the west coast and look forward to the opportunity to engage further with the ecosystem.”

Johan Wiklund, founder and CEO of Incipientus, said:

“This is a key moment in the development of our company and the funding round allows us to focus on accelerating the ramp-up of our business. We are very excited and fortunate to welcome BVF, Seven District, and Marinvest onboard as they all bring tremendous value. Together we now continue our growth journey to radically disrupt and digitalize the global process industry by delivering superior process monitoring solutions for sustainable production.”

Funds from this round will be used to ramping up commercial efforts focused on securing additional customer agreements, enhancing the hardware product platform as well as software capabilities, continue growing operations and scaling of the team.

Some of Incipientus´ significant previous milestones include securing framework agreements with international key customers, multiple factory evaluations and inclusion in the GU Ventures Incubator Program and twice recognized on the IVA 100 List (2019, 2020).

For further information please contact:

For the Investors

Butterfly Ventures Ltd.
Tanya Horowitz – [email protected]
Ludvig Hambraeus – [email protected]

Seven District
Per Skoglund – [email protected]

Marinvest
Patrik Mossberg – [email protected]

For the Company

Chief Executive Officer, Johan Wiklund – [email protected]
Chief Technology Officer, Reinhardt Kotzé – [email protected]

Originally published on 8 September. 

Press release from Business Finland

Business Finland has granted a total of EUR 6.8 million in Deep Tech Accelerator funding to 17 startups commercializing research results. The pilot funding will help companies to increase customer insight, tailor solutions to customer needs and strengthen teams to accelerate market entry.

Business Finland launched the Deep Tech Accelerator pilot funding call in spring. The aim was to promote the use of research results in business operations and to accelerate both market access and international growth. The total funding consists of two phases, the first of which is an EUR 400.000 grant and the second an EUR 1 million loan. Business Finland has made funding decisions for the first phase.

The aim of the pilot funding call was to identify 10 promising startups from different sectors and to gain experience on the impact of funding on the development of research-driven companies. Business Finland ultimately granted funding to a total of 17 deep tech startups.

“We were positively surprised by the results of the pilot call. These early-stage companies have significant potential for big breakthroughs”, says Jari Toivo, Director of Funding at Business Finland.

AN IMPORTANT FUNDING SERVICE – COMPANIES FROM A WIDE RANGE OF SECTORS
More than 80 companies were interested in the Deep Tech Accelerator funding, 26 of which applied for the funding. The majority of the companies that received funding are under three years old. The companies represent a range of industries, including health, foodtech, energy, process and ICT. The funded companies have research expertise from several Finnish research organizations as well as from industrial research.

Funding was granted to companies such as Adamant Health Oy for the commercialization of a Parkinson’s disease movement disorder measurement and analysis service, Quanscient Oy for the commercialization of a simulation service using cloud computing and quantum computers, and Elmery Oy to accelerate the international growth of a new cost-effective and environmentally friendly precious metal processing method.

“For Adamant Health, the Business Finland Deep Tech Accelerator is a very important service to bring our innovative technology and solution to the market for the benefit of patients, healthcare professionals and service providers as well as companies developing new therapies – and transform the way Parkinson’s is treated. The funding will serve for us as a catalyst in accelerating our entry to selected European markets and drive our growth”, says Paulus Carpelan, CEO and Co-founder of Adamant Health.

LONG-TERM WORK FOR STARTUPS FROM BUSINESS FINLAND
Startups commercializing research results often develop solutions to global problems and have a significant market opportunity based on the intellectual property rights created in the research. Business Finland has been developing services for such companies for several years.

“For a couple of years, Business Finland has been focusing on the challenges and needs of research startups and developing services for this target group. We have now piloted a new funding service and have a team of experts who will advise such startups in the very early stages to find the most appropriate service for their situation. We received excellent applications for the Deep Tech Accelerator and several interesting companies are currently emerging for a possible new funding call”, says Jaana Rantanen, Head of Startups and Networks at Business Finland.

ALL COMPANIES THAT HAVE BEEN AWARDED DEEP TECH ACCELERATOR FUNDING BY BUSINESS FINLAND:
Adamant Health Oy
Biomendex Oy
Candour Oy
Curify Labs Oy
Elmery Oy
eniferBio Oy
Fepod Oy Ltd
Koherent Oy
Maculaser Oy
NADMED Oy
Onego Bio Ltd
Pixieray Oy
Quanscient Oy
ReFaMo Oy
SpectroCor Oy
StemSight Oy
Vensum Power Oy
FURTHER INFORMATION
Jaana Rantanen
Business Finland
jaana.rantanen (at) businessfinland.fi
+358 50 396 2923

Heikki Hannula
Business Finland
heikki.hannula (at) businessfinland.fi
+358 50 5577 857

Jari Toivo
Business Finland
jari.toivo (at) businessfinland.fi
+358 50 5577 884

Originally published on 5 September.