In the Middle East Peikko Group Corporation, leading global supplier of concrete connections and composite structures, is presented by Peikko Gulf located in UAE and Al Rashed Peikko located in Saudi Arabia. Peikko has been present in the Middle East since 2008, but many may not know that actually Peikko as a company dates back to more than 50 years.
Peikko was established in 1965 in Lahti, Finland by Mr. Jalo Paananen and Osmo Norvasto. At first the manufacturing process was established in a barn and only one person was working on manufacturing the products. The very first Peikko order was for 500 pcs of Diagonal Ties – product that still today goes strong. The word “peikko” is Finnish language and means “troll”; the little creature in our logo.
Several products of Peikko have their roots already in 1960s. The first generation of innovative column shoes was invented already in 1983 and the unique DELTABEAM® solution in 1989. Even if the products were created several years ago, product development has a significant role in company’s activities; new products are always in the pipeline together with the improvement of the existing ones. Since 2009 Peikko has had its own design software; Peikko Designer®. The customer goes always first.
The first Peikko unit abroad was established in Germany in 1997. Nowadays, 20 years later, Peikko Group has sales units in 32 countries and 9 factories in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Northern America. The Group employs more than 1500 professionals worldwide and its turnover in 2016 was EUR 173 million. The core business remains moreover the same, as well as Peikko’s values: respect and trust, continuous improvement, profit orientation, and above all – customer satisfaction.
Still today Peikko Group Corporation is headquartered in Finland and owned by family Paananen; Jalo’s son Topi is nowadays the CEO of the company. Jalo Paananen still frequently visits the company. He is keen to note the importance of team work, cooperation and good atmosphere within the company; he calls it “the Peikko Spirit”. Paananen says: “Being humble and easy to reach, always focused on your core business, dedicated to product development and listening to your customers is what keeps a company going”.
