An expert in concrete construction strengthens its foothold in wood construction
The Finnish Peikko Group is making big investments in innovations in wood construction. The company aims to create solutions for hybrid construction and help its customers reduce CO2 emissions from construction.
Founded in the 60s, Peikko Group is an innovative concrete construction specialist known globally as a leader in its industry. However, few people know that the family business specialising in intermediate-floor solutions and joining technology has been increasing its presence in wood construction for a decade. Of the annual turnover of approximately EUR 300 million, almost EUR 20 million is currently generated by wood construction projects, primarily ones where CLT and glulam beams are used.
The company invests approximately EUR 5 million annually in product development. Among other things, the people at Peikko are constantly thinking about how to make wood construction as enjoyable and easy for architects as concrete construction.
“We understand the growing popularity of wood construction and want to offer our customers options to make it a viable option. Our goal is to create solutions for hybrid construction that serve the architecture,” says Topi Paananen, CEO of Peikko Group Oy.
According to Paananen, the development of modern wood construction has been relatively slow, but we have finally moved to a stage where the work is continuous and the size of the projects has increased. Naturally, Peikko wants to be part of this.
“Improving and increasing timber construction is important from the point of view of our organisation and customers alike. By delivering solutions for wood construction, we help our customers reduce CO2 emissions from construction. And the current wood construction projects are great projects to be involved in,” says Paananen with a smile.
Something old, something new
Peikko’s wooden joints were also used in the structures of Versowood’s wooden head office Versola. Sweco was responsible for the structural design of the project, with which Peikko had recently carried out a large-scale wooden school project in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Since the projects involved similar components, the experience gained could be utilised for Versola.
“The site used both beam and column joints. The ROOCO® column shoe could be used as such, but some product development was required for the concealed corbel connections,” says Vuokko Pussinen, Project Manager at Peikko.
Based on the load data and the architectural plans, the existing PCs® corbel solution was customised together with Sweco and Versowood. Pussinen says that dimensioning, adjusting the corbels and implementing the fastening required a lot of work, but the parts manufactured at the Lahti factory were finally ready for installation.
“The connectors were installed on beams at Versowood’s Hartola unit. Sometimes I delivered them in the back of my car while driving past the glulam factory on my way to the summer cottage,” says Pussinen with a laugh.
The ready-to-install beams were delivered from Hartola to the construction site, where the parts effortlessly snapped into place. According to Pussinen, based on the feedback received from the site, the new corbel connection, which has yet to be named, will be made a standard product in Peikko’s range of solutions.
With Finnish determination and unwillingness to give up
Even though Versola is ready, Peikko’s and Versowood’s cooperation has not ended. The companies reaching for the global market all the way from Päijät-Häme together support the Yrityspeli concept aimed at children and young people as well as engage in dialogue about the various elements of their own business operations. According to CEO Paananen, this is necessary in order to discover best practices.
“In general, it’s good to have friends in business. In addition to having a Board of Directors from outside of the family, it’s important for the company owner to accept that they may not know everything best. Our operations have many of the same elements; things that are not industry-specific. An environment where these things can be discussed in confidence is a fruitful way of developing the company.”
The operating environment of companies has changed from an ultra-global one to a more regional one, which has also forced Peikko to consider where and how they want to be involved. Paananen lists four construction trends that will determine future success: the increasing growth in vertical construction due to urbanisation, the reduction in skilled labour, which is increasingly moving construction towards factory manufacturing, digitalisation and sustainability.
“Peikko is already good at all of these. Urban construction and off-site construction solutions are among our core expertise, and managing projects with the help of data modelling is part of everyday life. I also believe that construction is increasingly moving towards a “local food” approach, where materials are sourced locally to manage emissions and logistical problems. We already have solutions for this, as our factories are located around the world. Some of our products are also recyclable.”
Paananen considers entrepreneurship to be inspiring and praises the cooperation between Finnish society and companies as effective compared to many other countries. Although there are certainly limitations and it is impossible to avoid problems, the most important thing is one’s own contribution.
“Every time and every place has its own challenges. You just have to believe in your own idea, move forward and work towards the world you want to build. Entrepreneurship is a long game, and you need perspective for it. It hasn’t always been easy for us either, but we’ve made it through everything with Finnish determination and unwillingness to give up.
Text: Johanna Autio
The article was originally published in Version magazine 1/2026