Elematic looks for growth – Wall lines and China in focus

New opportunities are also emerging. In 2022, we started the renewal of our wall technology – equipment, automation, and software, and starting new partnerships. Our aim is to clearly strengthen our market position in wall technology – and we delivered more than 100 circulation lines over the years.

A big event for us has been the opening of the China operations. The company Elematic Teeyer is located in Changzhou close to Shanghai. It has two focus areas: to become the leading provider of precast technology on the Chinese market and supply molds and special steel structures to the global market. The company was officially established at the end of 2022 and now the operations are up and running, including the manufacturing operations.

To safeguard a fast ramp-up, there are four expats from Elematic Finland leading the new company and help to build up a high-quality company.

In the previous issue, I emphasized the opportunity that precast is offering compared to cast-in-situ in construction. The trend is even stronger today and will offer new opportunities for precasters.

We want to be forerunners in sustainability and support precast factories and their partners and customers to take steps forward in sustainability as well, for example by calculating the precast factory CO₂ emissions and manufacturing products with lower carbon footprint than products manufactured with traditional methods. Hollow core slabs can cut carbon emissions by 45% from cast-in-situ by using less steel and cement, and automation and production optimization can decrease material usage in precast significantly.

In 2022, we took two major steps forward in sustainability: we began to map our greenhouse gas emissions in Elematic Oyj and received the ISO 14001 environmental management system certification. We also analyzed Elematic’s and our stakeholders’ sustainability interests and prioritized the most material sustainability topics and themes for the company. We released Elematic’s actions and efforts in the first ESG report this spring. You can read more about the process from this magazine.

The pressure towards sustainability from regulation and financing is increasing. More and more investors demand emission evaluations and declarations from building projects. It is better to start ESG work well in advance, as precast has a lot to give in cutting the construction industry CO₂ emissions. Alternative raw materials for cement are already in the market, and fossil-free steel is already available. The production is still marginal, and demand exceeds availability, but costs are reasonable. What is needed are regulations to support more sustainable building and courage to invest in new technologies.

Although inflation accompanied with high interest rates will affect all of our business in short-term, there are big opportunities following, e.g., rebuild of Ukraine. We can hope for the best and keep looking forward.