Stronger together
The year 2022 proved to be no different. If anything, the return to relative normalcy after the pandemic restrictions has pulled the company together and enabled yet another financial year drawing to an extremely positive close. “As a company that has always been about its people, as soon as we were able to safely bring everyone together once more, we did just that. We launched our new strategy in Leverkusen, Germany, with almost all of our staff present. It was an emotional reunion and certainly helped cement our joint goals and ambitions for this past year,” explains Heikki Hiltunen, CEO of iLOQ
Profitable growth
Obviously, everyone has been affected by the unstable geopolitical situation, resulting energy crisis and rapid inflation, but, despite all this, iLOQ was able to stay on a path of profitable grow, reaching about 130 M€ in turnover. The company itself has also continued to grow with some 70 new employees onboarded during the past year and two (2) new countries, Poland and USA starting local operations. While 2022 saw the first deals closed in the telecoms sector in the US, market entry into the North American residential sector with an all-mobile, keyless access management solution gives reason for excitement for 2023. The first recruitments for the local organization have been made already as we speak.
Enabling smarter living
As the digital transformation of the world around us continues, so do the R&D efforts at iLOQ. “The past year was a positive proof of concept (POC) for our iLOQ HOME mobile application. The first user experiences have provided us with great feedback that will be incorporated into the 2.0 version of the application.” To even further strengthen the company’s capabilities to deliver smart living capabilities on a more holistic level, iLOQ announced its acquisition of Kodinportti, a Finnish IT company specializing in digital and interactive bulletin boards and reservation systems for residential buildings.
Development on all fronts
While built environments, including the residential sector, continue to be the bread and butter for iLOQ, we have been happy to see continued success in the utility sector – critical infrastructure, in particular. “Our ongoing multinational co-operation with Cellnex has continued well, which has also opened doors towards new clients and partners, especially in Europe. The Global Key Account Model, originally piloted with multinationals in the telecoms sector, has proven a winning formula in many other areas as well,” Heikki Hiltunen points out. This operating model has helped land new customers in the energy sector as well as the first large multinational residential cases. “We are also exploring several new verticals through our Global Key Account Model, including the logistics segment to name just one.”
Building the team
On the operational side, there were some key personnel changes during 2022; most notably, the retirement of COO, Esa Myllylä, after almost a decade of dedication to the company. “While he will be greatly missed, we were happy to have Erja Sankari join us from Nokia, taking over as Executive Vice President and COO and taking a seat on the iLOQ Leadership Team. Joining iLOQ from Nokian Tyres, Jaana Klinga was appointed as our new General Counsel, and at the same time, our second new member of the Leadership Team.”
Life made limitless
“iLOQ has always been a trailblazing company. We have never stood still, and 2023 will be no different,” CEO Heikki Hiltunen promises. “As our business has grown and taken on new forms and the technologies at our disposal have developed, even though our mission is still very much the same, we are hardly the same company we were 20 years ago… or even 5 or 10 years ago. That’s why this 20th-anniversary year seems a great time to give our brand identity a little update as well.” Judging by the strong spirit driving iLOQ forward, Heikki is not the only one that is excited for what the future holds.
