Invest in Finland

Local Finnish presence boosting business for Ohashi

Ohashi now has manufacturing operations in China and Thailand, and Finland has the honour of being only the second European country in which the company has set up technical and sales support operations after the UK.

The company moved into the international market when it set up Ohashi Technica U.S.A., Inc. (OTUS) in Sun Valley, Ohio in April 1987. Ohashi Technica Finland Ltd.was set up in May 2005, and, together with Ohashi Technica UK Ltd, the Finnish office is working on sales and research activities for the promotion of global optimal procurement in the EU area. The Managing Director of Ohashi in Finland is Ian McGregor, an expatriate Canadian, who admits that he knew little about Finland before coming here, but for some time had been wholly convinced about the necessity of opening an office here.

A Finnish base required to do Finnish business

“We knew we had to establish a local presence in Finland because of the business opportunities that were developing here. You can't cover the whole of Europe from the UK, so, as we were gaining customers here, it made sense to be close to them.”

So what process was involved in getting things up-and-running? “I was involved in presenting the business case, which led to a decision to set up being made by our President at headquarters level late in 2004, and from then it took only about six months before the ‘grand opening’. We were quite busy during that period making business plans, putting together budgets and implementation timetables and setting deadlines, so we definitely needed some outside assistance.”

Such assistance came in the form of Invest in Finland, which provided Ian with invaluable help he could not have done without. “Invest in Finland introduced me to some key people early on, and from that point, finding an office, renting space and obtaining legal advice all happened very easily.”

Technical and sales support office can remain modest in size

Ohashi does not have any production or need for logistics in Finland, so the initial set-up has been small. Initially, Ian worked alone, and now, 18 months on, the office is still only manned by three people. Ohashi was first attracted to Finland by the presence of one major customer, but there have of course been spin-offs from that and business is growing favourably, so more staff will be needed very soon. Ian does not envisage, however, that, as a sales and technical support office, there will ever be a need for more than ten or so people, even if business really exceeds all expectations.

Arriving to set up a new business in an unfamiliar country should of course bring problems, but the help that Ohashi has received, not only from Invest in Finland but also from Technopolis, has meant that problems have been surprisingly few. “Consultants at Invest in Finland initially introduced me to the people at Technopolis (the technology centre where the Ohashi office is based) and they have what’s called a ‘soft-landing’ programme, which caters for everything from personal needs such as schools, hospitals and dentists, to work-related needs such as office furniture and telecommunications”, says Ian. “Technopolis was an easy one-stop shop to get all that done. Also, the lawyer introduced to me by Invest in Finland has been very helpful in such things as setting up bank accounts and making contracts. With Finnish not being my mother tongue, it was essential to have somebody who could speak both languages and who knew the ins and outs of Finnish business culture.”

As far as the future is concerned, coming from such modest beginnings, Ohashi Technical Finland Oy of course has nowhere to go but up, but Ian is confident that trend will continue for a long time, because the potential in the local markets is so promising and the small Finnish office is backed by a major global corporation.

The benefits of an expatriate manager

So why has Ohashi opted for recruiting an expatriate managing director? “It was felt that a familiarity with the operation and with Japan was a necessity”, says Ian. “I’m Canadian, but I’ve lived in Japan for 15 years and been with Ohashi for 10 years. Before coming here, I was stationed in the UK, from where the business in Finland was initially developed. I was in charge of running the customer account from the UK at the time, and as the Finnish business grew and the potential grew, it made sense to enlist the person who knew most about it to come and start it up and run it. I’m also fluent in Japanese and the link to R&D HQ in Japan is critical to the success of the business here.”

The company is fully aware, however, of the vast pool of educated people that can be drawn on in Finland, and intends to make full use of it as the company grows. According to Ian, several of Finland’s characteristics make it a favourable country for a foreign investor to set up in. “In places like the UK”, he says, “inward investment is very fragmented on a regional basis, so within the actual country itself, there is a lot of infighting amongst the regions to attract you to their area, which can complicate things. The Finnish attitude, however, is, ‘as long as you are coming here to run a profitable company, it doesn’t matter where you are, we will help you’, and that attitude really has been beneficial to us.”

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