A Tough Audience!
”What does one need to start a company?” This was one of the first questions I was asked by a class of 9th graders, who visited our offices in Mikkeli last week.
The visit was a combined class of English and Geography, to which the students had done some pre-assignments involving studying our company’s website and brochures as well as maps and even special vocabulary. The whole visit was held in English. Another input to the visit was that the students had just finished their introduction to working life period, during which they worked in a local company or organisation of their choice for two weeks. Those two weeks had clearly raised some questions about studies, working and companies that we tried to find some answers to, together.
To go back to that question of what is needed to start a company, we came to a conclusion that the most important is to have the idea. There needs to be a purpose for the company to exist. Another important thing we found was that the idea should be able to meet a demand, find people who can benefit of that idea. Answering to the students what Savcor’s idea is went quite easily, actually. The very initial idea was to efficiently stop and prevent corrosion of which pulp and paper mills were suffering. That idea led us to face new situations for over 30 years now, and as a result problem-solving has become a part of our daily work. Helping our customers to solve their problems has evolved to be the new idea for us.
After trying to answer all the tricky questions as well as I can, I have to say what a group of clever minds!
Savcor has a history of cooperating with local schools in Mikkeli through encouraging youngsters to study languages, mathematics, chemistry and physics for example. This is one of our favourite ways to give back to the community.
Katri Liekklä, Manager, Communications & Marketing, Savcor Forest Oy
16 November 2011 (by Katri Liekkilä)
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