Finnos to Make the Future (Again)

Finnos’s operations kicked off in 2016 with a clear vision. From the start, the goal was to bring significant added value to the sawmill industry by expanding technological offerings and deepening data utilization for process optimization. This vision guided the company’s rapid development and growth. 

With this vision on the backburner, Finnos developed and launched measurement systems, initially focusing on log sorting, where they introduced the Fusion Log Scanner, which utilized sensor fusion technology. The benefits of the tech-heavy Fusion were substantial and undeniable, and market demand grew in tandem with the spread of this information. Production capacity was increased to meet the demand, accelerating the development and commercialization of new products. 

The COVID-19 pandemic hit like a Mack truck, vastly accelerating digitalization globally. Communication became laser fast and more efficient, with everything being just a click away. Developers gained significant resources, and as the pandemic caused projects to stall and installations to be delayed, more time was freed up for innovation. During this time, Finnos focused on development, with ideas flowing freely. The situation also provided an opportunity to observe how technology had evolved alongside Finnos and where it was heading, shaping the company’s strategic direction. The hotbed of innovation in 2020 centered on products like Optimizer, Setup Control, Fingerprint, and AI Planner. The utilization of neural networks, particularly research into GAN – Generative adversarial networks – showed great promise. The idea of a system at the core of the vision emerged, tying everything together. It was an exciting, albeit distant, concept — like if your back is itching a mile away. However, as the system took shape, it added detail to the vision and provided clearer strategic direction for product development. 

Unexpectedly, the pandemic also caused a massive increase in demand for lumber, driving prices up and making these years the busiest and most profitable in sawmill history. Finnos’s revenue multiplied, buoyed by the market’s momentum, as sawmills finally had the opportunity to reduce their investment debt and modernize their operations. Bold decisions were made, with sawmills investing fearlessly in the future, and Finnos’s vision was embraced piece by piece, like a delicious baklava, each part being a profitable investment. The growth in revenue provided financial resources for development, and the company rapidly expanded its staff. More than a dozen products were developed, and Finnos expanded its reach, tightening its vice grip on the market. One of the major efforts was the development of their own board scanner, a huge undertaking but a tremendous success. As it gained market share at a rapid pace, the vision drew closer to realization. In strategic meetings, there were discussions about what a vision means if parts of it are already achieved. 

Finnos’s continuous innovations are progressing quickly in projects like OptiForValue and WoodCircle, which examine the future of the industry in the context of EU legislation and link sawmill data to the growth coordinates of logs. With these projects, Finnos is preparing to deliver market solutions that meet regulatory traceability requirements. The company continues to move forward by leveraging technological advancements and creating solutions that help the entire sawmill industry adapt to new challenges and opportunities. 

Finnos has now reached a stage where the necessary pieces for developing the system at the core of its vision are in place and have been widely distributed in the market. The system has been granted a strong method patent. Under the protection of this patent, Finnos has decided to invest significant resources in developing the system by forming a non-operational strategic team under the board. This team, composed of the company’s founders, Jere Heikkinen and Juha Alatalo, will focus on strategic topics and initiate a development project named “Neuro CT.” They will transfer their operational responsibilities to their successors, Jyri Smagin and Tapio Leppälampi, on November 1, 2024. 

Jyri Smagin, a graduate in forest products technology from Otaniemi, has nearly 15 years of experience in machine vision systems for the sawmill industry. His experience includes working closely with customers and later moving into commercial and leadership roles. Jyri joined Finnos in 2020 from FinScan Oy, where he was CEO, to take responsibility for Finnos’s commercial operations as sales director. “Filling the big shoes of the CEO role is a big step, but I am confident that with the support of our professional and committed organization, we can take Finnos to even greater heights!” 

Tapio Leppälampi, a graduate in applied mathematics from LUT University, started his career as a development engineer at Bintec, working on calculation algorithms and hardware interfaces. After moving to Tampere, he worked as a developer of product development and training simulators at Creanex Oy, gaining experience in EU projects and simulator development for various industries. Tapio rejoined Finnos in 2021 and has since led AI development. “I’ve been looking at X-ray images of logs across three different decades. The advancement in computational methods has been astounding. It’s been incredibly interesting to be part of this development, seeing its potential for the sawmill industry. With our skilled teams, we are ready to push the Neuro CT breakthrough to the market. Juha’s mantle is heavy, and carrying it is a great sign of trust. With our skilled and professional teams, we will turn it into a sail as Finnos continues its journey on the cutting edge of the latest technology.” 

Juha Alatalo, an applied mathematician and IT expert, has spent a decade and a half solving problems in the sawmill industry; his experience ranges from measuring entire log stems all the way down to finished packs of lumber. Alatalo has led customer-focused development teams at Bintec and Finnos, which he co-founded. His tireless efforts were recognized at the CTO of the Year Awards 2021 with a top-three placement. “Thousands upon thousands of logs and boards have been seen, and solutions have been considered, developed, tested, and maintained. Incredible strides have been made together with amazing teams. The correct people are continuing the work, and I feel confident leaving my responsibilities in the hands of top professionals. Tapio and Jani are absolute gems. Neuro CT is the next big step for sawmills. With it, solutions will be more efficient, but also more visual. With these decisions, from these logs, at this sawmill, you’ll get these lumber products. Challenging, but extremely interesting!” 

Jere Heikkinen is a mathematician with a long history in the sawmill industry. Over the course of more than 17 years, he has been actively involved in all phases of designing, developing, delivering, and commercializing measurement systems at Bintec and Finnos, which he co-founded and has led for the past 8.5 years. In 2019, Heikkinen was awarded the Young Research Entrepreneur of the Year and has won numerous awards for Finnos worldwide. “I am truly excited to focus on strategic topics, and especially to be part of bringing the long-dreamed Neuro CT to the market. I am very proud to pass on operational responsibilities to the highly experienced Jyri and the brilliant leadership team, who have the strong support of the entire organization.” 

Jani Alatalo holds a Master’s degree in Theology and has been preaching the gospel of data-driven management for over 20 years. He has improved productivity, data quality, and its usage across various industries, including retail, banking, the paper industry, municipalities, telecom operators, and the forestry sector. Jani has worked as a management consultant at Deloitte and as the head of data service business and product development at CGI. In projects and initiatives, Jani has always sought tangible outcomes and smooth collaboration with clients. He joined Finnos in the spring of 2023 after following the company’s development since its inception. “It’s amazing to see in the data how the sawmill hums, chips fly, and logs transform into boards—better and better every day. In Finnos Neuro CT, my love for both wood and computers finds a perfect union.” 

Neuro CT is an innovative and new approach that leverages neural networks in computed tomography (CT). Traditional CT imaging is based on images taken from several different angles, which are then combined to reconstruct a three-dimensional image of the scanned object. Neuro CT, however, deviates from this method by using neural networks to enhance or replace certain stages of the traditional CT process. 

From the outset, Finnos has ensured the uniformity of log scanners, meaning that the measurement geometry of all systems delivered by Finnos is identical. This allows Neuro CT to be deployed backward and forward compatibly with all FUSION and OPTIMIZER X-ray log scanners via straightforward software updates. 

The systems delivered by Finnos generate data from over one hundred million log units each year, with an annual growth rate of approximately 15-20%. Neuro CT is trained on tens of millions of log units selected according to specific criteria. Neuro CT can be fine-tuned to the raw materials of a sawmill’s own procurement area by investing more broadly in Finnos’s product ecosystem, where each investment is highly profitable for its specific intended purpose. At the same time, these investments enable a turbocharged version of Neuro CT in the future. Finnos plans to introduce the solution to the market gradually between 2025 and 2028.