A Fast and Customer-Centric Contract Workshop
In 2023, Stremet Oy employs nearly 70 people and achieved a revenue of €11.5 million in the fiscal year 2022. The company operates in 10,500 square meters of space with dozens of sheet metal processing machines. We have come far since the early days of the company.
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Commencement of Operations
In the summer of 1995, Asko’s son, 25-year-old Hans Strömberg, became the operator of the punch press. He had graduated as a Food Engineer and completed his military service. Hans had time, and the company needed an employee, making it a logical arrangement. At this point, neither had detailed plans for the future. The company’s operations had started well, and there was work to be done, so a machine operator was needed. This was a good solution for both parties.
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Founding of the Company
In 1994, Asko Strömberg worked as a department engineer in a company manufacturing metal parts. With over 30 years of work experience, he had built enough confidence in his skills to decide to become an entrepreneur. The idea was to purchase a punch press and a brake press to start producing metal parts as subcontractor, with quick and reliable delivery times for customers. He convinced his coworker Jari Relavuo to become a partner. Jari remains involved in the operation to this day. Pirjo Strömberg joined as a third partner, taking care of the company’s official founding and bookkeeping. The company was named Stremet Oy, utilizing the surnames of the partners. Operations started in a 400-square-meter rented space.
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Expansion of Operations
In 1996, Hans bought a quarter of the company from his father Asko. Asko was the CEO and the bending specialist, Jari was the programmer, Hans was the punch press operator, and Pirjo handled the bookkeeping. In the fall of 1996, a 1,800-square-meter hall was purchased on Satamakatu. Machines were purchased one per year in the late ’90s. There were about ten employees. The company’s basic principle was from the beginning to be able to quickly supply parts to customers. Speed was considered an advantage. This principle has held true to this day, and Stremet remains one of the fastest suppliers in the industry.
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More Machines
The late 90s were a period of economic growth. Operations expanded, the number of customers increased, and so did the number of machines. The company’s activities steadily grew. At that time, the technical performance of the machines was rapid, and each new machine was better and faster than the previous one. The addition of new machines enabled more parts to be produced, faster, aligning perfectly with the company’s service promise.
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A Pioneer in Investments
The company has always considered the customer’s benefit and delivery speed. Therefore, the company has always invested in the latest and fastest technology available in the market. Stremet was one of the first machine shops in Finland to invest in the new servo technology E5 machine in 2000. The experience with servo machines has been positive. They are more precise and quieter, but also faster to work with. From that point onwards, almost all investments have been made in servo technology.
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The 2000s
In 2000, about 1,000 square meters of hall space were built, and the number of employees grew to 25. Revenue had risen to approximately €3 million. As operations expanded in 2003, another 1,000 square meters of hall space were built. The number of machines had grown in both piercing and bending. The principle was to buy more capacity before bottlenecks arose, so customers wouldn’t have to wait. This same principle has been reflected in the company’s material inventory throughout its history. Raw material and machine capacity have always been available, allowing for very fast delivery times. The guideline has been to deliver within a week from the order.
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Sale of the Company to Private Equity Investors
In 2007, the revenue was about €5.5 million, and two private equity investors wanted to purchase Stremet Oy. It was natural to have Asko retire. From the beginning of 2008, Hans became the CEO, and the revenue increased to €6.5 million. However, the recession came, and the revenue shrunk by about half. Growth didn’t return the following year either, and in 2010, the owners decided to sell a third of the company back to Hans.
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Company Buyback
Revenue didn’t grow as desired, and in 2014, the owners suggested that Hans and Jari buy them out of the operations. In good spirits, they agreed, and once again, the company was in the hands of local leaders. Janne Männistö was hired to handle sales and later became a partner as well. Janne’s main responsibilities are still materials purchasing and sales. The same year, investments were made in the E5x punch press and two servo-driven press brakes. After this, manual machines have been scarcely purchased, and the share of automation has grown significantly.
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Grow or Fade Away
In 2017, the revenue had risen to €6 million. A corner punching machine was acquired for the company. Soon, so many bent parts were being produced that an automated bending machine was invested in. The revenue target had previously been set at €10 million. Sales grew steadily, but the space on Satamakatu became a barrier to growth.
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Move to Larger Premises
The fundamental principle in subcontracting has always been identifying and eliminating bottlenecks. Now, the bottleneck was not sales, machines, or employees, but the premises. Construction would have been too slow. On Inkereentie in Salo, a 20,000-square-meter hall was partially vacant, and after a few coincidences, the hall became Stremet’s new address. The decision was made in 2018, and the move took place in February 2019 when there were about 50 employees. New growth was sought and achieved through good customers and major investments.
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New Faces
In 2021, it started to feel that Hans had been CEO for quite a while, and a new leader was needed. As a result, Mikko Fiskaali (who the leadership team had become familiar with during investments) from Prima Power was convinced to become a partner and CEO. Between 2017 and 2022, Stremet invested over six million euros in development, mainly in machines and equipment. More new blood was brought in in the form of Matias Soini, who also became a partner in the company. Matias demonstrated his capabilities as a summer CEO during the summer of 2021.
A Subcontracting Workshop for Satisfied Customers
“The original idea of the company has been to be a reliable actor and always put the customer’s wishes and needs first. In my experience, a successful company needs satisfied customers to ensure that success continues. Only customer satisfaction matters. When customers fare well, the company fares well too.”
Hans Strömberg
“Following the principles established by Hans, we will continue to develop the company while respecting these principles. As the first external CEO of the family business, I have been entrusted with the important task of taking care of the company, customers, and staff. The company’s success will continue to be achieved through our well faring and satisfied customers and staff.”
Mikko Fiskaali