Harri Kulmala will be responsible for accelerating 3DStep’s growth and building strategic partnerships. Our aim is to further strengthen 3DStep’s role as a partner that supports customers in product development and helps ensure continuity of production.
Kulmala joins 3DStep from DIMECC Oy, where he served as CEO and was extensively involved in research, development and innovation collaboration within Finnish industry.
“Harri has exceptionally broad knowledge of Nordic industry, its companies and its operating environment. He also understands the potential of industrial 3D printing, or additive manufacturing. He brings exactly the kind of expertise we need at this stage, as industrial 3D printing is a growing sector globally,” says Petri Pitkänen, CEO of 3DStep.
A strategy that responds to the needs of industry
Our customers are primarily companies operating in the manufacturing, process and defence industries.
“What excites me is that 3DStep is a pioneer in industrial 3D printing in Finland. I see the company as highly innovative. It has been active in the field for a long time and has often focused on opportunities that others have yet to recognise. The company also has a strategy that responds directly to what manufacturing industry needs as it moves towards autonomous production: an insurance-like assurance that production will not be disrupted by unexpected interruptions. As we say at 3DStep: You’ll never run out of critical parts again,” Kulmala says.
“One of my interests is learning new things, and 3DStep clearly values this. I have extensive experience in developing new operating models and am determined when it comes to moving things forward. I don’t look for reasons not to do something – I look for reasons to do it,” he says.
Growth target already translating into tangible action
Kulmala’s appointment is part of our growth strategy, through which we aim to increase our revenue tenfold. In recent months, we have taken several other significant steps to build the foundations for this growth. Defence expert Tom Lindén has joined 3DStep as a member of the Board of Directors and as an adviser, while Jani Käkelä, CEO of Avant Tecno Oy, was appointed Chair of the Board in the spring.
At the turn of the year, we also opened a sales office in Norway and made an investment of nearly EUR 1 million to expand our range of materials and technologies and increase our production capacity by 30–50 per cent.
“At present, at least one third of our production goes to the Baltic countries. We are now looking for further growth in Sweden and particularly in Norway, where there is a very positive attitude towards cooperation with Finland,” Petri Pitkänen says.
“Instead of European industrial companies sourcing parts from China, we can manufacture them competitively, energy-efficiently and reliably here in Finland – using European technology and European raw materials.”
Photo: Wasim Al-Nasser
