The Finnish industrial gases industry is supplied by four companies; the oldest and specialised gas producer and distributor in the country being the Oy Woikoski Ab.
The market was divided for half a century between two companies, AGA (now Linde) and Woikoski. Woikoski produced gas for the end-users located in eastern Finland and AGA in the west. Hydrogen was supplied solely by Woikoski. However, by the end of 1970’s the market share-out collapsed and both companies had to reconsider their strategies.
Clas Palmberg, the managing director of Woikoski, considers this particular period of time challenging but also rewarding for the company. He said: ‘AGA used to be Woikoski’s sole
sales agent and it handled all the sales operations for us in the eastern Finland and their own in the western Finland. Because of historical reasons, Woikoski only concentrated producing and distributing gas, not selling or marketing it. However, the world changed and this wasn’t a durable concept anymore and we had to reconsider our strategy.’
Over the last 25 years, Woikoski has been building and developing its own distribution network dramatically. According to Palmberg, the company has the largest delivery network in Finland. The company owns 14 facilities, has 180 sales agents and over 35 000 customers across the country.
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