Interview with Mikko Torvela, chairman of BETONILUOMA OY

History of the company

There has been effective concrete production in Teuva since 1930s. The actual concrete business was launched the 1950s, the company called Teuvan Sementtivalimo was founded in 1953.

In the 1980s Teuvan Sementtivalimo’s owner decided to promote the sawmill industry and he sold the company to the new owners, including mr. Raimo Luoma. This deal boosted several kinds of improvement in the company and the new variety of production was launched. Mr. Luoma bought the whole company a few years later and the new factory was built in 1989. The production of infrastructure products and ready mixed concrete was stopped at the end of the 1990s, the company started to produce precast concrete elements only.  

The company has continuously developed the production and expanded the factory several times. The first polishing machine was installed in 1999. Nowdays Betoniluoma focuses on wall production, especially facade elements for several kind of buildings. Our expertise lies in sophisticated concrete structures and specialized concrete surfaces.

Can you explain your history with Thibaut machines ?

Our first Thibaut T558 machine was installed in 2009. This machine turned out as a high quality, high capacity and very versatile. We also find Thibaut a trustworthy partner. Because of the good practices, we purchased the smaller machine T500 in 2016 and the new T558 in 2018. 

 

What are your sectors of activity? Who are your customers?

Our main customers are building companies, but we also have individual customers and the public sector.

How many worKpieces do you produce per week, month or year ?

Our production is unique and based on our customer plans. Every piece is a different kind. Because of high variation of products, it is difficult to specify the exact production amount. We do have 12 tilting mould tables and 23 mould tables at the circulation line. On the average day we produce 20-30 precast elements.

What are your best projects and why ?

This is a difficult question, becouse we have had so many great projects especially for the last few years. Our favorites are usually the projects, in which our concrete products play a prominent role.

Is your company international ?  Where are your customers ?

Right now we are working 100% with domestic projects. We are also able to deliver certain products to Sweden.

Your next investment ?

Our new office building will be ready for use in a few months. After we have moved, we will demolish the old office part of the factory building and expand the factory to the new office building. This development work will take around one year from now. We have also some other future plans, but no firm decisions have been made yet.

What type of finishing you do on your product ?

Our production covers a wide range of precast concrete elements. Our products are always unique and according to our customers’ plan. Our expertise lies in distinctive concrete surfaces, like colored concrete and different kind of surface treatments (like polishing)

In your opinion, how is the architectural concrete market ? (Mature ? growing ? declining ?)

I m happy to tell, that architectural concrete is growing strong in Finland. There are a lot of technical benefits with a wide range of high quality aesthetic alternatives. This combination has a high competitiveness and I have a strong belief it also in the future.

Would you recommend THIBAUT to other professionals and why ?

We are pleased to give a good recommendation to the Thibaut company and for the Thibaut Machine, our experiences are really good.

Can you show us some references ?

Since 1959, THIBAUT designs, manufactures and distributes machines for machining all types of natural or agglomerated materials The cie has got 2 lmanufacturing plants in France located in Normandy , 250 kilometers from Paris and one in South West near by Toulouse and employs 140 persons. The service and the sales team include more than 30 persons and since over 30 years the cie exports more than 60 % of its production Every year Thibaut exports its machines in more than 30 countries The machines are meant to work on precast facade element for architectonic concrete , on curbs, manehole, stairs, column, street furniture,… The machining include : polishing, bushhamering, honing, engraving, sawing,drilling, milling.

Website : https://www.betoniluoma.com/