Few innovation ecosystems can reasonably claim to have as long and impactful history in the semiconductor and quantum field as Espoo, Finland. And perhaps even fewer companies can say it was there when things started to take off in the modern period of the semiconductor revolution. One company that can is Okmetic, the advanced silicon wafer manufacturer that turns 40 in 2025.
During the last half a century, Espoo's innovation community has manufactured the world's first super-refrigerator, built one of the first semiconductor clusters, and opened the largest cleanroom in the Nordic countries. Now, the community is building Kvanttinova, Finland's new microelectronics and quantum technology RDI hub, which will boost the development of the Finnish and European semiconductor industries. After all the advancements and among many new world-class semiconductor companies, Okmetic is still one of the leading Finnish players in the semiconductor field.
We sat down with Heikki Holmberg, Research and Development Director at Okmetic, to discuss how Okmetic's customer and R&D focus and being in Espoo's innovation ecosystem have enabled the company to succeed globally.
Okmetic tailors semiconductor solutions to the customer's needs
Wherever you go, you can find devices that contain Okmetic's silicon wafers: smartphones, mobile devices, cars, medical applications, power devices, and numerous other solutions. After four decades, Okmetic still stands out in global competition due to its heavy focus on doing R&D with its customers and its ability to tailor solutions to customers' needs — before ramping the process up to full-scale production. This approach allows the company to fabricate solutions that its competitors cannot.
"Few companies tailor wafers to their customers. Larger companies do not do it. Smaller companies may do tailoring but cannot produce the volumes customers want. Okmetic is big enough to do mass production but small enough to be able to tailor products to the customers' needs," Holmberg says.
The company specialises in 6 and 8 inch silicon wafers used in MEMS and sensors, power electronics, and RF filters and devices, and its customers include leading companies in all three fields. Okmetic is one of the few 200mm silicon fabrication companies in Europe and the only European company to invest 400 million euros in new 200mm factory capacity in Europe. In 2025, Okmetic will open its new production facility in Vantaa, Finland, which will more than double the company's production capacity while creating over 500 new jobs — nearly doubling the personnel. In addition, the investment will strengthen Finnish and European sovereignty related to semiconductor manufacturing.
What does Espoo offer to semiconductor companies?
In an industry with a chronic shortage of talented people and accessible R&D opportunities to startups, Espoo's innovation ecosystem offers companies talent, R&D infrastructure, and more.
Espoo's semiconductor and quantum community started to develop already in the 1990s. Decades worth of technology R&D and nurturing of new talents from Aalto University and The Finnish School of Watchmaking have shaped what is now perhaps the world's most concentrated but open semiconductor communities. While Okmetic is also collaborating with other ecosystems, Holmberg says Espoo's community is vital for Okmetic.
"About 70% of Okmetic's engineers come from Aalto University. VTT is our main partner in EU research projects. Here, we can collaborate with world-class companies like Murata and Picosun and the smaller companies at Micronova. All the parts you need in a great ecosystem are in Espoo."
With the coming Kvanttinova semiconductor hub and current Micronova semiconductor R&D piloting environment, Espoo offers companies access to what is already one of Europe's major semiconductor hubs.
"Espoo had one of the first clusters in place already in the 90s, and we were among the first to do EU projects together. Now, the Helsinki region is globally one of the biggest places of MEMS experts, also in absolute numbers, and one of the most important clusters in Europe in semiconductors," Holmberg says.
While many things have changed since Okmetic started in the 80s, Espoo's innovation community's core values remain the same. The community is still driven by an innate sense of collaboration and openness — values that have been both necessities and strengths in global competition. Despite the ecosystem enjoying a critical mass of talents and companies, the community is always looking for new partners.
"It is easy for foreign companies and people to get into the community, settle in Espoo and benefit from what the ecosystem offers. There are enough talents here, while most other places worldwide have a shortage of talented people. And the innovation infrastructure is already in place," Holmberg concludes.
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Image: Okmetic