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Business life

Nurmes is a develo­ping residen­tial and entrepre­neu­rial city, centrally located in Pieli­nen Karelia. The strength of Nurmes lies in its diverse econo­mic struc­ture.

Pieli­sen Karja­lan Kehit­tä­mis­kes­kus Oy (Pikes) is a develop­ment company owned by the city, serving entrepre­neurs and those aspiring to become entrepre­neurs. Pikes is respon­sible for business consul­ting, regio­nal develop­ment activi­ties, and promo­ting the availa­bi­lity of skilled labor for compa­nies. Pikes markets Nurmes as a location for busines­ses and acts as a local partner for compa­nies settling in the area. Pikes is also respon­sible for tourism consul­ting and marke­ting under the Visit­bomba brand.

Major emplo­yers

The largest emplo­yers in terms of the number of emplo­yees are the City of Nurmes and Siun Sote.

Pohjois-Karja­lan Osuus­kauppa employs over 50 people in tourism at Bomba. Shops also play a signi­ficant role as emplo­yers in Nurmes.

The food industry inclu­des many small and larger compa­nies. Bread and pies from Poroky­län Leipomo Oy and Pielis­pa­kari Oy are enjoyed across Finland. Fresh fish from Nurmek­sen Savukala Oy, smoked and canned fish from Pieli­sen Kalaja­loste Oy, and frozen steaks from Nurmek­sen Filetuote Oy are popular delicacies. Nurmek­sen Filetuo­te’s pork fillet is also featu­red in Hesbur­ger’s rye fillet burger.

In the textile industry, Sasta Oy and Tesema Oy supply outdoor and hiking clothing and socks worldwide.

The largest forestry machine opera­tors are Koneu­ra­kointi S. Kuitti­nen Oy and Motoajo Oy.

Binder­holz Nordic Oy’s sawmill in Nurmes has a produc­tion capacity of 210,000 cubic meters of pine sawn timber per year, emplo­ying a total of 60 people.

Iivari Mononen Oy’s Höljäkkä factory produces treated wooden poles that are expor­ted worldwide.

In the metal industry, the core is a group of six top compa­nies from Nurmes, known as “Metal­li­nyrkki,” (“Metal fish”) which has served the leading metal, enginee­ring, and mining industries in Finland for over twenty years. The core compa­nies of Metal­li­nyrkki are Nurmek­sen Metalli Oy, Nurmek­sen Työstö ja Tarvike Oy, Pieli­sen Metalli Ky, Saher-Aidat Oy, PK-Levy Oy, and Katatec Oy. Metal­li­nyrkki consists of growing compa­nies that conti­nue to expand and develop their subcont­rac­ting networks.

Enginee­ring, metalwork, and compo­nent manufac­tu­ring compa­nies include BerryGlade Oy and Valtimo Compo­nents Oyj.

Construc­tion compa­nies such as Raken­nus­liike Musto­nen Oy, Raken­nus­toi­misto VaaKa Oy, and Raken­nus­liike J.A.J Määttä are invol­ved in new construc­tion and renova­tions. Gossu­tek Oy manufac­tu­res elect­rical distri­bu­tion centers.

Additio­nally, there are over 400 small busines­ses in Nurmes that employ people in various fields.

Vibrant rural enterprise

In Nurmes, 48 farms have dairy cattle. In 2021, these farms delive­red 21 million liters of milk to the dairy, the largest amount in North Karelia. Each dairy farm produced an average of 419,252 liters, the highest in the region. There is also produc­tion of lamb, beef, pork and eggs in the region.

Local farmers are actively invol­ved in the develop­ment of the count­ry­side. There are many modern produc­tion farms in Nurmes, and new invest­ments are made regularly. Nurmes is the largest organic farming munici­pa­lity in the region. Of the culti­va­ted land in Nurmes, 4,655 hecta­res are dedica­ted to organic farming, accoun­ting for 40% of the area’s total culti­va­ted land (in 2020).