Evolving global situation creates demand for new skills
The changed global situation is creating new needs for national defence and changing the playing field for commercial players. For example, demand for defence equipment and cybersecurity products and services has increased in recent years, which is also reflected in Comatec’s service offering.
Comatec Group provides design, project management and expert services to the marine and process industries, manufacturers of commercial vehicles and machinery, industrial automation, machine modernisation and material handling, production systems, power plants, and boilers, among others.
Our long experience in these industries serves as a reference when developing new solutions for today’s needs, for example in the defence industry.
– To defend any country, you need machines that can move on land, sea and air, and I for one see many similarities with the design of machines tailored to mining conditions, for example. Defence technology equipment combines different areas of design, such as mechanical design, electrical and automation and data processing solutions, and we have this expertise under one roof, says Reko-Antti Suojanen, board member of Comatec Industrial & Marine Oy.
Suojanen leads the national coordination of ICE Pact, an icebreaker collaboration effort between Finland, the United States, and Canada, and has a long experience in the maritime industry, especially in shipbuilding in the Arctic.
Cybersecurity is integrated into all design work
Almost without exception, all modern technical devices contain software and information technology that are vulnerable to malfunctioning caused by human interference. At Comatec, cybersecurity has long been an integral part of all design work.
– The starting point of designing is that the machinery and equipment must operate reliably under all conditions and cannot be taken over by an unwanted party. The best way to achieve this is to include cybersecurity in product development from the very first drafts. Technologies are developing at a rapid pace in this area as well, and it’s great to be able to work with our customers to develop new solutions to cybersecurity challenges in different industries, says Henry Nieminen, board member of Comatec Mobility Oy.
Nieminen has a long experience in the defence industry and information technology and has specialised in cybersecurity issues. In the past, Nieminen has worked as CEO of Insta Group, among others.
An agile decision-making culture helps to adapt to the changing environment
The changing operating environment and geopolitical movements around the world are confronting organisations with new challenges. They need to adapt to rapidly changing customer needs and at the same time anticipate the future. The current situation poses threats, but also offers opportunities.
– Predicting the future as such is very difficult, as the operating environment seems to be changing at a frantic pace right now. In a changing world, I see Comatec gains advantage from our willingness and courage to look to the future and our agile decision-making culture. The company’s new organisational structure and competency-based operating model support these qualities very well. In addition, the basics, such as high quality of design work, on-time project completion and a customer-centric mindset, are in order, Suojanen says.
According to Henry Nieminen, long-term customer relationships are at the very heart of creating something new and finding the solutions for success in a changing environment.
– We have a number of customers with whom we have been working for years. Through our joint projects, we have built trusting relationships and learned about each other’s ways of working—which is essential if you truly want to develop new solutions to meet client companies’ needs. I hope that we have the opportunity to work with our amazing partners in the future, too.
The article was published in Tekniikka & Talous 9.5.2025.
