Kuusamo Log Houses celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. The world events coloured the anniversary year, but what does everyday life at Kuusamo Log Houses look like at the moment?
Kuusamo Log House’s Business Director Antti Hokkinen has noticed that sales have increased slightly with the arrival of spring, which is a usual development.
“With the arrival of spring, there have been positive signs in the market, at least from our point of view. Housing-related dreams and needs have not completely disappeared. In other words, dreaming and planning still take place—the pace of implementation has just slowed down compared to before,” Hokkinen concludes.
“People are slowly adapting to the new situation, and we believe that the market will also recover at some point.”
At Kuusamo Log Houses, it has been noticed that the increase in costs guides consumers’ behaviour, and cost awareness has also clearly increased overall.
“People are now ready to be flexible when it comes to their greatest wishes, and now they focus, for example, in terms of space utilisation, on getting the square metres that are really needed.”
Stubbornly focused on core expertise
Hokkinen describes the time as challenging, and Kuusamo Log Houses has also had to take a critical look at the company’s operations.
“We reacted to the change in the market situation earlier with a bit of an advantage, thanks to which we survived last year financially with dry feet. When changes in the world situation make the market fluctuate up and down, it is particularly important to find your own path.”
The guidelines for Kuusamo Log Houses’ path were set out 25 years ago when the company was founded. Since then, operations have been moderate and considerate.
“Kuusamo Log Houses has never set out to reach for the stars, but the company has tried to do profitable business with moderate risk-taking. Thanks to these choices, the company’s financial matters are in order, and the economy is balanced.”
Throughout its history, Kuusamo Log Houses has focused on its core expertise and has even stubbornly held on to its own strengths. Now, Kuusamo Log Houses has a strong belief that, despite the challenging times, we are dealing with the right type of operations.
“In these times, it is highlighted how Kuusamo Log Houses has always acted with moderation and consideration. We have not pursued growth or new business models by force,” Hokkinen describes.
Own design team for the customer
As a strength of Kuusamo Log Houses, Hokkinen points out its committed staff and that the company’s management considers it to be of paramount importance to keep the staff together.
“We work hard as a team, and the goal is to still be here ten years from now, still building log houses.”
One of the teams with strong experience and skills is Kuusamo Log Houses’ own design team. Design expertise is really needed in-house because no two products leaving the Kuusamo Log Houses factory are exactly the same.
“Customers always have their own wishes and views, and that’s why every product is unique. Kuusamo Log Houses has always been a flexible partner and ready to find solutions to fulfil customers’ wishes.”
The team’s turnover has been relatively low, and some of the design team members have been with Kuusamo Log Houses since the very beginning. According to Hokkinen, the strongest aspects of the company’s own design team are speed and flexibility, in addition to the already mentioned solid experience.
“Therefore, we always have a certain operational reliability and capacity when it comes to design. When the design is in your own hands, it is easier to manage and more cost-effective,” says Hokkinen.
Even an apartment building produced from the production lines
Kuusamo Log Houses has invested in its production over the last ten years, and now everything necessary is within its own plot.
“We have versatile, operational production lines and facilities that are in good condition. There are no investment needs at the moment since our equipment is in good condition and we can meet consumers’ needs.”
Kuusamo Log Houses’ operations are paced by the seasons, and, for example, the winter season is often quieter. Transactions are now being made for the current year and next year, but ten years ago, trade was carried out at a much more rapid pace.
“Delivery was often already three months after the transaction. Now, it may take half a year from order to delivery, which means that after the summer, we will start booking projects for the coming year. Of course, there are differences per municipality and city, for example, when it comes to obtaining building permits,” says Hokkinen, who considers the current pace of delivery more realistic and better.
Kuusamo Log Houses has delivered a log frame to the city centre of Kuusamo, where a log apartment building was being built last winter. The apartment building project is one of the biggest projects in the entire company’s history.
“The apartment building project is proof that we can manage even a bigger project, so our sauna, cottage and detached house customers have nothing to worry about,” says Hokkinen, who is happy about the public sector project.
