19 Oct 2022

Tecomatic Is Growing Rapidly and Contributing to the Climate Transition

Floods, the need for clean water and erosion protection - water has become one of the biggest challenges of our time. But there are solutions. Tecomatic are specialists in water treatment systems and erosion protection. Now they are on a growth journey, have doubled the number of employees in one year and plan for continued high growth.

In May, Öviksbolaget Järven Ecotech AB and Kalmarbolaget Tecomatic Entreprenad AB chose to merge into a new company under the name Tecomatic Entreprenad AB. For a year now, they had had the same owner, the venture capital company PEQ Invest, with the aim of integrating the operations, and now the step was fully taken when the companies were merged.

– We had two companies with years of knowledge and expertise that would complement each other really well. My job was to come in as CEO, merge the companies and grow the businesses, and we are now on that journey. We have gone from 11 to 22 employees this past year, which feels great and I look positively on the future. Customer satisfaction is incredibly important to us and we notice how awareness of our issues is increasing. Society talks about the importance of access to energy, but we also have to ensure that there is clean water and clean waterways – that's essential, says CEO Caroline Nilsson.

She has worked for over 25 years in the process industry, where she has held various roles in strategy, business development and sales.

What is your motivation on this journey?
– It is a combination of several things – the environmental issue is very exciting. It feels absolutely right to me to work with Tecomatic's products that do good for nature and play an important role in the entire climate transition. Our profile as an entrepreneurial company is also something I enjoy as I have run my own company twice and come from an entrepreneurial family, she says.

”More Needs to Be Done”

In any project where construction is done in or near water, such as large offshore wind farms, railway bridges or ports, it is necessary to protect the constructions from erosion. The effects of the climate crisis have also increased the need to protect important infrastructure. Overall, Caroline believes that historically too little has been invested in Sweden on infrastructure projects where it is about preventing floods and erosion due to water.

–We simply haven't had much of that problem, not least if you compare it to, for example, the United States, which problems are due to hurricanes and floods. Now, however, it has started to be invested in Sweden to protect our infrastructure, even if it is still considered lagging behind. Large consulting companies flag that it is not enough with the investments that the state has made and that more needs to be done, she says.

Tecomatic has the products that are already of great use today, all over the country, and it stands firm in the two companies' previous areas of expertise – Järven Ecotech in Örnsköldsvik, which has focused on stormwater and process treatment and sediment emptying, while Tecomatic in Kalmar has focused on erosion protection but also water purification in the form of silt curtains.

Engaged As Experts for Slussen

In erosion protection, Tecomatic manufactures and installs concrete mattresses that are laid in or near water environments where the infrastructure is at risk of weathering or collapsing, for example in ports, slopes and at road culverts. An example is SCA's new container quay in Sundsvall, where concrete mattresses are an essential part of the quay's construction.

SCA has hired Tecomatic to design concrete mattresses for the new container quay in Sundsvall. It is an erosion protection with a long service life and a good environmental choice.

The new Slussen in central Stockholm makes it possible to drain water from Mälaren in a faster way, in order to reduce the risk of flooding in the Mälardalen in the future. Tecomatic was hired as experts in the field and now their concrete mattresses are used in the middle of Stockholm.

– With a higher speed of the water, the risk of erosion increases, so it is a typical example of when our products are of great benefit without being visible. There, together with Skanska Betong, we developed a green concrete that reduces carbon dioxide emissions by half, and that is something we will take with us to future projects, says Caroline and continues:

- In water purification, we install, among other things, screen basins and aerators with the aim of facilitating the biological purification process. Pollution follows the stormwater into our waterways and seas, which need to be both protected and restored from these. We often combine our facilities with a pleasant environment for the public where possible, for example in Kyrkviken in Nacka where earlier this year we built a stormwater facility together with bathing jetties that have been very much appreciated by the residents of Nacka.

Here at Lake Triangle in Liljeholmen, Stockholm, there was a need for water purification. The solution was Tecomatic's screen pool, which can be seen in the picture as a green line in the water. It is a cost-effective way to clean stormwater that blends into the existing environment. Tecomatic offers turnkey solutions with or without piers.

Wide Range of Competence

– For those who do not work in the industry, it is difficult to imagine that this type of product is needed because they are rarely seen. But they are very useful! Our end customers are often the state or municipality and we work closely with the consultants who are in the regulatory stage and are the ones who develop the solutions for water treatment or erosion protection, says Caroline..

Tecomatic's specific products mean that you have a wide range of skills within the company and great importance has been placed on their personal qualities and habit of working in teams out in the field.

– Our employees have a very varied background, from carpenters to mechanics and salespeople - it's all about handy and enterprising people. Above all, we train our new employees ourselves because it is a very narrow segment, and we hire people who are committed and want to be part of this journey, says Caroline.

Click here to read more about Tecomatic!