INTERVIEW
12
access
INTERNATIONAL
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2014
Nevertheless, I askMr Paavolainenwhy
hewas asked to join full-time and run the
company. “The ideawas to get a fresh view
from someonewhohad been at a large
international company and takeDinolift to the
next level.
“Personally, I think Imanage to bring
a clearer structure andmore of a focus on
ourmain future themes,which are in sales,
production and research anddevelopment.”
Dinolift’s turnover last yearwas about €24
million, themajority of which came from
trailer sales.By 2018Mr Paavolainen expects
to at least reach €40million annual turnover.
Unsurprisingly,Dinolift’s best yearwas 2008
but by the end of 2009 recessionhad struck
andproduction volumes fell dramatically
- a common experience amongEurope
manufacturers at that time.
Strongminority
“Since thenwe have gradually come back up
and if youhad talked tome before the summer
and theRussia/Ukraine crises, Iwouldhave
said it has been a good year so far andwill be a
good year overall.
“It still will be,but now there is a bit of
uncertainty and some customers are on
standby.However, I believe it will be resolved
in an appropriateway and thenwewill
continue on the growthpath.”
This political instability is feltmore keenly
byFinland asRussia is an important trade
partner.
Finlandprovides a ‘goodminority’of sales,
explainsMr Paavolainen. “We have a very
goodposition in theFinnishmarket and
wewant to protect that anddevelop it,but
Finlandhas a population of 5.5millionpeople,
so there are limitations.”
He adds, “Our target is to grow through
entering newmarketswith existing products
and by offering newproducts.
“We have certainmarketswherewe are
very strong inNorthern and central Europe
- Finland,Sweden,Norway,Germany and
Russia is growing quite fast.Thenwe have a
verywide area inEurope that is quite flat, so
clearlywe have lots of room to developwith
the right actions and focus.”
It’s never easy tomove intonew territories,
particularlywhere the concept of trailers have
not yet been taken on. “There is a difference in
habits inEurope, for example, in somemarkets
truckmounts are very popular and in some
countries they are not used at all.
“But if we look at the potential, theGDP,
there is potential in biggerEuropean countries
for trailers like France, theNetherlands, Italy,
Spain and theUK.There is always room
for trailers, then,of course,we have other
products.”
So, are the company’s two other products,
comprising a single self-propelled boommodel
and three trackedplatformmodels,part of a
tactic to introduce trailermounts intonew
markets by offering them a product they
already use first?
“That is of course one of our thoughts.
But I believe that if a customer has a good
relationshipwith a supplier it’smuch easier for
them and convenient to extend their portfolio
with that supplier andnot have somany
partners.”
Dinolift is actively exploringNorth
America, although it has not yet decided on
itsmeans of entry. “Typically it’s not a dealer
market,”saysMr Paavolainen. “So, customers
might expect andwantDinoUSA and to deal
with the factory directly. In that sense, to go
therewould be a big effort andwe need to
evaluate the right time.”As a result,he adds, a
dealer partnershipmay be the first logical step.
Since the end of the economic slump in
NorthAmerica, it has become apparent
that niche products like non-insulated big
truckmounts and trackedplatforms are
becomingmore popular as the continent
looks to economical products for specific and
complicated jobs.
“I think the trailermountswouldwork
there as they have good roadswith big, strong
vehicles, and there aremany rental companies
-we have sold some applications toUS for
this purpose but theywere not trailer,”Mr
Paavolainen adds, “Selling is one thing but
we have tohave the aftersales and service
network.”
Product expansion
Asia,on the other hand, is not high on the
manufacturer’s list. “We have sold andhave
a representation there but to be strong there
youneed a suitable product developed for that
market at a suitable price and youneed to be
localised. If we go therewe need to tune our
products to thatmarket.”
While newproducts forAsia are not in
the pipeline, the expansion of its trailer and
boom lines for its targetmarkets certainly
are.There are plans to expand the bottom
and top endswithhigher and lowerworking
heightmodels and specifically therewill be a
new trailer in themid-range launched soon.
It will provide features that othermodels in
Dinolift’s ranges donot yet have,potentially
in the area of diagnostics, control systems and
user functionality.Mr Paavolainen said there
are also plans to incorporate features that will
allow themachines to offermore than just
lifting people.
Mr Paavolainen is remaining tight-
lipped for now but look out for exclusive
information about these newproducts in
Access
International
as andwhen they are launched.
Effective servicewill be amajor focus of
all product design and the company has just
opened a newparts centre at its Loimaa
facility that promises deliverywithin the same
day for orders arriving before 2 pm.
“We have been building great platforms
for 40 years, some of which still are in use.
Anyway, themost important thing for us and
our customers is safety - this iswhat we are
especially proud of overDino’s 40 years and
somethingwherewemake no compromises
when building anddeveloping ourDinos for
the future aswell.”
AI
The 40th celebrations at the Dinolift
factory in Loimaa included a sit down
meal and entertainment.
