Airfi, a rapidly growing pioneer in ventilation, designs and manufactures ventilation units and cooker hoods in Raisio, Finland, for international markets. Product development lies at the core of the company’s operations.
Airfi’s vision is ambitious: it aims to transform the ventilation industry globally with its innovative products.
Product development is at the heart of its operations, with a strong focus on durability and quality. Airfi’s products are among the most energy-efficient in the industry and contain very few breakable components, making them reliable and long-lasting.
Airfi firmly believes that the products themselves should yield environmental benefits, in addition to generating energy savings during use.
“Constantly repairing devices is not very energy efficient”, says RD manager Antti Pulkkanen. “We believe that a ventilation unit should last the entire lifecycle of a building, and if a part breaks, it must be easily repairable.”
Airfi has a unique business philosophy that considers the products and their manufacture, as well as every phase after assembly: marketability, ease of installation, and equipment serviceability and maintenance.
“We need to listen to our customers and serve the entire chain, from designers to builders and end users”, says Jan Lundberg, chairman of the board. “To succeed, we need to consider all our stakeholders.”
Strong growth despite the economic slump
Airfi’s growth rate has been impressive, especially considering the general downturn in the construction industry in recent years. In six years, its revenue has grown to over nine million euros.
The ventilation industry pioneer has aimed at growth from the start. Achieving this means internationalisation, as Finland ultimately represents a limited market.
“There’s no reason why good products shouldn’t succeed both in Finland and internationally”, says Izabella Lundberg, CEO of Airfi.
However, the company did not get off to an easy start. Airfi is behind schedule in achieving its internationalisation goals, as the COVID-19 pandemic closed borders just as the company prepared to introduce its products to international markets.
“During the pandemic, we couldn’t even showcase our products in Finland the way we usually would have”, Izabella explains.
“Still, we believe that we will succeed by doing the right things. Internationalisation requires perseverance, resilience, and faith that everything will turn out well. Nothing happens overnight.”
Financing has boosted growth
Money is both an enabling and limiting factor in business. Without it, progress is slower. Airfi has received external funding from Ely (Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment), Business Finland, and Finnvera. The company has also grown significantly through internal financing.
“Of course, money makes life easier, but our vision for internationalisation wouldn’t have changed even if we hadn’t received funding”, says Antti. “Without it, things would have just progressed a bit more slowly.”
Despite its importance, Airfi doesn’t see money as a determining factor.
“Entrepreneurs must trust and believe in what they’re doing, whether talking about products or services”, Jan summarises. “If you don’t have belief, there’s no point in going into business in the first place.”
Financing enables greater resources and thus paves the way for bolder innovation.
“Financing makes it possible to think outside the box. It creates opportunities for innovation”, says Izabella. “Without financing, companies may stick to safer waters and hesitate to explore uncharted areas.”
Innovation always pays off
Not all development efforts necessarily lead to new products. Sometimes, what initially seemed like a great idea may have to be abandoned after closer scrutiny.
However, no research is ever wasted.
“We, too, have started projects that were researched but eventually rejected. Yet every effort has added to our expertise”, says Izabella.
The Airfi team believes in the importance of accumulating in-house knowledge and expertise. The reason is competitive advantage: in highly developed products, the differences between competitors are minimal.
“External help can sometimes be helpful. However, new knowledge shouldn’t always be bought from outside, because if a core innovation doesn’t remain within the company, challenges may soon follow”, says Antti. “Innovations are what differentiate one company from one another.”
According to Izabella, Airfi continues to develop existing products, too.
“If we notice that something could be improved, for example, in terms of production technique, we also develop existing products. There are regular updates particularly in software.”
However, products are not developed simply for the sake of development.
“In product development, the sky’s the limit, and customers may have various requests. Our task is to determine whether there’s commercial potential in those requests”, Izabella concludes.
Text: Katja Hautoniemi
Photos: Jarno Hiltunen
This article is part of the TKI-kompassi project, funded by the Regional Council of Southwest Finland.
