Technopolis Plc is planning the implementation of an entirely new type of technology center right in the heart of Tampere. The company will establish a technology center next to the University of Tampere that is intended especially for companies offering knowledge-based b-to-b services and companies that use these services. This service-oriented center will be the only one of its kind in Europe. Built in three stages, the center will eventually be approximately 30,000 square meters in size. It will create some 1,500 new jobs in the heart of Tampere. Technopolis aims to start implementing the center early next year. Preliminary customer inquiries indicate considerable interest in the center. Technopolis's current centers in Tampere are at Finn-Medi and Hermia. Pertti Huuskonen, President and CEO of Technopolis, says that with the new technology center in the heart of the city, Tampere can offer a very comprehensive range of technology centers. The new center will also provide an opportunity to create mutually complementary business innovations, for example. "What is more, our customers will have the opportunity to choose the environment that best meets their own needs and the demands of their business. This is why we have different types of technology centers in different locations in all of the cities in which we are present," says CEO Huuskonen. The new technology center will offer all the business and development services of the Technopolis concept. The proximity of the University of Tampere is of key importance to the center because one of its objectives is to promote the efficient commercialization of the university's product and service innovations and the transfer of knowledge and technology between businesses and the university. Technopolis has long experience of collaborating with Finnish universities. Satu Eskelinen, the CEO of Technopolis' Tampere sites, believes that the new center will give a significant boost to the marketing of the city of Tampere and increase its attractiveness to businesses. "It will especially attract companies for which the development of their service business is critical, and companies which will benefit from a location in the city center and near the university," says Eskelinen. For further information, please contact: Technopolis Plc, Pertti Huuskonen, President and CEO, +358 400 680 816 Satu Eskelinen, Director of the Tampere area, +358 50 655 70 In terms of the number of customer companies, Technopolis Plc is one of Europe's largest technology centers. It is also Finland's largest company that specializes in providing operating environments for high tech companies and offers a comprehensive service package combining modern premises and business and development services. Technopolis operates in Espoo, Jyväskylä, Lappeenranta, Oulu, Tampere and Vantaa in Finland, and in St. Petersburg in Russia. Some 12,000 people from 930 companies are currently working in its technology centers. The company's shares are quoted on the mid cap list of the Nordic Exchange.