Looking to the future

R-Sarkon celebrated its amazing 30-year history in 2019. Its sights are set firmly on the future. The machinery has been automated, with the exception of a few machines. 

“In the future, there will be even less manual work involved. We are striving to make production more automated and process-oriented. We are increasingly focusing on such products,” says Mikko Raittila, the Technical Director. 

From the outset, the company’s operations have been driven by a certain boldness to make tough decisions. These have included large investments in machinery. 

“In my opinion, this courage is down to a belief in what we are doing and in our vision, as well as a realistic belief that if we decide to make a product, we are actually able to make it,” Mikko Raittila says. 

“We know for sure that if we stop investing, we will be out of business in ten years. That is why it is crucial to continuously develop our machinery, methods and personnel.” 

Joint development work increases openness 

Investments in the future include constantly modernising the machinery. Investments have also been made in developing the personnel and their work, and these will continue. 

“Seconds matter. When we add up all the time that our business has reclaimed by making its methods more efficient in recent years, the seconds amount to several thousand hours of machine time,” says Aleksi Valonen, the Production Director. 

Development work done by the whole organisation. Employees have the opportunity to contribute to enhancing the efficiency of their work at development meetings, which are held three times a month. 

“We discuss a specific product for which improvements have been envisioned. We take ourselves inside the machine and think about how the time is spent and whether we could improve the production time without compromising on quality,” Mikko Raittila says. 

By way of practical example, Raittila mentions a process of cooperation which led to an item being made several seconds more quickly. 

“If we make 500,000 of these items every year, it is not hard to see that we have obtained additional capacity by running these projects. We aim to invest in this so that we can serve our customers even better.” 

Sari Raittila, the CEO, says that the development meetings have led to increased openness. The aim was to involve and encourage employees to realise their potential, and we have succeeded in this. 

“In our company, every member of personnel is involved in developing operations, and this increases motivation. We talk openly to employees about factors such as price pressures. Everyone knows that they can bring up development ideas without a separate project,” Sari Raittila points out. 

Solvency creates security 

Nobody can predict the future, but good plans form a solid foundation to work on. R-Sarkon’s vision is to gain recognition all over Europe. 

“In the future, we aim to increase exports. At the moment, about 20% of our production is exported directly, and this is a lot for a company that makes components rather than finished products. We aim to increase our exports with our existing customers and also strive to offer more services to new potential customers,” Sari Raittila says. 

A further aim is to offer work for expert people now and in the future. 

“We want to show that we have the capability in Finland to manufacture products like this, and, above all, to manufacture them well. Added to the fact that this is a nice place to work – well that may be the biggest mental goal,” Mikko Raittila states. 

A stable company can offer its employees security. 

“A permanent job is important to everyone, and we can provide it. Employees appreciate it when the employer is honest, open and flexible. We create security for our personnel through solvency,” Mikko Raittila points out.