The 2009 Internationalization Awards of the President of the Republic go to Tekla, REACHLaw, and the Muxlim community

Helsinki, Finland, February 2, 2010 – The President of the Republic of Finland, Tarja Halonen, presented the 2009 Internationalization Awards to the software company Tekla Corporation, the environmental consultancy firm REACHLaw Ltd., and the Muxlim Lifestyle Community. The objective of the Internationalization Awards is to encourage businesses to operate in an international environment and to boost their ability to develop and adopt new operating models. The 2009 Internationalization Awards were presented today in Helsinki.

“The Internationalization Awards of the President of the Republic highlights concepts and business models as examples for other Finnish companies that are going international. This year, all the award-winners represent highly specialized expertise and the combination of expertise from many different industries. Furthermore, the international service industry has an important role in their businesses,” says Jorma Turunen, President and CEO of Finpro.

Every year, Finpro looks for candidates for the Internationalization Awards and carries out their preliminary assessment. Based on the evaluation the Board of Directors of Finpro proposes a list of candidates to the President in collaboration with the Association for Finnish Work. The President of the Republic decides the winners of the Internationalization Award. Today’s award ceremony was the 42nd in the history of the award.

Tekla's software used in designing steel structures for skyscrapers

Tekla is an international technology company whose model-based software products make customers’ core processes more effective in building and construction, energy distribution and infrastructure management. Tekla has offices in 14 countries, for example in many European countries, in the US, in Japan, China and India, and in the Middle East.

“In over 40 years we have experienced both downturns and upturns. Luckily, our owners have been patient. Our business is long-term oriented, and product development takes time. We have focused on selected industries, and the engineering software for the construction industry is our most international product. Tekla's success is based on Finnish expertise. However, we have also had our share of luck,” says Ari Kohonen, President and CEO of Tekla Corporation.

Tekla is a forerunner and trend-setter among Finnish international software companies. The company's international operations account for over 80% of net sales. Tekla has customers in almost 100 countries. Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, has significantly promoted the development of Tekla's business. Tekla also collaborates with many universities and research institutes. The company was established in 1966 and employs about 480 people, of whom 40% outside Finland. In 2009, Tekla's turnover was approximately EUR 50 million.

Source: www.finpro.fi