Kuusakoski receives honor

Kuusakoski Group, a Finland-based family-owned company that will celebrate its 110th anniversary in 2024, has been recognized by Finland’s government as a Growth Company.

Sauli Niinistö, president of the Republic of Finland, granted one the country’s 2023 internationalization awards to Kuusakoski Group in late November.

The Kuusakoski Group, founded in 1914, consists of Kuusakoski Oy, a recycling business, and Alteams Oy, an aluminum foundry business. The company says a majority of its revenue comes from exports and international subsidiaries.

In the United States, Kuusakoski Recycling operates two facilities in Illinois—one in Plainfield in suburban Chicago and the other in Peoria—that focus on information technology asset disposition (ITAD) and electronics recycling.

Globally, the company says each year it handles more than 1 million metric tons of recyclables and products, including metals, supplying its outputs as raw materials for the manufacturing industry.

“Kuusakoski has grown throughout the period of industrialization in Finland after the wars, and strong internationalization in the following decades also helped us grow,” says Veikko Kuusakoski, CEO of Kuusakoski Group.

“Now, the driver for growth is our customers’ increased need for low-carbon raw materials. I am particularly proud of our consistent product development and investments in cutting-edge technological know-how throughout our company’s 110-year history.”

The Internationalization Award of the President of the Republic of Finland is bestowed annually in recognition of internationally successful companies or communities. Criteria include competitiveness, the international nature of the business and profitability.

In addition, the company says the evaluation emphasizes the ethical nature of operations, the impact on the development of Finnish competence and employment, as well as foreign investments and the promotion of Finland’s innovation ecosystem.

Kuusakoski says companies’ backgrounds are determined through the same Know Your Customer process through which financial institutions and other companies identify and know their customers as well as the quality and scope of their activities.

In addition to Kuusakoski Group, Finnish Internationalization Awards were granted this year to music technology firm Neural DSP Technologies (as Newcomer Company), engine maker AGCO Group (as Long-term International Investor) and energy technology hub EnergyVaasa (Community Award).

“The awarded companies demonstrate in an excellent way the importance of continuous innovation both in terms of competitive advantage, internationalization and sustainable development,” says Ilona Lundström, chair of the Team Finland Executive Group and director general at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. “In addition to international success, the evaluation emphasized green transition and sustainable development.”