A partnership that began with biogas plants
The collaboration began with biogas plant projects in Finland, where Watrec served as process designer and Konepaja Survonen was responsible for implementation. Ardor, which at the time operated under a different name, joined one of these projects, and that is where Survonen got to know the Ardor team. Later, when Survonen set out to bid on a pipe bridge contract at a major industrial park, he needed a partner with strong expertise in industrial piping. Ardor came on board as a subcontractor, the companies won the full contract, and Ardor delivered its piping scope just as agreed. “It was a truly massive project,” Survonen recalls. According to him, the division of work between two companies in the same field went smoothly, with no friction over who would handle which part.
Trust in practice: on schedule and transparent
Survonen also credits Ardor for its disciplined growth: the company has expanded its project business only as fast as it has had skilled people to deliver the work. To him, that is what professionalism looks like. Many companies take on more projects than they can staff with properly trained people, and sooner or later quality suffers. According to Survonen, Ardor has avoided that trap.
Survonen’s main contact at Ardor is Teemu Kallioniemi, who has been central to the partnership. “The relationship is very strong, and there’s a high level of mutual trust,” Survonen says. A strong personal relationship comes with a solid team behind it, Survonen adds: the wider Ardor organisation also knows how each project is progressing, so it does not all depend on one person.
Growing at the pace of skilled people
Survonen also credits Ardor for its disciplined growth: the company has expanded its project business only as fast as it has had skilled people to deliver the work. To him, that is what professionalism looks like. Many companies take on more projects than they can staff with properly trained people, and sooner or later quality suffers. According to Survonen, Ardor has avoided that trap.
Survonen’s main contact at Ardor is Teemu Kallioniemi, who has been central to the partnership. “The relationship is very strong, and there’s a high level of mutual trust,” Survonen says. A strong personal relationship comes with a solid team behind it, Survonen adds: the wider Ardor organisation also knows how each project is progressing, so it does not all depend on one person.
A long-term partnership that keeps paying off
A client with good experiences of a partnership is more open to it in future tenders too, even when it is not the lowest bid. “Finland is a small country. People in procurement move from project to project, but good experiences travel with them,” Survonen says.
The companies are already looking ahead. Konepaja Survonen and Ardor have both operated mainly in Finland, and they have plenty to offer beyond its borders as well – for example in projects driven by green steel investments in Sweden.
