References - Grano — 10.10.2023 — min read time
Finnish bicycle manufacturer Tunturi decided to have new facilities built for the company. Grano was involved in the project from the get-go and implemented the branding of the new facilities, including illuminated advertisements, signs, decals and wallpapers – and an interesting smart film solution for a meeting room.
Tunturi is a Finnish bicycle manufacturer known especially for its legendary “Pappa-Tunturi” mopeds from the 1960s and 70s and high-quality bicycles. Today, the company designs and manufactures bicycles under the brands Tunturi and Nishiki and is also the Finnish importer of the bicycle brands of its parent company Accell Group (Haibike, Lapierre, Ghost, Winora & Batavus).
In summer 2022, Tunturi moved to entirely new warehouse and business facilities that the company had built in Turku. Tunturi was assisted in the branding of the new facilities by Grano, which provided the company with illuminated advertisements; decals, signs and wallpapers for the entrance and facilities; and a smart film solution for a meeting room that guarantees peace and privacy.
According to Päivi Oksanen from Tunturi, the new facilities were built close to the company’s previous warehouse, so the actual distance moved was not very long. But why move at all, then?
“Our old facilities were simply no longer sufficient for us, and Tunturi needed to increase its storage capacity and modernise its offices. We wanted more space, comfort and brightness,” Oksanen explains.
Her working partner in the modernisation project was Katja Vesa, who adds that Tunturi shared their previous facilities with another company.
“We wanted to build facilities for Tunturi that reflect our values and that also take sustainability into account right from the construction phase. In fact, we ended up getting a BREEAM rating of “Very good” for the property. The new environmentally friendly building allows us to define exactly how we use the facilities and what the surrounding outdoor areas look like, for example. We have flower meadows instead of lawn on the plot, and we are also planning on building beehives and birdhouses, among other things. We wanted to make the area around the building as environmentally sustainable as possible,” Vesa says.
“The new facilities were tailor-made to our specifications. We left all our old baggage behind,” Oksanen adds.
Illuminated advertisements, a meeting room featuring smart film, decals, wallpapers, signposts and signs
Even before the new facilities project, Grano had been working together with Tunturi for a long time, providing the company with various types of print products. Tunturi also make use of Grano’s EMMI Digital Asset Management in their marketing to manage product images and catalogues.
“The new facilities project started in December 2021 when Tunturi contacted us about decals for the facilities. The project ended up expanding well beyond this initial need and lasting about six months in total,” says Key Account Manager Minna Tarvola from Grano.
According to Tarvola, the first step of the project was to implement illuminated advertisements for the building; the branding of the indoor facilities came later. The largest of the illuminated advertisements is over ten metres long and very eye-catching. “From there, the project expanded to other aspects of the new facilities largely based on practical needs,” says Tarvola.
She also says that Tunturi was assisted in the design and implementation of the various decals by Kimmo Koivukangas from Grano’s marketing production services. As one example of this, Tarvola mentions the large glass surfaces of the entrance to the building, which were adorned with cycling-themed decals to provide a pleasant atmosphere.
“I love the entrance. We have received a lot of feedback about how nice it looks,” says Katja Vesa.
Grano also implemented cycling and nature-themed wallpapers for the meeting facilities of Tunturi’s new offices and all the signs and signposts needed throughout the building.
One of the meeting rooms is particularly interesting, as its glass walls are partly covered in SONTE smart film. The operation of the opal-coloured smart film is based on the application of current through liquid crystals in the film. When “open,” the thin smart film is transparent, but it can be turned opaque at the touch of a button.
The smart film is very thin and practically invisible once installed, making it ideal for providing privacy in glass-walled rooms and spaces. At the touch of a single button, the film turns transparent once again, providing the room with the feeling of space offered by the glass elements.
“We decided to use smart film in one of our meeting rooms, as it was located right next to the entrance and would thus have people walking past it constantly. The tops and bottoms of the glass walls were left uncovered, but the smart film in the middle provides privacy when necessary,” explains Päivi Oksanen.
“We did not want any curtains because the themes of our new business facilities are modernity and freshness. We wanted all the branding solutions to align with these themes,” Katja Vesa adds.
And what have people at the company thought about the smart film solution after using it?
“I must confess that the smart film on the wall of the meeting room is more often opaque than transparent,” Vesa says and continues: “The sense of privacy provided by the smart film is nice even if you are not displaying anything confidential on the screen. We have been very happy with the solution.”
“Beautifully implemented, fresh facilities”
Tunturi held an open doors day in August 2022, providing the company’s customers and stakeholders with an opportunity to see the new facilities first-hand.
“Based on what I heard after the open doors day, a lot of people told us that we have really fresh facilities here and praised the beautiful branding,” Oksanen says.
During the open doors day, some of the rooms were still waiting for their finishing touches. One of these was the corridor space between the office facilities and the warehouse, the walls of which were adorned with paintings from Tunturi’s previous facilities.
“We started thinking that the corridor could do with something more – something cycling-themed, to make it less stark and dreary,” Oksanen says.
In the end, the printed aluminium composite boards now attached to the walls of the corridor were some of the last large surfaces that Grano implemented for Tunturi’s new facilities. “Overall, the feedback that we have received about our new facilities has been extremely positive,” Oksanen praises.
Following the opening of the new facilities, Tunturi also had another major event to focus on in the autumn: the celebration of the company’s 100th anniversary. “The facilities also garnered praise from the international guests and the members of Tunturi’s board visiting us for the anniversary,” Oksanen continues. Katja Vesa agrees with her colleague and says that all visitors without exception have praised the new facilities for being pleasant and beautiful.
Effective dialogue right from the first contact
According to Päivi Oksanen, working with Grano has been a pleasure right from the first contact.
“Minna and I established a good rapport right from the get-go. Whatever I tell her, it seems like she gets what we are after and in need of,” Oksanen says.
“I remember when we were choosing decals to add between rooms and the hallway walls. Grano immediately came up with a proposal that felt right for our company,” says Katja Vesa and continues: “I think that we have received very good suggestions and that Grano really understand our needs – what we wanted our facilities to look like. They have been extremely easy to work with.”
“Minna also visited us in person during the project to see what the implemented solutions looked like,” Vesa says and adds that she does not take this kind of approach for granted. “She was involved in the project until the end instead of just fading into the background after the deal was struck. We are very grateful for that as well.”
In Oksanen and Vesa’s opinion, the best things about Grano are their extensive experience, flexibility and convenience. They also consider Grano's brand to be very strong and well-known. Their decision to partner with Grano was also influenced by the fact that Grano was able to provide Tunturi with everything that the company needed as a “one-stop shop.”
“Grano is a very approachable company. Whatever we have needed, they have always provided a solution,” Oksanen says.
“Our warmest thanks to Minna and the entire Grano team!” Oksanen and Vesa say at the end of the interview, adding that they should not forget to thank the pleasant and competent installation team as well.
“Grano is a very approachable company. Whatever we have needed, they have always provided a solution.”
Päivi Oksanen
Financial Secretary, Tunturi Oy
