Finn-Power - well worth the trip.

Just another great day in Finland. I suppose that's nothing new for those of you who are so closely scrutinizing our frequent postings. Today was Finn-Power day. The Finn-Power facility in Kauhava produces complex world class manufacturing equipment such as turret punch presses and flying optics lasers. Finn-Power was started in an old school building forty years ago. The owner recently sold the business to an Italian conglomerate and used some of the proceeds to build an amusement park near where Finn-Power started which is literally out in the sticks. The amusement park has the largest wooden roller coaster in Europe. My host, Matti, has worked at Finn-Power for the last eight years and he toured me through the facility with Vesa, the manufacturing manager, and Marko who is working on standardizing plant procedures in preperation for ISO9000 registration. They not only showed me through the plant but they took time to explain the attitudes and company philosophy that make Finn-Power such an innovative and great place to work. Everyone in the operation works by the company catch phrase "flexibly yours". Whatever customizations the customer wants, these folks will do. It also applies to work on the shop floor. The men (they are all men) are thouroughly cross trained and thus are able to have a lot of flexibility in their work schedule if they need to take personal time off of work. The company actually encourages Matti's involvement with the local fire department. Not bad for a big company. Most of the folks in management have spent time out on the shop floor so they understand where the men at the shop floor are at. One of the company slogans that was new to me was "Pride without Arrogance". The want to be the best in the world at what they do but they never want to quit learning.