Over the past two years, CoE Group has added 50 new employees to their workforce through acquisitions. In 2022, Co-Engineering acquired full stake in engineering company Anteplan Oy. In 2023, growth accelerated with the acquisition of engineering company Kotka Automation Oy. Growth is pursued by strategic talent and business acquisition, all the while developing the company’s internal operations.
“We aspire to be a medium-sized engineering and consulting company that serves its customers with the same people-oriented approach and flexibility as smaller service providers. From the start, we have reached certain agility in our organization by maintaining a low hierarchy and a sensible approach towards sharing both responsibility and freedom. We also ensure the size of our organization remains manageable. At the moment, we have 140 employees. We are looking to double that number. We systematically work towards ensuring our internal operations develop as we grow”, says Sami Kivioja, CEO at CoE Group.
The Role of a CEO Changes with Organizational Growth
In growth stages, developing and adjusting internal operations is inevitable. CoE Group has steadily developed all business areas: each business unit now has an assigned director, the company’s reporting system has been developed further, and talent acquisition is now a systematically conducted joint effort. Changes have also occurred in Kivioja’s role as CEO.
“The growth of the company also allows growth within the role of CEO. Managing a vastly expanding organization alone is not feasible: sharing tasks and responsibilities becomes inevitable. It is reassuring to know we can rely on a trustworthy team. The systematic, strategic work of our board members persistently drives the company into the desired direction while also narrowing our focus into the core elements.”
CoE Group’s number of employees has grown through talent and business acquisition. Kivioja has been pleased with the quality of applicants.
“Alongside standard recruitment processes, we constantly review the open applications we receive. I am pleased to be able to say that the level of the applications has been extremely high. It is a testament to our values, operations and future goals being considered appealing, and to applicants believing in our brand.”
Growth Extending from Finland into the Nordic Countries
In Finland, CoE Group already has offices in 9 locations. In 2017, the company established an office in Sweden. In the future, CoE Group aims to further expand its operations in the Nordic countries.
“Naturally, we are working towards establishing ourselves in the Nordic market. The Nordic values related to sustainability and responsibility are reflected in our operations, and we have been involved in delivering renewable energy solutions for years. We are equipped to offering large-scale, multi-level engineering services and practical expertise to various applications in the Nordics. The growth of our business has brought our resources to a level where our delivery reliability is maintained in projects that require advanced, multi-level specialized expertise. We are capable of managing significant activities and offering projects that include electrical and automation engineering as well as mechanical engineering and product engineering.