The year 2023 marks a milestone at TT Gaskets as our family business celebrates its 80th birthday. With innovation, curiosity, and learning new things having always been at our core, we are looking towards the future on our anniversary – while respecting and valuing our roots.
The months leading up to our celebration have been interesting thanks to the many messages I’ve received from our former employees. It has been great to learn about our significance for people over the years – either as a first working life experience or a later springboard for career development. Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories! You have taught me new things about both our business and my family.
These, in turn, are some comments we’ve received from our customers:
“The best kept secret in Janka.”
“Things are really happening in Tampere.”
“We really appreciate the fact that we are more than just a number for you.”
I am truly elated that we have been able to establish an excellent ecosystem among our Finnish partners as well as a growing number of international partners over the years. Together we can tackle even broader and trickier sealing challenges.
Our determination to overcome challenges stems from within. Throughout the years, we’ve had the chance to create innovative solutions around the world. The feeling of shared success, as well as the gratitude and relief of our customers, continue to motivate and inspire us. At the same time, we get to challenge our expertise and learn new things.
The skill of listening to and caring about our customers is engrained in our corporate culture. When you have an illustrated history and are genuinely interested in others, you can’t help but learn a lot about customers’ technologies and their culture. Our daily success in resolving customer issues is a result of our extensive experience dealing with a wide range of challenges. Experience and enduring partnerships often also bring the benefit of understanding our customer organizations and their operations more deeply than they do themselves in some instances. We understand the kind of solutions our customers are seeking or what adds the most value to their customers.
TT Gaskets’ longevity and experience enable internal sounding boards and the ability to reflect on earlier successes for our employees. We are a known and respected operator within our niche. This gives us pride in our everyday work. Our 80-year track record of delivering on our promises has been an asset, especially during challenging times like the COVID crisis and Russia’s war against Ukraine, where raw material availability was disrupted. Long and trusting partnerships are invaluable in such situations.
Curiosity and the aspiration to understand everything new is characteristic for us. During my grandfather’s days we developed Finland’s first substitute gasket materials and supported our Defence Forces in their battle for our country’s independence. My father introduced water cutting to the Finnish gasket industry and was a proponent of more efficient toolless manufacturing.
In recent years we have innovated sensor-equipped smart gaskets, new raw materials, anti-counterfeit inking and mobile manufacturing solutions. Looking ahead, we will offer compelling solutions for the global electrification trend, innovations related to hydrogen, and the broader energy revolution. We’ll continue to generate these innovations in close collaboration with our customers, R&D department plus universities and startups. Meanwhile, we will broaden our international operations and establish even closer partnerships with our customers. Our goal is to provide peace of mind and build an even safer industrial tomorrow through our smart sealing solutions.
I hope you’ve had the chance to read the trilogy about our three-generation journey from the 1940s to where we are now. If you haven’t, I strongly recommend checking out the series either from our website or LinkedIn. Included are some fun photographs from the past!
We are celebrating our past and planning our future together with our staff and stakeholders at the Laukko Manor on September 8th. We would also like to get in touch with our customers and share our plans for becoming a 100-year-old family business. Join us at the Finnish Subcontracting Fair in Tampere from September 26th to 28th and the Elmia fair in Jönköping from November 14th to 16th. Let’s raise a toast for shared success!
Wishing everyone a beautiful autumn and expressing gratitude to all who have contributed to shaping our shared history and a safer industrial future,
Aleksi
Aleksi Arpiainen is the CEO of TT Gaskets in the third generation. According to him, the success of a family business is fueled by continuous development and innovation. In the blog, Aleksi sheds light on his thoughts on where the world of gaskets is going.