VILPE Sense smart roof.

Innovative VILPE is making roofing accessories great again

Vilpe

www.vilpe.com

Business sector: Ventilation & roofing accessories

Turnover: 27.7 MEUR

Employees: 180

Export: 57%

Majos markets: Scandinavia, Poland, The Baltics

VILPE is a roofing accessories company that is not content with being just another company selling roofing accessories. The enterprise is an industry innovator that is taking the market by storm, carving its own happy upward path in the world of solemn B2B companies. VILPE was born around a product concept in the 1970s and has since been innovating and selling roofing accessories that make buildings healthier – and now also smarter. Its product range includes, for example, ventilation equipment and air terminal units, pass-throughs, roof hatches and fasteners. Most recently, the company has launched smart roofs.

VILPE has grown by 40% in just two years, with no end in sight to this growth. In 2021, the President and also the Prime Minister of the Republic of Finland awarded VILPE’s founder Eero Saikkonen an honorary title in recognition of his life’s work in the construction industry. In 2022, the company received the National Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and its smart-roof innovation was selected as one of the FinnBuild Highlights. It is also worth mentioning VILPE’s TikTok channel, with videos that have gone viral with over 50 million views. This popularity has attracted job applications from all over the world. Where on earth does this growth and success come from, CEO Tuomas Saikkonen?

Tuomas Saikkonen, CEO of Vilpe.
“We never seek quick wins. The kind of culture we have has created a real cycle of positivity”, says Tuomas Saikkonen.

“We have taken positive baby steps, which have always led to good new things. We never seek quick wins. The kind of culture we have has created a real cycle of positivity”, he says.

The latest innovation is the VILPE Sense smart roof, which ensures healthy roof structures and saves a fortune in maintenance costs. A smart roof is achieved by installing sensors in the insulation layer, and also on the outside of the roof to gauge the ambient conditions. They measure humidity and temperature, which allows the structures’ ventilation to be adjusted optimally. When even the smallest roof leakage triggers an alert, the problem can be fixed before major moisture damage occurs. This radically reduces the lifetime maintenance costs of the building.

“The energy efficiency of the property is also improved. The insulation layer is at its most effective come winter when it is as dry as possible”, Saikkonen explains.

The data collected by the sensors provides an accurate humidity map.

“A humidity map can be drawn of the roof to show exactly which part of a large roof needs maintenance.”

Thanks to its growth, VILPE is expanding its operations from the Vaasa region to Greater Helsinki, where it will build a new office for logistics and product development.

Vilpe

www.vilpe.com

Business sector: Ventilation & roofing accessories

Turnover: 27.7 MEUR

Employees: 180

Export: 57%

Majos markets: Scandinavia, Poland, The Baltics