Laitex's engineer building a rotery feeder.

Laitex’s order backlog at record level – Capacity will be increased in Lappeenranta

Laitex will expand and renew its workshops in Lappeenranta by investing EUR 1.5 million during 2021. The head office assembly and storage area will be expanded by a total of 1,000 m². Lauritsala’s manufacturing workshop’s machinery will be renewed and a new surface treatment hall will be built with modern grain blasting and surface treatment technology.

The reason for the large-scale expansion is Laitex’s order book, which has bounced to a record level. “We received a large project order from Estonia, where the feeding process of an oil shale plant will be modernized to be more environmentally friendly. The project will keep us busy for the next couple of years and keep us on our growth path from a traditional machine workshop to a project and technology company,” says Lasse Kurronen, CEO of Laitex.

The roots of growth are strong in South Karelia


Laitex has strong roots in Lappeenranta and wants to stay in their home region in the future as well. “Our desire to grow is strong and our customers are located more and more all over the world. South Karelia is a great place to strive for global growth, and we have good cooperation with the city on our expansion plans,” says Kurronen.

For Laitex, the year of COVID was the best in the company’s operating history: revenue increased by 56% and operating profit by 61%. “High-quality turnkey deliveries are an important competitive advantage for us and requires high-quality special expertise. We want to ensure a skilled workforce also in the future, from the design of material handling technology to project management, site services and automation. There is always a need for workshop professionals, such as welders, who have excellent control over their profession. It is difficult to find good professionals,” Kurronen continues.

Green energy production and various forms of circular economy are big strategic trends for Laitex. The strategy of the neighbouring university also follows the same line, which Kurronen is happy about. “We are glad that LUT University students are interested in us as an employer. This year, we will recruit ten more professionals in addition to the five already hired at the beginning of this year,” he says.