Cross-border collaboration
Comatec Group provides design, project management, and expert services for the technology industry and engineering sector in five countries. In addition to Comatec’s Finnish and Swedish units, working with our Estonian, Polish or Romanian units gives customers flexibility and cost savings.
Comatec established its first international unit in Romania more than twenty years ago and now also operates offices also in Estonia and Poland.
“Our main task is to provide design services that meet our customers’ needs at competitive prices. Cooperation with our offices in Estonia, Poland, and Romania is flexible due to similar time zones and work cultures. The salary levels in these countries also make cooperation financially attractive”, says Group’s Chief Operating Officer Keijo Hämäläinen.
In the hybrid model, part of the work is done in Finland and part abroad
Comatec is known for its adaptable service model providing a one-stop service for individual design assignments, additional resources to complement the customer’s own organization, and comprehensive turnkey delivery projects.
“The location of the work is always negotiated with the customer on a case-by-case basis. For larger projects and longer-term cooperation in particular, I strongly recommend the so-called nearshoring model, where project management remains in Finland, but the actual design work is carried out at our offices in Finland and Estonia, Poland, or Romania. This model can save up to 20 percent on design costs. As these are our own offices, for example the information security is set up in exactly the same way as in our Finnish units”, Hämäläinen explains.
Comatec and Evac have a long-term design partnership
Founded in Finland in 1979, Evac Group is a world-leading supplier of integrated water, waste and wastewater systems, spare parts and services for the marine industry. Evac’s solutions are used in thousands of ships and offshore locations around the world, and the company is known as a pioneer in sustainable maritime solutions. Evac has been using Comatec’s services for a number of years, and cooperation with the Romanian unit, for example, began already twenty years ago.
Evac Group’s Product and Project Design Manager Jaakko Ruotoistenmäki says that part of the design work has basically always been outsourced. Currently, his mechanical and process design team has a few in-house designers, and there are also some specially appointed designers at Comatec’s Romanian office.
Compared to traditional subcontracting, Comatec’s model allows us to know the contractors personally, which improves the execution of assignments, increases contractor commitment, and enhances the quality of design work”, Ruotoistenmäki says.
With its growing project base, Evac intends to reinforce its own design organization, but the need for new talent outside the company is also increasing.
Digital tools support location-independent design
At Evac, design development is driven by a firm commitment to utilizing modern working methods and digital tools. The team operates in an international environment where solutions have a direct impact on the energy efficiency and environmental impact of maritime transport. Cooperation with Comatec took a leap forward with the implementation of project management tools five years ago.
“A few months before the forced remote working boom brought about by the pandemic, we introduced project management software to carry out our design assignments. At the latest at that point, we recognised that the location of the designer was irrelevant, especially since we were all working in the same time zone. To ensure transparency on both sides, we hold weekly remote meetings to go through the assignments with the designers”, Ruotoistenmäki says.
Jaakko Ruotoistenmäki points out that the competitive pricing is one of the criteria for organizing design work, but by no means the only one.
“Of course, the quality must meet our needs, and cooperation must be smooth in other areas as well. We have very good communication with Comatec, and they have a positive attitude towards our development needs. At Evac, we want to develop not only our systems but also the way we design them. This is what makes the work so versatile and meaningful – both for our own designers and our partners. Together, we ensure that Evac remains a trendsetter in its field in the future”, he sums up.
“At Comatec Romania we are proud to have a skilled pool of designers who are committed to maintaining and enhancing standards to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations. Cooperation with Evac is very smooth and is based on strong trust and joint development.”
– Team Leader Carmen Stanciu, Comatec Engineering S.R.L.
The article was published in Tekniikka & Talous 28.11.2025
