Mission: a sustainable Earth

LAITEX OY, A FAMILY COMPANY FROM LAPPEENRANTA, WANTS TO BE THE BEST PROVIDER OF MATERIAL HANDLING SOLUTIONS ON THE MARKET IN THE BUSINESS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY. THE JOURNEY TOWARDS THE GOAL IS PROGRESSING WELL, AND THE COMPANY IS NOW GROWING AT A RECORD SPEED. FOR LAITEX, THE GREEN TRANSITION IS FULL OF OPPORTUNITIES WORTH MILLIONS.

– You have to hold on to your hat. We are highly aware of everything that happens around the world. We are actively looking for projects where we can develop and speed up the green transition, says Lasse Kurronen, the CEO of Laitex.

The green transition has been a key part of Laitex’s strategy since 2019. At the moment, one of the largest businesses of Laitex is converting coal-fired boilers to operate with biomass. This means transforming coal power plants so that instead of coal, renewable energy can be used as their energy source in the future.

– The conversion reduces the emissions from one boiler by as much as 90%. In practice, the material handling line of the boiler needs to be replaced. This trend will continue to grow around the world for a long time. For us, a typical project involving the conversion of one coal-fired boiler can be worth roughly a million, Kurronen says.

Breaking new ground

Laitex’s range of products includes different types of conveyors, unloaders, feeders, screens and crushers that are delivered to the customers either as individual devices or larger comprehensive turnkey solutions. The company serves the energy, pulp and paper, mining, chemistry and environmental technology sectors.

– In practice, our solutions automate the transport and processing of material in industry, where it is a critical part of the operation of the factory and the process.

According to Kurronen, the different kinds of industrial side stream value chains are the next megatrends that Laitex wants to tackle.

– The green transition is moving forward, which requires major changes from the energy sector in particular, but you cannot escape the material streams. You still have to move and handle materials. Our solutions are determined by the materials that the green transition will need.

For example, we are interested in biochar, biochemicals and lignin, because these materials can be used to replace fossil fuels and materials extracted from the ground. Biochar in particular will have a massive market, because the use of fossil-based coal is the largest source of emissions in the world, Kurronen continues.

Even though, according to Kurronen, Laitex as an operator is not stuck with specialising in the burning of biomass, it is nevertheless something that will continue to play a significant role in Laitex’s business around the world for the next 10 years.

– In Finland, the burning of biomass may decrease, but around the world, solutions involving biomass burning will be needed for a long time. The world still works largely on coal. Whether the plants are new or converted ones, burning biomass in the traditional way is an easy solution for minimising emissions. For large countries, political steering plays an important role in the green transition.

Flow must go on

According to Kurronen, Finland is a pioneer of the green transition and it has progressed far, but he notes that on the global scale, this is not enough to build a sustainable future. Instead, Finnish expertise must be harnessed to benefit the rest of the world.

– Really, Finland is pretty much ready by now. What there is still left to do is just the small stuff. Now we need to take this expertise abroad. You only need to go 1,000 kilometres further south and nobody is even talking about burning biomass, let alone wind farms or hydrogen fuel.

– One reason why Finland has become a green technology pioneer is that we started working to mitigate the climate change early enough, Kurronen says. He also praises the Finnish education system and especially the LUT University, with which the company cooperates in a variety of ways.

– The people here have climate awareness, and the commitment to climate agreements is at a high level. In addition, we have proactive, ethically sustainable companies, which has led to the creation of technology. Likewise, the education, research and development sectors are doing good work. This is, just as it should be, the number one export product for Finland.

For Laitex, the green transition also means developing its own expertise to maintain its global competitiveness. Kurronen believes that the company’s greatest potential in the future involves expertise that nobody has even invented yet.

– This expertise will be built around the circular economy, and I’m sure that it will be strongly related to the efficient use of the side streams of industry and new technologies, as well as the bioproducts that we already talked about and their higher value added.

Laitex was established in 1986. Over the years, the company has grown from a conveyor supplier to a full service technology company that helps its customers make their operations more intelligent, environmentally friendly and safer than ever.

– We don’t just move material from one place to another. We are the right and the most capable partner when you need to handle material streams in a way that’s critical to the functioning of the process. We offer agile, flexible and reliable services at a competitive price.

 

For more information, please contact:

Laitex Oy
Lasse Kurronen, lasse.kurronen@laitex.fi , tel. +358 20 161 3347