Shaking Stereotypes
How to be a trailblazer of diverse leadership. 🏹
The Fortaco team would like to send our warmest thanks to everyone who joined our webinar – Breaking Barriers, Women in Heavy Industry, sharing the inspiring and supportive space with us.
The event brought together representatives across different industries.
Special thanks go to our great panelists who shared tons of valuable and encouraging experience and knowledge from their successful and lengthy careers. 💬 ✨
According to the participants, authenticity and motivation in the webinar atmosphere were appreciated, reminding us that openness about shared challenges is valued and needed. In addition, how to overcome those challenges and turn them into future strengths.
The general view is showing a gender gap in leadership positions in heavy industry and unfortunately this is true.
According to UNIDO, only 25% of the global manufacturing workforce are women - when we look into heavy industry sectors, the percentage is even lower. If looking at leadership roles, only 8% of them are held by women. 💡
This is a shame, not only due to diversity but also regarding engagement and collaboration, as the teams led by women seem to gain up to 20% higher performance in those.
What are the barriers holding women from advancing in their careers within the industry? 💭
Two of the biggest ones are bias and stereotypes.
The great news is that things are changing, and gender does not hold the same value as it used to when choosing people for leadership roles. We all are respected more for our actual skills, knowledge and performance.
In Fortaco, we are on a path of making heavy industry a more diverse field to work in and normalizing female leadership. We will continue to connect people around the industry and hold the space for them to share their journeys and practices.
One of the most asked topics in the webinar was mentoring in a career path; how experienced female leaders support younger leaders in their development path. This and many other topics you can listen to in our future webinars. 🎙
👉🏻 See webinar statistics here
Fortaco Group Holdco Plc’s Business Review January–March 2025: Net sales and profitability remained low ahead of improving market – operational improvements continue
Fortaco Group Holdco Plc’s Business Review 28 May 2025 at 2:00 p.m. EEST This release is a summary of Fortaco Group Holdco Plc’s Business Review for January–March 2025. The full release is attached and available on our website at https://investors.fortacogroup.com. Unless stated otherwise, comparison figures in parentheses refer to the corresponding period in...Categories: Stock exchange releases
Fortaco sells its marine business in Gruza, Serbia
Fortaco Group Holdco Plc’s subsidiary, Fortaco Oy has signed an agreement to sell its subsidiary in Serbia and thereby its marine and energy focused Business Site Gruza to Entec Evotec AS. Evotec is a Norwegian based technology company providing winches, booms, spooling devices, and cranes powered by Evotec’s innovative control system. Business Site Gruza was subject to the strategic evaluation of marine, energy, and heavy project businesses ongoing from February until November 2024.
Fortaco’s Business Site Gruza manufacturers winches and other solutions mainly for the marine industry. In 2024, the net sales were some EUR 5.4 million and recurring EBITDA some EUR 120 thousand. Business Site Gruza employs some 95 people in total.
“Selling of our operations in Gruza is the final step of the strategic considerations of our marine, energy, and heavy project businesses. The new owner, Evotec, has a solid expertise in the industry. I’m confident that they are a good new home for our people in Gruza. I want to thank our customers for their trust and cooperation throughout these years, and the Gruza team for their excellent performance in a challenging market environment. I wish the team a successful and continuous journey,” says Mika Mahlberg, President & CEO of Fortaco Group.
“Fortaco Gruza brings strong expertise and a solid reputation that aligns well with Evotec’s strategic direction. Together, we will strengthen our position in the marine sector and continue the growth of Evotec. We look forward to welcoming the Gruza team to Evotec”, says Jogeir Romestrand, CEO of Evotec.
“Fortaco Business Site Gruza is well-known for its high quality, delivery accuracy, and uncompromised professionalism. I am very excited that Evotec will become our new owner. Our joint know-how enables the future expansion of our business creating a win-win solution for both companies,” says Ivona Poletan, Managing Director of Business Site Gruza.
The transaction does not have an impact on Fortaco’s profit forecast for 2025. The transaction is subject to some customary closing conditions, and companies aim to close it during June 2025.
Further Information
Mika Mahlberg, President & CEO
+358 40 548 3353 mika.mahlberg@fortacogroup.com
Fortaco Group Fortaco is the leading full-solution provider for OEMs in the off-highway equipment industries. Pioneering the design and production of assemblies, cabins, steel fabrications, and zero emission solutions, we offer cutting-edge technology for enhanced productivity. We empower off-highway machines to use fossil-free steel and our customers to optimize their operations and move towards a greener future. Fortaco Group has operations in multiple European and Asian business sites and technology hubs, which support our global customers. www.fortacogroup.com.
Evotec Evotec is a leading Norwegian supplier of advanced handling systems for the maritime and industrial sectors, serving areas such as subsea, offshore, wind, fisheries, aquaculture, seismic, and research. The company specializes in developing tailor-made solutions, including Launch and Recovery Systems (LARS), winches and cable handling systems, with a strong focus on reliability and efficiency in demanding environments. Through continuous innovation and a focus on sustainable technologies, Evotec enhances operational efficiency and delivers added value to its customers.
Meet Our Panelists | Breaking Barriers - Women in Heavy Industry
Join our free webinar: Breaking Barriers – Women in Heavy Industry
In three days, the Fortaco team will be hosting a webinar representing women who have created respectable careers in the heavy industry.
We are honored to have six highly valued and skilled speakers from the different parts of industry, sharing their personal experiences, challenges they have overcome, and strategies for driving change.
The ladies hold various positions, having together decades of experience in leadership, strategy, and innovation. Their industry might be heavy, but the ladies are uplifting.
Annami Toukoniitty
Senior Vice President, Professional Services, Metso
Denitsa Ivanova Dineva
Director HR EMEA Fabrication, Palfinger
Ewa Rajczakowska
Vice President Sourcing, HIAB
Agnieszka Koziara
Senior Vice President, People & HR, Fortaco Group
Larissa Shabunova
Managing Director, Fortaco Estonia
Ivona Poletan
Managing Director, Fortaco Gruza & Employer Branding & People Development Director, Fortaco Group
Tune into the webinar on Tuesday 20 May at 12:00 - 13:30 pm CET, to hear all you need to know about creating a career as a woman in a male dominated industry, while preserving the attributes of female leadership and decision making.
Register to the webinar, click here
We Build the Future
Fortaco Estonia is expanding.
Today, we are celebrating the opening of our new factory, located in Narva Kadastiku Industry Park.
Business Site Narva’s new factory is a manifestation of the great collaboration between Fortaco teams, from engineers and technologists to logistics and project management specialists.
The current 35,000 square meters located in the Narva city centre will now have an added 8,000 square meters under its domain, providing 40-50 additional jobs in the area.
The new factory offers competitive solutions and strong operational excellence through an advanced production specialization line, prefabrication equipment, welding robots, and CNC machinery centres that allow us to significantly increase production capacity and ensure even higher product quality.
With the newly installed equipment, the new factory is a full-cycle production facility — from raw material processing to painting and assembly — significantly boosting the overall manufacturing efficiency.
Factory’s production line is highly versatile, being able to manufacture products for different customers, reducing risks and increasing operational flexibility.
“We are less vulnerable, if any of our customers experience a temporary drop in volumes - production doesn’t stop,” says Larissa Shabunova, Managing Director, Fortaco Estonia.
In the opening ceremony, we had the honour of having Vesa Vasara, Finnish Ambassador to Estonia, Katri Raik, Mayor of Narva, and Tatjana Stofalt, Narva City Council Head, as our guests. We highly appreciate the presence of our customers Palfinger, John Deere and Komatsu, our suppliers, other business partners and Swedbank's presence.
According to Shabunova, the strengths of the Narva team are foresight, diligence, and systematic thinking.
The team just does not ”Trust in Tomorrow” - they create it.
