Spending a few months by the Aura river, and especially at the Turku port, have made me look at Turku with different eyes. In addition to lovely people, beautiful landscapes and a compact city, I have realized how unique Turku is as a maritime town. The port handles more and more passengers and cargo. The shipyard generates employment to a network of suppliers. Turku area is a location where ships are not only built, but also demolished. We hope the new demolishing project turns into sustainable business in long term. The project is a great example of joining forces – a shipyard, a recycling company and a cleaning services supplier together with ourselves. Besides maritime business, Turku is a hub for education and science. This guarantees that we have a perspective into the future, and there will be enough skilled employees available for local maritime companies.
Turku truly is a great example how cooperation benefits both individual companies, and the maritime cluster as a whole. This is exactly what we need in the Finnish shipping: there are no space resources to be wasted in protecting your own business and competing with each other. The toughest competitors for the Finnish shipping and the maritime cluster come from abroad – so let’s not waste energy to domestic competition!
On behalf of the whole Meriaura team I wish you all happy autumn!
Elisa Mikkolainen
Managing Director of Meriaura Group
