Interview With Etteplan’s CEO Juha Näkki

For those who may not be familiar with Etteplan, could you tell us a bit more about your operational business, what you do, and the markets you address?

We are a technology service company with a clear focus on industrial customers. We operate across several industrial segments and provide services within engineering, software and embedded solutions, as well as technical documentation, together with a broad range of complementary services around these areas.

Today, we have close to 4,000 employees and operate in eight countries. Our core markets are in Northern Europe, primarily Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, but we also have a strong presence in China. In addition, we have a smaller operation in the US related to our technical communication software business.

Have you seen a broader slowdown in customer demand during the first quarter, and to what extent do you believe this is driven by geopolitical uncertainty?

The geopolitical situation is clearly impacting our customers today. The main effect is that the uncertainty is causing many customers to delay or prolong their decision-making processes regarding investments and project starts.

Since our business is closely tied to customer investments, this directly impacts demand. As a result, we saw a clear slowdown during the first quarter.

What role do acquisitions play in Etteplan’s strategy going forward, and how does the current market environment affect future plans?

Acquisitions have historically played an important role in our growth journey and will continue to be a central part of our strategy going forward. Our industry remains relatively fragmented, where consolidation continues as larger players acquire smaller specialist companies.

For us, acquisitions are both about strengthening our market position and adding new capabilities and technologies that allow us to create even more value for our customers.

At the same time, we are more selective today than we have been in the past. The rapid pace of technological development, especially within AI, makes it increasingly important to carefully evaluate which companies and competencies are strategically right for the future.

Given your goodwill position, how important is it for Etteplan to prioritize operational execution and organic growth versus acquisitions in the current market environment?

It is always important to prioritize operational execution and the organic business. At the same time, we believe that our balance sheet remains strong, even though profitability has been under some pressure recently.

That means we still have the capacity to pursue acquisitions while simultaneously focusing on strengthening organic growth and operational efficiency.

The defence sector appears to be becoming increasingly important. Do you see this as a structural shift in Etteplan’s customer mix?

We clearly see the customer mix changing, and this is also something we are actively driving. Defence remains one part of our diversified customer base, but it is a clear example of where we focus: industries where demand is strong and where we see long-term structural growth.

The defence segment has grown rapidly for us over the past few years, supported by higher defence spending, particularly in Europe. In the first quarter, defence-related customers accounted for approximately 9 % of revenue, compared to around 3 % just a few years ago. We continue to see significant potential within the sector and therefore intend to keep investing in and developing our relationships with defence customers.

In your latest quarterly earnings report, you mentioned continued investments in your AI offering. To what extent did these investments impact margin development in the first quarter, and when do you expect them to start contributing positively to margins?

We have not disclosed the exact size of these investments, but they are currently impacting the cost base. We are actively investing in building our own AI-driven solutions and ways of working on top of commercial AI technologies.

We view these as strategically important investments for the future. In the short term, they weigh on margins, but over time our ambition is for these AI initiatives to contribute to both higher efficiency and improved profitability.

How much of the growth in AI-driven services comes from entirely new AI offerings versus integrating AI into existing customer deliveries?

A large part of the development is about integrating AI into our existing deliveries and processes in order to create greater efficiency and more value for customers. At the same time, we are also developing entirely new AI-driven solutions where we see potential to create new business opportunities going forward.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for Etteplan going forward?

The biggest challenge is likely the continued market uncertainty and how the geopolitical situation affects customers’ willingness to invest and make decisions.

At the same time, our industry is undergoing rapid technological change, where AI and new digital solutions are reshaping both working methods and customer expectations. Continuing to develop the right competencies and adapting our offering to this development will therefore be crucial going forward.

Where do you see Etteplan over the next two years, and what is the strategy to get there?

In two years, we aim to be a more AI-driven technology service partner, with a larger share of AI-driven service solutions and managed services. This development is guided by our strategy, which focuses on integrating AI across our offering. I see us further strengthening our position within advanced industrial technology services and solutions.

The strategy continues to be based on a combination of organic growth and acquisitions. We aim to further develop our solution-based offerings, strengthen our position in attractive segments such as defence, and continue investing in new technologies and competencies to create long-term customer value.

Lastly, could you mention three reasons why you believe Etteplan is an interesting investment today?

First, we have a strong position within advanced industrial technology services, where we combine specialist expertise, technological know-how and close customer relationships.

Second, we have exposure to several attractive long-term growth areas, such as defence, industrial digitalization and AI-driven solutions.

Finally, we have a proven ability to combine organic growth with strategic acquisitions, which historically has been an important driver behind our development and market position.