The Finnish business of Vapo Oy to be reorganized as a customer-driven regional organization
The planned change to the organization does not affect Vapo Timber Oy or Kekkilä Oy. The reorganization is not aimed at cuts in person work years or personnel costs, rather the focus is on better customer service by bringing decision-making closer to customers.
Three business areas
In the new operating model, Pasi Koivisto heads the Vapo Peat Products business area, which is responsible for planning and development of peat production as well as permits and planning the after-use of areas released from peat production.
Energy wood and pellets make up the new Vapo Wood Energy business area, headed by Juhani Ylä-Sahra. Vapo Wood Energy’s responsibilities include nationwide procurement of wood by-products and pellet plant output.
The Vapo Heat and Power business area is responsible for the operation of Vapo’s six power plants generating heat and power and the district heating networks connected to them, and for optimizing and developing the business. The business area is headed by Markus Hassinen and has production plants in Forssa, Salo, Lieksa, Ilomantsi, Sotkamo and Haapavesi. It is planned that the management of the Heat and Power business area as well as the support and development functions will be centralized at Vapo’s Vantaa site.
The managers of the business areas report to the CEO of Vapo Oy, Tomi-Yli-Kyyny.
Business operations, decision-making and sales brought close to customers
Vapo Oy is setting up a joint field organization for its businesses with customer responsibility, headed by Customer Relations Director Mikko Osara. Under the plan, Finland will be divided into six customer regions with earnings responsibility, in charge of sales and supplies of fuels and heat to customers in their region. In order to develop the business at the consumer and single-location level, current pellet and environmental peat sales will be combined.
The regions will be formed so that they correspond as well as possible to the natural production and transport areas of the products and services offered and allow decisions to be taken locally in a close relationship with the region’s customers, subcontractors, authorities, decision-makers, NGOs and other partners. Negotiations will be based on the regional organizations of the regional managers with earnings responsibility, which are Eastern Finland, Lapland, South-west Finland, South-East, Central Finland and Ostrobothnia. The regional managers will report to the Customer Relations Director of Vapo Oy, Mikko Osara. Osara will report on his areas of responsibility to CEO Tomi Yli-Kyyny. The external reporting of Vapo Oy is not affected by the reinforcement of the regional organization to focus on serving customers.
According to the CEO of Vapo Oy, Tomi Yli-Kyyny, the reorganization is designed to deliver growth and better customer service by devolving business responsibilities and decision-making as far as possible to regional organizations based on natural customer needs. In future the regional organizations will sell all the products of Vapo Oy, which will remove unnecessary overlaps and increase efficiency. The reorganization has a strong element of skills development throughout the organization; changes to job descriptions are bound to raise skills needs and offer employees genuine possibilities for advancement.
Because this is a very significant reorganization of our operating model, Vapo will start employee consultations in accordance with the Act on Cooperation on 8 November 2012. The aim is to have the new organization up and running by 1 January 2013. According to Tomi Yli-Kyyny, the operational reorganization is not about cutting costs through staff reductions, but enabling growth through efficient optimization of resources and better customer service.
In the reorganization that will be negotiated, tens of current work functions will end or change, but at the same time more or less the same number of new functions will be created. If work cannot be found for all present employees in the reorganization, or if they cannot accept new work functions, for example for geographical or some other reasons, in such cases the company will offer various support packages and help in looking for work outside the company. Yli-Kyyny estimates that it is too early to tell to what extent these special arrangements will be needed because personnel selections and appointments can only be made after the employee consultation procedure. The objective is that special arrangements will only be needed in individual cases and that these cases will be negotiated separately.
For further information please contact:
– Ahti Martikainen, Vapo Oy, Director, Communications and Public Affairs, tel. +358 20 790 5608