Press release August 14, 2008 at 2.40 p.m. Kesko is increasing its presence in the Tampere region - new premises to be located at Technopolis Yliopistonrinne Technopolis Plc and Kesko Corporation have agreed on the relocation of Kesko's operations to new premises at Technopolis Yliopistonrinne in the heart of Tampere. Implementation of the technology center commenced in July 2008, and Kesko will move in during the spring of 2010, according to plan. “Kesko has concentrated its financial management services in particular in Tampere, a development we hope will continue. In over 5 years, the number of Kesko's financial management professionals working in Tampere has gone up from around 30 to almost 150. In all, the new premises will house well over two hundred Kesko employees", says Jari Alanen, District Director for Kesko in Pirkanmaa. “The fact that Kesko wants to operate and seek growth right here in Tampere is truly fantastic and significant also on a national scale. We are very proud that Kesko relies on us as a partner and that we have as an engine such a nationally significant expert service provider, especially as Kesko considers Tampere to be an unparalleled building ground for development and success, says Satu Eskelinen, Vice President for Technopolis in Tampere. Contributing to the appeal of Tampere are the numerous high-quality providers of education that ensure the availability of competent workforce. “We are very pleased with this agreement with Technopolis. It is important for us to operate in state-of-the-art premises that give us flexibility in planning future personnel numbers and operations and that serve as a modern and comfortable operating environment for our employees. Moreover, we want to operate in a dynamic environment that reflects the very essence and nature of the residing expert companies. The versatile public transport possibilities that are now within our grasp thanks to the location of Yliopistonrinne are also important to us”, Alanen says. “The services we offer make it easier for Kesko to better focus on its own business, and the flexible space solutions make it easier for us to anticipate future needs", Eskelinen adds. The Tampere economic region boasts four institutes of higher education and a diversified network of vocational schools and colleges, plus 35,000 academic students that represent a large pool of competent workforce for the varying needs of the region's companies. For example, from the point of view of corporate financial management, Tampere provides a complete chain of commercial education, all the way from a commercial college to the versatile opportunities for economic studies provided by the university. "The University of Tampere's special strengths in economic studies - accounting, tax law and insurance science, the last of which is not provided elsewhere in Finland - are unique in the Finnish setting. Therefore, Tampere provides a natural foothold for financial management service centers, insurance companies and business service providers, to provide but a few examples. Tampere's Yliopistonrinne area boosts the entire region's active role as a trailblazer in the harnessing and commercialization of the service business and technology. The area provides an attractive and fertile platform for operations and carrying out business for information intensive service companies", says Timo P. Nieminen, Mayor of Tampere. “Yliopistonrinne contributes to the emergence of a strong concentration of service companies in Tampere, where other financial management expert companies are also based. Yliopistonrinne makes it possible for us to continue providing our customer companies with the premises and services they need in a central location in Tampere. Additionally, it gives Technopolis a chance to get a new customer base in Pirkanmaa", Eskelinen says. A new kind of competence cluster can be developed through the networking of companies, utilization of subcontractor networks, joint training and collaboration with providers of education. Eskelinen states that innovations are created in concentrations of educational institutes, companies and research bodies - in other words, cooperation by people. The concept of Yliopistonrinne makes it possible for expert services and companies to meet in a natural way. Yliopistonrinne makes it possible for competent people to network, and this in turn facilitates the creation of new competence and added value on a regional scale. Opportunities for networking are actively offered in the form of different events: for example, Technopolis Plc, arranges dozens of networking events every year, and Technopolis Ventures Oy is the leading provider of business development services in Finland, and also the largest of its kind in Europe. Technopolis has over 100 customer companies in Tampere. Upon completion of the first stage of Technopolis Yliopistonrinne in 2010, the company's total leasable area in Tampere will increase to more than 59,000 square meters. The total cost of Yliopistonrinne is estimated at EUR 33.3 million. The size of the first stage will be some 19,200 gross square meters, which includes an indoor parking facility for 130 vehicles. The Yliopistonrinne technology center will be implemented in three stages. Once fully completed, its size will be approximately 30,000 square meters. Measured by the number of its customers, Technopolis is one of the leading technology and science park companies in Europe. Technopolis is the largest company in Finland specializing in business environments for technology companies. The Technopolis service concept combines modern office space and facilities with business and development services for high-tech companies and their partners. Technopolis has built or is building technology parks in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Lappeenranta, Oulu and Tampere in Finland, as well as St. Petersburg, Russia. There are approximately 15,500 people and 1,150 companies and organizations operating in the company's parks. www.technopolis.fi Kesko is the leading provider of trading sector services and is a highly valued listed company. Through its stores, Kesko brings quality to the daily lives of consumers. Kesko has about 2,000 stores engaged in chain operations in the Nordic and Baltic countries, and Russia and Belarus. Kesko's operations include food, hardware supplies, department stores, agricultural and machinery trade. The biggest divisions are Kesko Food, Rautakesko, VV-Auto, Anttila and Kesko Agro. There are 142 K-stores in Pirkanmaa. Around 800 Kesko employees work in Pirkanmaa, and the total number of K-store personnel in Pirkanmaa is 1,800. www.kesko.fi ___________________________________________________________________ Additional information: Technopolis Plc Satu Eskelinen, Vice President, Tampere, tel. +358 50 655 70 Kesko Corporation Jari Alanen, District Director, Pirkanmaa, tel. +358 50 620 26
Kesko is increasing its presence in the Tampere region - new premises to be located at Technopolis Yliopistonrinne
| Source: Technopolis