Finnish technology company Epec is building a new smart and sustainable factory in Seinäjoki, Finland. ESF1 (Epec Smart Factory 1) will include a three-story office space and a total of 8,500 m2 of factory space. Epec's headquarters with its R&D, engineering, support and production functions will move to new premises from its current premises on the Seinäjoki campus. In addition to Seinäjoki, the company also has offices in Tampere, Turku and Kuopio in Finland, and Shanghai in China. The construction of ESF1 started in spring 2022 and the new facilities will be operational towards the end of 2023.
"The investment is significant for Epec, enabling the strong growth we are currently experiencing," says Jyri Kylä-Kaila, Managing Director of Epec. "Digitalisation and electrification are rapidly increasing their share of the non-road machinery and commercial vehicle sector, which has opened up new and expanding markets for Epec. With a state-of-the-art factory, we are able to meet growing demand and increasingly stringent customer requirements, for example in terms of manufacturing processes. The Western Finland region has a technology cluster that supports operations, and the Seinäjoki centre of growth provides a good framework for growing operations."
ESF1 will aim for carbon neutrality during its use and will employ sustainable manufacturing processes. 800 solar panels will be installed on the roof of the factory to generate electricity, the common areas will be heated by a geothermal system, the heat generated by the factory will be recovered by efficient needle heat exchangers, and the need for cooling energy will be significantly reduced by an aluminium grille on the office wall. All electricity and heating energy is sourced from renewable resources.
The new factory will initially accommodate 250 employees.
Epec is a system supplier developing and manufacturing electronics and software for non-road mobile machines (NRMM) and commercial vehicles. Epec products include control units, displays, sensors, power distribution units and telematics units. The company's clients include Ponsse, Metso, Sandvik, Husqvarna and Liebherr.
