Endurance gets Vuoden-Sisu for Suomen Akut

The Rovaniemi Entrepreneurs’ Association (Rovaniemen Yrittäjät) on November 1 bestowed the Vuoden-Sisu Award upon Suomen Akut Oy. The owner and chief executive officer of the company, Kari Rautionaho also won the distinction of being one of the five businesspersons awarded by the association as Entrepreneurs of the Year.

The awardees are Jouko Rajanen of Choco Deli, Kari Rautionaho of Suomen Akut Oy, Valentijn of Kontiovaaran Husky (Bearhill Husky), Petri Teppo of Studio Artica, and Mikko Riskilä of Lohiapaja Oy.

In his reaction to the awards, Rautionaho said ‘Vuoden-Sisu’ is his ‘happiness’. He described his efforts to continue with the business after a devastative fire razed the company premises to the ground in April 2019. “I am surprised and happy. The fire in April was a hard hit to us but we managed to get our business back up and running quickly and everything is going smoothly now. The same as the award’s name ‘Sisu’ is what got us through, and we didn’t give up,” He told the Daily Finland.

Rautionaho said SuomenAkut Oy, a local family business, specialized in import and marketing of batteries, cells and accessories, was founded in 1958. “We have stores in Tampere, Vantaa, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Savonlinna, and Rovaniemi, and we have in total 16 employees.” We also have a 24/7 web shop at www.suomenakut.fi,” he said, adding that their main strengths are their wide range of products and good professional services.

Rautionaho said they import the goods themselves so that they can offer customers a very competitive price range and good quality products.

He said, “I have worked in the company for more than 20 years and I bought the business from my father in 2012. Since then I have worked as the owner and CEO and have increased our business every year. Our goal is to keep growing at an ever-increasing speed in the future as well.”

Responding to a query regarding the secret of his success as an entrepreneur, he said constant business development in order to keep up with the changing market, courage to embrace new things and take chances when needed and finally a skilled group of best-quality employees are the reasons behind the success.

Rovaniemi Entrepreneurs’ Association Chairman Esko Määttä said, “Suomen Akut has been awarded as ‘Vuoden-Sisu’ where ‘Sisu’ stands for stamina, endurance, fearlessness, and grit. This is what Suomen Akut has, as they faced a terrible disaster, as their business venue in Rovaniemi was completely burnt down in April 2019.

“The entrepreneur Kari Rautionaho, together with his team, managed to recover all the damage, and despite the misfortune, their business, they strived with a true entrepreneurial mindset. Many would have given up, but they took this as a challenge–and this they did. Despite this, they have opened a new, temporary venue in Rovaniemi,” Määttä said, adding that over the past years, they have expanded to five other cities in Finland: Kuopio, Tampere, Vantaa, Jyväskylä, and Savonlinna. Still, the business is based here in Rovaniemi.

Määttä believes, “Recognition of the hard work the entrepreneurs do in our area has an effect of boosting their work and quality of their products. It is an award carefully chosen to give, and the members know that. It is a gesture from the community of entrepreneurs and we as well as the local public joyfully spread the word of Rovaniemi area’s talented entrepreneurship!