Finnish Electrotechnical Trade Association: Annual Report 2021
A word from the Chair of the Board
Electricity in the air.
In 2021, the value of wholesale sales of electrotechnical products was higher than ever before.
Solutions that promote energy efficiency and building automation were needed and used widely in both new and renovation construction.
As an association, we have actively influenced national and EU legislation, focusing on carbon neutrality and fossil-free transport. This enables us to ensure business opportunities for companies in our sector. The year was also characterised by the increasing popularity of electric vehicles. The sales of charging devices grew rapidly, and we started to compile statistics on their sales volumes.
Information about a labour shortage coming in the future cast a shadow over the commercially successful year. Our work to improve the situation continued in collaboration with other associations in the field. Our national and international networks showed their strength in promoting our key goals.
Remote work has challenged us all to reinvent ourselves. During the year of our 90th anniversary, our membership grew, and we now have 90 member companies. We also have a new managing director and more effective ways of working. We provided high-quality training, and our advocacy work is stronger than before.
Martti Forss, Chair of the Board
Key figures for 2021
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The value of our wholesale sales was higher than ever before, increasing by 8.4% from the previous year.
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10,000 new charging points for electric vehicles were sold during each quarter.
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We had 90 members at the end of the year.
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The Finnish Electrotechnical Trade Association celebrated its 90th anniversary, and the Sähkönumerot product information service celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Key themes
in 2021
Energy efficiency
We presented our sector’s views on the proposal to update the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. We also had an impact on the definition of carbon neutrality in construction, and we took a stand for subsidies to abandon oil heating in single-family houses.
The Battery Directive
We participated in discussions on updating the Battery Directive with Members of the European Parliament, as well as through the European Union of Electrical Wholesalers.
Clean vehicles
We highlighted the importance of the planning and procurement of the charging infrastructure required to achieve the objectives of the Act on the Procurement of Clean and Energy-efficient Road Transport Vehicles, which entered into force in August 2021.
Electric motoring
Through the media, we took a stand for the importance of electric motoring and for increasing emission-free kilometres.
Fossil-free transport
We expressed our views on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport when the Ministry of Transport and Communications presented a roadmap for fossil-free transport.
Sustainably towards
the future
We seek to improve labour availability
The need for labour among our member companies is high and will continue to be so. We started to collect information about the availability of labour, and we are continuously monitoring the situation. In the autumn, we started a joint campaign, Invisible Power, to reach young people, in cooperation with two organisations. We also made a multi-year donation to Aalto University for the development of education and research in smart building services.
We maintain product information
The importance of product information for the circular economy continued to be highlighted in our communications in 2021. In the electrotechnical trade, the entire supply chain uses a common digital product information system maintained by STK-Tietopalvelut, a wholly owned company of the Finnish Electrotechnical Trade Association.
We make a difference through networks
We continued to cooperate actively within our Finnish and international networks. We interacted with candidates in the municipal elections, as well as with experts in the preparation of laws in the Ministry of Transport and Communications. We maintained close contact with our Nordic sister organisations, and participated in further developing our sector through the European Union of Electrical Wholesalers (EUEW).
We produce well-being
We are one of the five organisations that have signed the Well-being through Electricity – Vision for 2030 initiative. During the year, we jointly prepared the next vision for the electrification sector – a goal we can all work towards for the next few years.
We look after the interests of our members
Representatives of our member companies constitute several cooperation groups that actively produce guidelines on current issues in our sector to be implemented by the three experts in the office of the association. In the spring of 2021, we revamped our website and newsletter, as well as the Sähkönumerot.fi newsletter, to ensure more active and effective communication.