The Botnia Project - Vaasa, Finland

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Located south of the 64th parallel in Scandinavia, where the Gulf of Bothnia is at its narrowest, is the Botnia Region - a Finnish-Swedish convergence point with links to the entire world. Established international contacts exist not only to Scandinavia, but also to Europe, to China and to Japan. Pioneering this cross-border co-operation has been the Kvarken Council. The Botnia Region encompasses large export companies, innovative small businesses, well-known universities and other institutes of higher education, as well as dynamic local government authorities. The Region is home to almost 800,000 inhabitants.

Environmentally-aware production from hi-tech export companies
As a result of single-minded research and product development, Waartsilaa Diesel in Vaasa is the world's leading manufacturer of diesel and gas-turbine motors for ships and power stations. Environmentally-friendly motors combining quality, reliability, low emissions and low fuel consumption are developed at its modern diesel laboratory. The freedom to choose the fuel one prefers is a quality much appreciated today. Waartsilaa is a pioneer in the development of environmentally-friendly motors which can run on various fuels, especially gas. Sulphur emissions, for example, are now minimal. With its Vaasa 32 turbine, Waartsilaa Diesel has lowered sulphur dioxide emissions to below a level long considered to be impossible.

ABB in Vaasa
ABB in Vaasa is a major supplier of electro-technical products and services to the global market. Over 40% of the whole ABB's electrical transmission product line is environmentally designed. Efficiency in electrical transmission and electrical consumption are key areas in the product development. The multinational ABB has one of its eight research centres (ABB Corporate Research) in Vaasa, along with a special technical production laboratory. Worth special mention is the fact that ABB Motors is one of the world's largest suppliers of wind-power generators.

MoDo in Örnsköldsvik
has invested considerable resources in the development of environmentally-friendly technology for the manufacture of wood pulp, not least with the aim of reducing the use of chlorine. As a result of dedicated innovation, they have developed the world's first pulp mill with a closed system for pulp bleaching. Thanks to this development, there are no longer any emissions from the bleaching plant.

Intensive development work is undertaken at the three Hägglunds companies in Örnsköldsvik. The aim of the product development is to simplify production processes, reduce weight and increase product life and operational reliability. Hägglunds Drives manufactures hydraulic drive unitsand MacGregor Hägglunds manufactures ship cranes, while Hägglunds Vehicles is a leading manufacturer of caterpillar trucks and tanks. In addition to their military usage, caterpillar trucks have a wide civilian application used in difficult terrain.

Municipalities active in international education and research

Vaasa is the international centre and face to the west of the Finnish Province of Ostrobothnia; Örnsköldsvik is the industrial centre of the Swedish County of Vaasterbotten; and Umeaa is the dynamic centre of the Swedish county of Västerbotten.

The region boasts wide-ranging educational and research activities in many fields and in many languages. The University of Vaasa is predominantly economics-oriented, the University of Umeaa is well known for its environmental research and Mitthögskola University in Örnsköldsvik is largely engineering based. Education within the areas of economics and business administration, technology, industrial design, forestry and agriculture, languages and the social sciences are well represented throughout the Botnia region.

A distinctive feature of the Botnia Region is the number of export companies which are world leaders within the engineering and timber industries. Industry and research establisments co-operate and create new innovative companies with the whole world as their market.

Environmental awareness in the region manifests itself in multi-disciplinary environmental research and development. Local authorities and companies co-operate on environmental questions. Numerous networks which have a developmental area have been set up and are expecting global success. Innowest (the Center of Expertise for Western Finland) in Vaasa promotes know-how in areas of energy technology. The conversion of household waste into fuel for energy production and new technology within the energy industry are the key areas. In Örnsköldsvik, research is being carried out into sources of biofuel. The use of ribbon grass (energy grass) in energy production and ethanol as a substitute for petrol and diesel have both been studied. The wide spectrum of environmental research in universities and within industry is brought together in a network co-ordinated by the CMF (Centre for Environmental Science Research) in Umeaa. FOA 4, the Swedish Armed Forces' Research Establishment in Umeaa carries out research within the areas of protection against nuclear, biological and chemical weapons as well as environmental safety for total defence. For more information, please contact us in either Finland or Sweden.