Doing Healthcare Tech Business in Russia seminar Finpro, FiHTA Helsinki 17.9.2009 Functional Home St. Petersburg Model apartment and environment for the products and technology supporting independent living and business activities in St. Petersburg Timo Ekroos Project Director North Karelia University of Applied Sciences Centre for devices for independent living (ISAK)(
Background of the project Related to the Regional Centre Programme in Joensuu region, eastern Finland Started together with Regional and municipal research centre SPATIA (University of Joensuu) ) on the basis of research related to the welfare based services, actors and markets in St. Petersburg (2004) The project performed in co-operation operation between Finnish companies, The City government of St. Petersburg (Committee on labour and social security), Russian consultant organisation (SME- foundation) and the Russian expert organisations of the welfare sector in St. Petersburg The coordinator of the project has been North Karelia University of Applied Sciences/ISAK
What it is? Functional Home is a model environment and a show room for the products and technology supporting both the possibilities for independent living (customers)) and the business activities of the Finnish and Russian companies in the welfare sector (sellers) Functional Home is located with the Professional Rehabilitation Centre owned by the City of St. Petersburg (Vasilly( Island) Functional Home is aimed as a practical platform to the several groups of experts and customers. It can serve through the model apartment the elderly and disabled people together with their relatives and therapists as well as an environment for the education of the experts or as a showroom for the companies and their partners Functional Home is a concept that will make easier to share the knowledges between the experts and to increase the business activities between Finnish and Russian partners. Functional Home has been planned in co-operation operation with ISAK and the experts of the City of St. Petersburg. The costs of the renovation of the environment were about 300 000 financed by the City of St. Petersburg The investments of the Finnish companies have been the products delivered to the Functional Home and the expertise in planning and implementation of the model environment Half of the Finnish companies come from the county of North Karelia As an example for the concept has been the Functional Home in the City of Helsinki
Functioning Home St. Petersburg Training Environment Office space Model apartment Exhibition area Storage Functional Home environment (totally about 400 sqm) and exhibition area is built in connection with St. Petersburg professional rehabilitation centre (PRC). The area has been planned in a Finnish/Russian collaboration and the apartment will be stocked by using the Finnish technology and products. The reconstruction work has been Initiated and completed in April 2009
Companies involved in the model apartment: Abloy Ltd (door automatics and devices for door environments) Fenestra Ltd (doors) Respecta Ltd (assistive devices and technology, lifting system) Kontiopuu Ltd (adjustable kitchen furniture/counters) Kiteen Huonekalutehdas Ltd (furnitures( for living room and bedroom) FinnProto Ltd (support apparatus) Miratel Ltd (internet( based security phone/emergency call system) Väinö Korpinen Ltd (sanitary area fixtures and furniture) Innohome Ltd (fire and water guards) Innojok Ltd (lighting plan) Martela Ltd (dining furniture, table and chairs) Savo & Safera Ltd (safety cooker hood) Buying Service Ltd (Svensson( Markspelle interior textiles) Artic-kaihdin Ltd (remote controlled blinds and courtains) Spin Ltd, St. Petersburg (safety floor coating)
Functional Home St. Petersburg opened with the formal seremonies 16:th of April 2009 by the presence of the representatives of the City government, Finnish companies and wide group of the guests of honour and experts from Finland and Russia.
The critical elements in the process? To find the essential partners and the relative interests and benefits between the actors To identify the needs and possibilities related to the line of business and customers To create the confidence based co-operation operation between the companies and other organisations across the border To adapt the products and solutions with the cultural environment in Russia To plan sustainable and persevering activities together with the actors involved
The perspectives for the future The commitment related to the exhibition in the Functional Home between the Finnish companies and PRC- centre will reach until the end of 2013 The activities of the Functional Home have been started with several seminars and presentations for the Russian experts The next steps with the Finnish companies are under the progress The baseline is to support the individual needs and activations of the Finnish companies in St. Petersburg and Russian markets using variously the existing Functional Home concept and co-opetartion opetartion Functional Home will also offer the possibilities for the other Finnish companies to get their products in the separate exhibition in context of the model apartment
More information Timo Ekroos Project Director North Karelia Polytechnic/ Centre for devices for independent living (ISAK)( Tel. + 358 40 510 1241 timo.ekroos@pkamk.fi www.pkamk.fi, www.isak.fi