in content lists or on the content page.Sitra’s Energy Programme and Wedeco Fund IV Ky have invested in Oy Scancool Ab. The investment supports the company’s development from a traditional refrigeration sector contracting company to a technology company providing energy-effective industrial heat pumps. The investment also enables faster development and internationalisation of the company’s business operations. Scancool supplies refrigerating plants and heat pump products it has developed for the process and energy industries in Finland and also, to an increasing extent, in the export market.
– With the heat pump technology developed by Scancool, the company’s customers both in the industrial and energy sectors are able to save substantial amounts of energy at short repayment times. This makes the company an interesting investment object, says Sami Tuhkanen, Business Director of Sitra’s Energy Programme.
– We see that Scancool’s strong position in contracting related to industrial refrigerating plants provides the company good preconditions for growth both in the domestic and the export market, says Keijo Kangasluoma, Managing Director of Wedeco.
The heat pump products developed by the company aim at a temperature level of as much as 80 degrees with cost-effective technical solutions. This substantially expands the application possibilities of the heat pumps. Typically, heat pumps can be used to reach a temperature level of approximately 60 to 65 degrees. In the heat business, the company’s key customer groups and application areas include the food industry, other process industry, property heating and cooling, as well as district heating applications. Recently, the company has delivered several solutions each exceeding one megawatt.
In the refrigerating industry, the company aims to further reinforce its position by shifting towards product specification and pre-manufacturing of industrial refrigerating plants. Moreover, the internationalisation of the heat pump business also introduces new opportunities for the refrigerating business.
The company’s natural person shareholders and the parent company, Oy Ahlskog Ab, see significant opportunities in the co-operation launched with Sitra and Wedeco.
– The involvement of the investors provides Scancool with an excellent starting point for the further development of the existing refrigerating business, but first of all for the expansion and internationalisation of the heat pump business, says Jonny Asplund, Managing Director of Oy Scancool Ab.
Further information
Sami Tuhkanen, Business Director, Sitra
Tel. +358 40 548 3482, firstname.lastname@sitra.fi
Keijo Kangasluoma, Managing Director, Oy Wedeco Management Ab
Tel. +358 40 752 0022, firstname.lastname@wedeco.fi
Jonny Asplund, Managing Director, Oy Scancool Ab
Tel. +358 40 861 3005, firstname.lastname@scancool.fi
Oy Scancool Ab is one of Finland’s leading suppliers of industrial refrigeration facilities and industrial heat pumps. The company’s main office is located in Kokkola, and other offices include Pietarsaari, Seinäjoki, Tuusula and Tampere. In 2008, the company’s turnover was about EUR 11 million, and it has over 50 employees. The company is part of Ahlskog Group.
Wedeco Group, founded in 1987, is a regional venture capital firm operating in Western Finland. Wedeco is part of the national Profita Group venture capital organisation. At the moment, Wedeco is a co-owner of about 25 target companies. Wedeco Fund IV Ky’s investors include Finnish Industry Investment, Fennia Mutual Insurance Company, Fennia Life Insurance Company, and Oy Wedeco Ab.
Sitra’s Energy Programme contributes to improving the energy-efficiency of the built environment and the energy awareness of Finns, in addition to creating new business opportunities from the transition that the energy sector is undergoing. The programme will seek innovative operating models and technologies to attain improved energy efficiency and invest in companies in the sector to accelerate their growth and internationalisation.